SENĆOŦEN

"This text will prove to be an indispensable resource for the W̱SÁNEĆ communities and those of neighbouring Coast Salish, and especially Straits Salish nations whose dialects and languages share many commonalities with SENĆOŦEN. It also stands as an example of the value of long-term collaboration between committed and passionate individuals."

"Montler is indisputably the leading linguistic expert on the SENĆOŦEN language. This dictionary is critically important for the emerging second generation of second-language speakers eager to master the language."

"It is from the water we emerged, W̱SÁNEĆ (Saanich); ever since our ancestor had seen the land appear, pointing toward it and shouting, “NI QENET TŦE W̱SÁNEĆ LO,TE ȻȽ ṮÁȽ - look what is emerging from the receding water”. The time of the great flood had ended and from it we were a people renewed, W̱SÁNEĆ; in memory of that sacred time. Thus, the words that would speak of our identity, customs and so on, were spoken in the W̱SÁNEĆ tongue, SENĆOŦEN. As water had taken the land from us with one flood, another flood had taken the language, to which, a cry to language revitalization is commanded. And so, the language emerges again from those who want it, who learn it, who teach it, who speak it. Again, the words of our grandmothers and grandfathers are being carried on from one generation to the next through education and the capture of their voices in this volume. U, XAXE TŦE SȻÁ, ȽTE SḰÁL. NIȽ ȻE,ĆÁ, ĆELÁṈEN ȽTE TŦE SENĆOŦEN – Our language is sacred. SENĆOŦEN is our ancestry, our culture, our birthright."