Our Word of the Year

Center Leaders Ernest and June Siva in the gathering-hall-to-be. © Pat Murkland Photo

The American Dialect Society, which has been celebrating and studying English language usage in North America since 1889, has chosen app, slang for computer application, as 2010 Word of the Year.

While app is the word for 2010, the Native American Serrano word ap has been around for countless years. Ap means there. Great word.

But we would have to say that our 2010 Word of the Year is ip.

Ip (pronounced eep) means here.

And 2010 was all about our ip, here

at the Center, Ahunika'.

Here's what happened in 2010:

• While we have a $2 million renovation plan for our building at the corner of San Gorgonio Avenue and Hays Street, we wanted to have a "meanwhile." So, we started sprucing up the building.

• The city had earmarked some facade grant money for us, and that helped fix the leaky roof and other problems.

Habitat for Humanity Hero © Pat Murkland Photo

• Habitat for Humanity volunteers worked hard, every week, to make the building ready for use. Four storefronts that were in disrepair are now connected and looking good! Restrooms are working! The Center really has a home ip.

Thank you, our hero volunteers!

• Leaders Ernest and June Siva also acquired the former Post Office building next door, for use as a gathering hall.

• Thanks to a $500,000 donation in 2010 from San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians the construction of the gathering hall has now begun. Once completed, it will be available for use by all community groups. We expect it will become an anchor in Banning's fledgling downtown Arts District.

• And we're already beginning to fill the spruced-up corner building with activities that save and share Southern California Native American cultures, languages, history, and traditional arts.

Volunteer Chuck Flanagan surrounded by flute-makers at the Second Saturday.

© Pat Murkland Photo

Our first Second Saturday Sidewalk Storytelling Event was standing-room only. See you on Feb. 12 for Serrano Toys & Tools!

That's ip, here,

at Dorothy Ramon Learning Center.

The Center at San Gorgonio Ave. and Hays St., Banning, CA © Pat Murkland Photo

Dragonfly Lectures Ahead!

UPDATE: DUE TO MRS. MURILLO'S ILLNESS, WE REGRETFULLY HAVE CANCELED OUR NOVEMBER 8 LECTURE. PLEASE JOIN US IN WISHING HER A SPEEDY RECOVERY.

Our next Dragonfly Lectures feature:

• Ernest Siva, the Center's president, Serrano stories and songs, Oct. 11.

• Pauline Murillo, San Manuel elder, Stories, Nov. 8.

• Lowell Bean, ethnologist, Animals and the Cahuilla World View, Dec. 6.

• Carmen Jany, linguistics assistant professor, Adventures with J.P. Harrington, Jan. 17.

All lectures start at 6 p.m. at the Center, 17 W.Hays, Banning, and your donations help save and share Southern California's Native American cultures, languages, history, and traditional arts.

Starting 2010, Ringing in the Old

Dorothy Ramon Learning Center's first Serrano language and culture class of 2010 is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 4, starting at 6 p.m. at 17 W.Hays, Banning, CA.

You never know what interesting phrase or word will trigger a story, memory, or song from our teacher, Elder Ernest Siva.

All are welcome. Hey, the best things in life ARE free!

Sliding into the Unexpected

Southern Pacific rattlesnake, or Herngt, © photo by Pat Murkland
Our Serrano language and culture class meets every first and third Monday at 17 West Hays, Banning, and often veers into a world of the unexpected.
At our class on Monday night, for example, we talked about Herngt, the rattlesnake.
It’s been a very good year for rattlers and we’ve been seeing them frequently.
I told how I saw another Herngt on Sunday, soundly sleeping in a gopher hole.
Ernest Siva said: "Herngt aap kuuman mingat akiihp." 

(Rattlesnake was sleeping there in Gopher’s house.) 

Mingat is Gopher. Aap = there. Kuuman = sleeping.
Ernest said that adding the “p” onto akiihp makes the meaning “in or on the house.” Serrano is a very economical language, because Chuck then pointed out that adding the “a” in front of akiihp makes it  “his” (Gopher's) house.
I also saw a gopher snake (Qorqort) on Sunday a.m.
Ernest remembered that in the book Wayta' Yawa', Dorothy Ramon remembers Pete Ramon’s nickname was Tu'chi' Chaaqwam, for a little black lizard.
And Chilyaku', he said, a lizard, has a name derived from a Serrano phrase that refers to how the Creator made them small. The monsters, he said, all went under the earth during the Creation, except these, which were made small.

Mary Had A Little Lambda

Following up on "How Is Your Spelling", an earlier post, I thought that an example was in order.

One of the strange looking characters in the International Phonetic Alphabet, the lambda, is one of the symbols I decided to replace in our orthography. In "A Dried Coyote's Tail", Saubel and Elliott, (2004) the double L (ll) is used for this sound. There isn't an equivalent sound in English, but it can be approximated by saying million and holding the ll's while hissing. The words weyllt (dish), tipill (drip), tayullkin (to iron or press) are a few words in Serrano employing this sound.

Still having fun? - ES

How's your spelling?

How's your spelling? One of the problems encountered by writers in our language is deciding on whose orthography to use. Each linguist tends to have his own way of writing our language and on each reservation there probably are several ways that are in use by individuals as well. Some, such as San Manuel, have adopted one through discussions in committee. We at the DRLC have been using the system used in "Wayta' Yawa' ", Ramon and Elliott (2002), with slight modifications.

There are many problems in choosing an orthography that suits everyone. One of the main considerations is the user-friendly aspect. How strange or difficult does it look on the page? If there are too many extra characters involved in making a sound, it tends to discourage usage. I am of the opinion that, the simpler the better. Through usage we know when an "e" is pronounced as in yet or as in emi' (you) which I used to spell, umi'.

Confusing? Come to our class, which is held every 1st and 3rd Mondays at 17 W. Hays ST. in Banning, CA., and we can discuss it. - ES

Say It Again

Keh hamuk. (Say it again.)

That important command is missing today for most people wanting to learn a language, like Serrano. The speakers are just a few individuals who can oblige that request. Our hats are off to those hard working pioneers, linguists and ethnographers who were able to obtain words, sounds and phonemes of our languages from an earlier era. Recordings of these languages are treasured whenever they are found.

Today, we must make our own recordings for educational purposes in general. It seems to me there will be a time when interest in hearing our language will be high. There is written material, but the need for sound recordings of this material is needed.

My plan is to do some recording to accompany the written word. - ES