New font gives fresh look to B.C. Indigenous languages, advances reconciliation
A new font to typeset Salish Indigenous languages means so much more than just the words that it will be used to write, one of the people behind its creation says.
Vanessa Campbell, a Musqueam band member and staff member in its Language and Culture Department, was part of a team from the University of British Columbia that designed a new font which allows characters from the Musqueam language to not only be easily typed on a computer, but to match the formal institutional font used on university documentation and signs.
The name of the Musqueam language is pronounced HUN-kuh-mee-num and in the Indigenous font it has characters that appear similar to inverted Es with accents over four other letters.
Most of the characters in the name aren't available on an English language keyboard.
Campbell said it has taken four years of work to get the font right and is an example of reconciliation in action, and a sign of respect for the Indigenous people whose land the university is on.
“As a Musqueam woman, UBC acknowledging the importance of being able to respectfully represent my language in their space, on my territory, through the branding font that they use, it's inherently created this space of mutual respect and caring for this language that I spend my whole life working on,” she said.
“I love that I can just type in Whitney, but there's so much more emotional importance to the partnership that was created around this font,” she said, referring to the font's name of Whitney Salishan.
Their languagewas traditionally oral, but over the last few decades the Musqueam have begun deciding how to put it into writing.
Leaders chose the North American phonetic alphabet since it offered sounds used in their language that aren't available with the Latin alphabet used in modern English.
Matt Warburton, brand and marketing design manager for the University of B.C., said the phonetic alphabet has created unique challenges in the digital world.
Only a few computer fonts recognize the characters, he said, meaning anyone who wants to use the language is limited in their options or forced to switch fonts mid-sentence.
“It basically just looks like somebody … kind of crammed something in as an afterthought after the fact, which is really disrespectful of another language,” he said.
“You know, we wouldn't do that with French, we wouldn't do it with any of the Asian languages. It's just something that's not done,” Warburton said.
The new font is also capable of typesetting the language of the Syilx, a nation located in the same area as the university's Okanagan campus.
The university's institutional font, used in most of its branded signs and documents, is called Whitney. For years before the creation of Whitney Salishan, Warburton said they would manually design characters in the Musqueam and Syilx languages whenever the university needed them for a project.
He said the work was important but time consuming.
Now that the new font can be uploaded to university computers, Warburton said he has given out about 100 licences and expects more requests.
The next steps will be creating a version that can be used on the university's websites, and to expand to accommodate more Indigenous languages. Eventually, it's expected that licences for the font will be sold to the public from the company that helped create it and owns both Whitney and Whitney Salishan.
Campbell said she hopes the font will be used more around her community.
“And so, I am most excited to start using it in spaces where we are actively working to incorporate (the Musqueam language) back into the land,” she said.
When the font was first completed, Warburton used it to type up parts of a Musqueam legend, displaying different thickness of the font to show how it could be used.
Campbell said that even though she had spent years going through the design and approval process for individual characters, seeing them all together at once was emotional.
“I've never seen my language look so beautiful on paper.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2023
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Documents reveal Ottawa's efforts to get Loblaw, Walmart on board with grocery code
It was evident to the federal government as early as last fall that Loblaw and Walmart might be holdouts to the grocery code of conduct, jeopardizing the project's success.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
New Norad commander calls Canada's defence policy update 'very encouraging'
American troops will be spending more time training in the Far North, the new commander of Norad says, a strategy that fits 'hand-in-glove' with Canada's renewed focus on Arctic defence.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.