The Deeni Project is a collection of resources for adult learners of the Deeni language, spoken by the ancestors and living members of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz and the Tolowa Rancheria.
All files in this repo are under the CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.
- Other Deeni languages resources
- Git
- Commit message best practices
- Markdown
You don't need permission to clone the Deeni Project repo. Pull it down, make improvements, add stuff! However, please don't fork the project.
If you want to contribute, create or update the necessary files and submit a pull request. You also don't need permission to submit a pull request.
If you'd like to contribute, there are several options available.
Sounds and Spelling topic
- Nasalization:
- Provide voice samples.
- Glottal stops:
- Write a preliminary explanation of glottal stops. (Feel free to research on, but not copy, Wikipedia.)
- Provide voice samples.
- Constants:
- Collect the list of consonants from the Siletz Langauge website.
- Provide examples of the sounds as they are used in English (where possible).
- Collect and link sound files for each consonant from Wikipedia.
- Provide examples of Deeni words that begin with each constant.
- Ejectives:
- Write a preliminary explanation of ejectives. (Feel free to research on, but not copy, Wikipedia.)
- Provide voice samples.
- Record and upload voice samples for all words listed in the topic.
- Write practice exercises based on the content of each chapter, including some overlap content with earlier chapters.
- Provide voice samples of conversations in each less.
- Record voice samples.
- Publish samples to chapter folder.
- Link to correct sample for each lesson.
- Work on lessons not yet associated with a chapter.
- Create lesson for alienable possession.
- Create lesson for inalienable possession.
- Create lessons for talking about the future.
- Create lessons for talking about the past.
- Create lesson about senses.
- Develop machine learning algorithm to capture the rules of Deeni phonology. This will help us create new words that "sound right" for both concepts that have been lost as well as for concepts created after cultural genocide.
If you want to start on any of these projects, feel free to edit or create the necessary files, or email me with questions.
This is the list of chapters I've come up with so far, as well as some basics about what will be in each chapter. This list is very much not complete - there's a lot more to cover!
Click to see the full list
- Write Chapter 3: Introductions
- Write Lesson 1: My family
- Write Lesson 2: My tribe
- Write Lesson 3: My nationalities and other heritage
- Write Lesson 4: My languages
- Write Lesson 5: My work
- Write Lesson 6: Where I live
- Write Lesson 7: Put it all together
- Write Chapter 4: People
- Create lesson for talking about people who are not present.
- Create lesson for body parts.
- Create lesson for physical appearance.
- Create lesson for personal qualities.
- Create lesson for emotions.
- Create lesson for introducing one person to another.
- Write Chapter 5: Objects
- Create lesson for objects in the home.
- Create lesson for objects at work.
- Create lesson for objects at school.
- Create lesson for colors.
- Create lesson for size.
- Create lesson for numbers, counting, and quantity.
- Create lesson for this, that, that over there.
- Create lesson for putting adjectives in a string.
- Create lesson for interacting with objects.
- Write Chapter 6: Asking Questions
- Create lesson for question words/asking questions.
- Create lesson for asking people questions about themselves (e.g., Do you live in Salem?)
- Create lesson for asking people questions about others (e.g., Does your son live in Salem?)
- Create lesson for asking people how they feel.
- Create lesson for asking people what they think.
- Write Chapter 7: Making Requests
- Create lesson for passing food.
- Create lesson for passing liquids.
- Create lesson asking someone to do something.
- Create lesson asking someone to give you something.
- Create lesson asking someone to do something for someone else.
- Create lesson for asking directions.
- Write Chapter 8: Weather and Nature
- Create lesson for discussing the weather.
- Create lesson for discussing seasons.
- Create lesson for discussing space.
- Create lesson for discussing natural cycles (e.g., salmon runs, etc.)
- Write Chapter 9: Daily Routine
- Create lesson for talking about specific and general times (e.g., one p.m. versus in the morning).
- Create lesson for and talking about dates (including days of the week and months of the year).
- Create lesson for actions that typically happen during the day (e.g., waking up, brushing teeth, walking the dog, going to bed).
- Create lesson for sequencing multiple verbs together.
- Create lesson asking about someone else's routine.
- Write Chapter 10: Special Events (For each, answer the questions What do we do? Who is there? Where does it happen? Why do we do it? When do we do it? How do we do it? How often do we do it?)
- Create lesson about Nee-Dash
- Create lesson for Culture Camp
- Create lesson for Run to the Rogue
- Create lesson for Pow-wow
- Create lesson for Christmas
- Create lesson for birthdays
- Write Chapter 11: Likes and Dislikes
- Create lesson for talking about objects, foods, and drinks you like (e.g, I like sushi or I like Hummel figurines).
- Create lesson for talking about actions you like (e.g., I like to run or I like to watch football).
- Create lesson for talking about dislikes.
- Create lesson for asking about likes and dislikes.
- Write Chapter 12: Desire
- Create lesson to talking about objects, foods, and drink you want.
- Create lesson for talking about actions you want to do.
- Create lesson for talking about things you don't want to do.
- Create lesson for hungry/thirsty/tired.
- Write Chapter 13: Time
- Create lesson about today and other present times.
- Create lesson about tomorrow, day after tomorrow, next week, next year, and other future times.
- Create lesson about yesterday, last week, last year, and other past times.
- Write Chapter 14: Future Plans
- Create lesson about the things you plan to do in the future.
- Create lesson about the things you want to do in the future.
- Create lesson about asking others what they plan to do in the future.
- Create lesson about asking others what they want to do in the future.
- Write Chapter 15: Possibilities
- Create lesson about things that can and can't happen.
- Create lesson about things that might or might not happen.
- Create lesson about things that should or shouldn't happen.
- Create lesson about things you can, might, should, or will do.
- Create lesson about things others can, might, should, or will do.
- Write Chapter 16: Responsibilities
- Create lesson about things that must and must not happen.
- Create lesson about things that will or won't happen.
- Create lesson about things you must or must not do.
- Create lesson about things you will or won't do.
- Write Chapter 17: Possession
- Create lesson about things that belong to you.
- Create lesson about things that belong to another person.
- Create lesson about things that belong to you and others.
- Create lesson about things that belong to other people.
- Write Chapter 18: Past
- Create lesson about the things you did in the past.
- Create lesson about the things someone else did in the past.
- Write Chapter 19: If/Then, Cause/Effect
- Create lesson about what you or others will do if a condition is met (e.g., If it rains, then I/you/we two/we all/he/they two/they all will splash in puddles).
- Create lesson about cause and effect (e.g., When it rains, the ground gets wet).
- Write Chapter 20: Doing Things in Order
- Create lesson about ordinals.
- Create lesson about then, before, after
- Write Bonus Chapter 1: Animals
- Create lesson about different kinds of animals.
- Create lesson describing animals by color, size, and quality.
- Create lesson describing animals by behavior.
- Create lesson using adjectives in a string.
- Write Bonus Chapter 2: Jokes
- Write Bonus Chapter 3: Onomatopoeia
Add files to the Curriculum folder. (If you prefer, you can add files using the command line. You can also edit files already in the folder.
Submit files in Markdown or CSV, as appropriate. To create a Markdown file, save a text file with the .md extension. Use Git's cheat sheet to learn more about Markdown formatting. To test-drive your syntax, use the Dillinger editor.
In regards to English, the Deeni project uses AP style, but with the inclusion of serial commas.
For Deeni words:
- Use hyphens only to separate suffixes and prefixes from their parent words. For example, hii-buusri or 'ee-k'wee nalhda.
- Use apostrophes (') to indicate glottal stops. For example, 'aame or mvn'.
- Use double quotes (") to indicate ejectives. For example, ch"eela or kw"aaga.
If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions regarding the style, contact Erin Grace, the Project Maintainer.
When you commit changes, Git asks for a commit message. The commit message lets other contributors and Future You quickly get a sense of what changes you added to the project in that commit.
The commit message consists of a short description and a longer summary of changes. In the short description, use no more than 100 characters. In the summary, go into more detail about the changes you made. Bearing in mind that the audience is other contributors and Future You, go into as much detail as you need to make changes clear.
You can find more commit message best practices here.
A pull request is your request for the Deeni Project to pull in your changes. You don't need permission to make a pull request. After you submit your pull request, the Project Maintainer, Erin Grace, reviews your changes.
During a review, Erin looks at your changes and confirms they are appropriate for the project and match the commit messages you submitted. After Erin is done with their review, she can do one of four things:
- Accept all changes without comment. This happens when your changes had no issues. Your contributions will go live immediately.
- Accept all changes with comment. This happens when there are small issues with your changes that don't affect their viability for the project. For example, a few minor spelling errors. You will see comments as a reply to your pull request. Your contributions will go live immediately.
- Comment only. This happens when there were some issues with your changes that need to be addressed before Erin can accept the changes. You will see the comment as a reply to your pull request. Your changes will not go live until you make the requested changes and those additional changes are accepted.
- Reject all changes. This happens when there are big issues with your changes that make them inappropriate for the project. Erin will usually leave comments detailing why your changes were rejected. Your changes will not go live.
If you find an issue with the files that you can't or don't want to address yourself, submit an issue. You can also submit an issue to make an enhancement request.