59:, audio recordings, words, phrases, songs and stories. The languages sites include kid-friendly views of the content, and games based on the uploaded words and media. As of 2024, FirstVoices hosts 65 public and 17 private sites for British Columbia languages, and also supports Indigenous communities throughout Canada, the US, New Zealand and Australia.
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Language Tutor and
Language Lab - released in 2010, FirstVoices Language Tutor was a tool for creating language lessons, and Language Lab was a portable kit for delivering lessons via "a laptop server, Wi-Fi antenna, power bar, and set of iPads". The lessons allowed users to "listen to a word or
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The target audience for FirstVoices is
Indigenous language learners. These make up the majority of the more than 350,000 yearly FirstVoices site visits, though many visitors are non-Indigenous people interested in Indigenous languages. Online tools provide access to
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Indigenous language revitalization is a time-sensitive concern in BC and globally. Many
Indigenous languages face a loss of fluent speakers, many of whom are over 65 years old. Almost three-quarters of BC's Indigenous population live away from
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FirstVoices keyboards – desktop keyboard software and mobile keyboard apps for over 100 languages, including every First
Nations language in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and many Indigenous languages spoken in the United
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Chat app - in 2012, before Apple allowed third-party keyboards on iPhones, FirstVoices produced a chat app that supported typing in every
Indigenous language in North America and Australia. This has been replaced by keyboard
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phrase, record themselves speaking and then compare the result with a recording of a fluent speaker" as well as other types of quizzes and games. Parents and teachers could monitor student progress.
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FirstVoices.com was launched in 2003, and allows language teams from
Indigenous communities to create secure, interactive web sites to document and promote their languages by uploading
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and are less likely to have access to language and cultural programming. There is a growing population of language learners in BC, many of whom are children and younger adults.
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elders, technical staff and others. Most language sites are publicly accessible, but others are password-protected at the direction of their individual language community.
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language revitalization. In the two decades since FirstVoices started, it has grown to host language sites for nearly 100 languages and language varieties.
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Officially launched in 2003, the idea for FirstVoices came about in 1999 from Peter Brand and J,SIṈTEN (Dr. John
Elliott), leaders in online
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66:, all content is controlled and managed by community language administrator teams composed of youth, language teachers, language champions,
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In addition to the web platform, FirstVoices provides several other tools and projects related to language revitalization
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FirstVoices dictionary apps – 17 free and open-source mobile apps which reflect content in FirstVoices language sites.
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562:"Saanich Peninsula resident John Elliott is a leading voice in revitalizing language, culture"
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47:, Canada) and the First Peoples' Cultural Foundation (an Indigenous-led crown agency).
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In 2023 FirstVoices migrated to a new version with a rebuilt back-end that uses
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536:"FirstVoices Language Tutor Provides New First Nations Language Teaching Tool"
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323:"Cloud-based software deployed for First Nations language preservation"
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511:"Geek Speak: Jared Deck, Sto:lo Shxweli Halq'eméylem Language Program"
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256:"FirstVoices: Bringing Indigenous Language Legacies into the Future"
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227:"Vital People: Online portal gives voice to Indigenous languages"
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Training and grants through FPCC's
Language Technology Program.
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Gessner, Suzanne; Parker, Aliana; Herbert, Tracey (2022).
619:(Fourth ed.). First Peoples' Cultural Council.
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Report on the Status of B.C. First
Nations Languages
588:"Keyboard app brings Indigenous languages to mobile"
108:BC Sans font - a typeface optimized for displaying
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39:history. It is a joint initiative of the
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694:2003 establishments in British Columbia
689:Internet properties established in 2003
669:Native American language revitalization
265:. Vol. II, no. 7. Terralingua
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31:to share and promote their languages,
485:"A Lifeline for Endangered Languages"
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464:. First Peoples' Cultural Council
302:. First Peoples' Cultural Council
586:Perrier, Cameron (18 May 2016).
438:. Government of British Columbia
383:. University of British Columbia
684:Free language learning software
674:First Nations culture in Canada
41:First Peoples' Cultural Council
321:Wallach, Omri (20 June 2018).
225:Arrais, Pedro (Sep 24, 2023).
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699:Canadian educational websites
458:"Language Technology Program"
186:Llanes-Ortiz, Genner (2023).
122:Help desk and knowledge base.
377:"FirstVoices — Introduction"
254:Maffi, Luisa (Winter 2010).
62:Following the principles of
509:Hui, Stephen (4 May 2012).
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27:projects, which supports
296:"FirstVoices Fact Sheet"
381:Relational Lexicography
192:. UNESCO. p. 113.
25:language revitalization
29:Indigenous communities
649:Source code on Github
329:. Glacier Media Group
327:Business In Vancouver
515:The Georgia Straight
349:"About FirstVoices"
142:History and context
432:"BC Sans Typeface"
412:. 21 February 2024
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658:Categories
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37:linguistic
436:gov.bc.ca
263:Langscape
57:alphabets
592:CBC News
156:reserves
148:SENĆOŦEN
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462:fpcc.ca
110:Unicode
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594:. CBC
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