When Akwiratékha' Martin needs to check the spelling, phonetics or conjugation of a word in his native Kanien'kéha (Mohawk language), he can't look it up in the dictionary or Google it. His work at the NRC is helping to solve this problem.
Akwiratékha' is a research council officer and Indigenous languages specialist at our Digital Technologies Research Centre. He grew up in the small Mohawk Territory of Kahnawà:ke south of Montréal. He didn't speak Kanien'kéha at home as a child, as it was more of a school language, and nobody spoke it as a first language except for his grandparents. This was not uncommon. The residential school system led to a loss of language in younger generations, and Kanien'kéha is now considered a critically endangered language.
Akwiratékha' discovered his love for linguistics in 2002 while studying his own language at the Kanien'kéha Ratiwennahní:rats Adult Language Immersion Program. Then, after CEGEP, he went to the University of Manitoba where he majored in linguistics, with a minor in Icelandic studies and Native languages, and was on the honour roll for 2 years. He finished his studies in Montréal after transferring to Concordia University. In addition to being fluent in English and Kanien'kéha, he knows intermediate American Sign Language and studied Wendat, Cree and Icelandic languages.
Since 2002, he has spent many years teaching and freelancing as a translator, editor and voice actor. But his Kanien'kéha culture encourages people to push themselves to try new things and not be stagnant. So, when the NRC came to his community in 2018 looking for an expert to help develop an online language tool in his dialect, he decided to take the opportunity.
The language tool, called Kawennón:nis, is a verb conjugator with a text-to-speech function. Verb conjugations are one of the most difficult aspects of Indigenous languages to master. Having a tool that shows learners how verbs are formed is key. A typical day for Akwiratékha' at the NRC includes recording text-to-speech words in his voice, listening to recordings and reviewing generated speech. He also reviews and validates verb conjugations, which involves reaching out to members of his community either on the phone, in a Facebook group or by going in person to speak to the Elders.
"We don't have a Bescherelle, we don't have a physical reference document big enough for our rich polysynthetic language. You have to talk to people in the community, you have to leave the house. I enjoy the recognition by the NRC of an Indigenous way of researching."
Language is a way of connecting the past to the present. A few years ago, the video game company Ubisoft hired Akwiratékha' to be the voice of Kanen'tó:kon, a Kanien'kehá:ka character in the video game Assassin's Creed III, set in the 18th century, during and after the American Revolutionary War. But Akwiratékha' did more than lend his voice. He was the translator and consultant, guiding the company to bring to life the Kanien'kéha culture of the time. Reflecting on this, he says it's emotional to see his history and where he's from. "In my generation and my parents' generation, we just heard stories about a world where our people were happy and prosperous, and it almost seems like a myth or folklore. To see this world in a video game is very touching."
What's next for the Kawennón:nis language project at the NRC? Over the next few months, Akwiratékha' will continue reviewing the online tool and its text-to-speech feature, perfecting the pronunciation and pitch patterns of Kanien'kéha words and verbs. The program will then be handed over to the Kanien'kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Centre in his community. Akwiratékha' will retain the copyright of his voice-overs, and the community will own the tool.
However, he worries about how the community will maintain the Kawennón:nis program over the long term. "I wonder how long this tool is going to last. Without the resources and expertise to maintain it, how does this live on after the project is done?"
Akwiratékha' hopes Indigenous language revitalization will continue to be a priority in Canada. There were many times over his 20-year career when he wanted to quit. It was hard and isolating at times, but he persevered. He is proud of what he has accomplished so far to keep his onkwehonwehnéha (native) language alive.