Kanien’kéha (Mohawk) FirstVoices – English

Alternate Language Names

Kanien’kéha, Kanyen’kéha.

Region

Ontario and Quebec, Canada; New York, United States.

Who

Tsi Ronterihwanónhnha ne Kanien’kéha Language and Cultural Centre.

Others Involved

Tsi Ronterihwanónhnha Ne Kanehsatake Language Ressource Center, Onkwawén:na Kanien’kéha Shonkwaia’tison Tehshonkwá:wi, Barbara Simon, Mi’kmaq Language Recorder, Theresa Levesque, David Sulsiilmult, Kahentine Gabriel, Karonhianó:ron Alice McDonald, Warisó:se Gabriel, Darlene Smith (Contributors); Kawinónhsen Audrey Nelson (Speakers); Kahentí:ne Kim Gabriel, Otsi’tsa’ón:we Julie Gaspé, Shahoié:ren Kevin Proulx, Chantelle Trainor-Matties (Artists); Elder Annie Smith (Elders); Tewateronhiá:khwa Mina Beauvais (Story Author).

Publishing Information

This resource was published in 2000 by FirstVoices.

How People are Cited

Each entry lists all contributors to that entry and in the metadata.

How Information is Cited

Contributors and speakers are cited under the entries they contribute to. Further contribution information can be found in the metadata.

Where is Information Coming from

Information comes from speakers and previous work.

Tools and Framework used

This dictionary utilizes the FirstVoices archive.

Access

This dictionary is open access online.

Included Languages and Directionality

English to Mohawk or French to Mohawk.

Dialects Included

Kanehsatà:ke.

Type of Dictionary

This dictionary is a multilingual, mono-directional, multimedia, pedagogical dictionary which includes images, audio, games, stories, and songs.

How are Entries Organised

This dictionary organizes entries in many ways. Entries are displayed in alphabetical order by default according to the Kanien’kehá:ka word. The cover page of the website displays a search bar where users can type in either French or English words for Kanien’kehá:ka translations. Below this is a Word of the Day section, which presents a Kanien’kehá:ka word and its translation in either English or French. This is followed by the Alphabet section which will be discussed later. Finally, there is a breakdown of what resources the website contains, including 1433 words, 731 phrases, 10 songs, and 6 stories.

Under the Dictionary tab, which is the first tab along the top of the webpage, users can filter entries to Words, Phrases, Alphabet, and Categories. Filtering by Words or Phrases allows users to input a word or phrase and delivers the Kanien’kehá:ka translation. The Alphabet option presents the user with the characters used in the Kanien’kehá:ka alphabet. Each character can be clicked on to display audio for the character, allow the user to copy the character, and sometimes to provide an example word starting with the character. At the bottom of the screen is a button to show all the words beginning with that character. The Categories tab provides a number of categories such as Animals, Numbers, and Shopping which the user can click on to access entries related to those categories.

The second tab is the Learn tab. Under this tab, users can navigate to Songs, Stories, and Games in the language. Song entries include a Kanien’kehá:ka audio file and transcript along with a written translation in either English or French. The songs are sometimes accompanied by images relating to their subjects. Story entries are presented in a multi-page, scroll down format. They begin with a title page with cover art giving the title of the story in both Kanien’kehá:ka and English or French, then citing the author. Each “page” of the story consists of an illustration relating to the story done by a local artist, an audio file of the story chunk in Kanien’kehá:ka, a Kanien’kehá:ka transcription, and an English or French written translation. The Games option presents the user with three different games: Pull Together, a word guessing game in which users must enter Kanien’kehá:ka characters to spell a Kanien’kehá:ka word and win the game; Phrase Scrambler, which presents the user with a scrambled Kanien’kehá:ka phrase to unscramble; and Wordsy, which is currently unavailable.

The third tab is the Resources tab. Under this tab is the Keyboard subtab, which provides links and instructions for how to install the Kanien’kehá:ka keyboard. Links are provided to both Google Play and the Apple App Store, as well as buttons to install the keyboard on a Mac or on Windows. Further down are instructional videos for how to install the keyboard on a Mac or PC, as well as written instructions for tablets and smartphones.

The fourth tab is the About tab, under which users can learn about the Kanien’kehá:ka people and their language in English or French and Kanien’kehá:ka.

The last tab is the Kids tab. The Kids tab contains buttons with icons on them which the user can click on to access the Dictionary, Alphabet, Categories, Games, Songs, and Stories sections that have been discussed previously. The only difference between these and the normal sections is that words in the Dictionary section have a cover image depicting what the word names. As well, the Songs and Stories sections here haven’t been filled in yet.

Other Features

Other Notes

A French version is available and can be found on FirstVoices or on the RelLex Knowledgebase.

The French and English versions of the website are virtually the same. On the French website, only the terms and translations are in French, while the rest of the Website remains in English. However, there are some differences. Firstly, the word of the day on English and French websites are different. Secondly, songs on the English website have images with them, while songs in the French website do not.

Some entries specify the gender of the speaker.

Dialects are not marked in this resource.