Lesson 1

Topic 1: Introducing yourself

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Introduction

Secwépemc people introduce themselves in a way that allows a person to know your name, where you are from, and who your family is. Traditionally, this allows a person to pinpoint your home and which family you belong to. Although the person may not know you, they may be familiar with your parents or your grandparents.

An introduction is done humbly. In English, your manners should be equivalent to introducing yourself in a formal environment to an important or honoured person. Secwépemc people do this because they believe it is extremely rude to hold yourself above another. Even if you were royalty, you would never make a person believe that she is of no value. You introduce yourself so that the person you are meeting recognizes that you do not put yourself before them.

Even though your pronunciation may not be perfect, you should practice to become fully confident by the end of this course. It is our hope that you will be able to introduce yourself at events and meetings whether there is a Secwépemc speaker in attendance, or not. For now, the goal is simply to introduce the greeting. We will continue to practice this introduction as we move along in the lessons.

Learning Activities

Activity 1

Here is the Secwepemctsín along with the English translation. For now, we will only say hello, state our names, and where we are from. As we move along the course, we will learn the difference between speaking to one person, or to many people.

Watch the following introduction videos

Now using your own name and the place you grew up, use the script below to develop your own introduction. Use the phonetic translation below and re-watch the video to help with your pronunciation. You may find it helpful to write down the full script for yourself.

Translation:

Weyt-k – Hello (to one person)

[Insert your name] ren skwekwst – [insert your name] is my name

Te [insert place you are from] re st̓7é7kwen – [insert place you are from] is where I am from

Phonetically, you are saying:

Wait-k

[Insert your name]        en        sk-west

Te [insert place]            eh        st-eh-kwen

For this online course we have included a phonetic reading the language. Please note the difference between the actual spelling of the words and the phonetic interpretation. This online course will only give you the basic oral component; although we will introduce the Secwépemc alphabet, we will not be covering the advanced reading or writing of Secwepemctsín.

Please repeat your introduction until you feel comfortable enough to move on.