Language Day Camp 2023

Welcome to the webpage for Wollokóm Henɨmihím Oc’ikmá - Language Day Camp 2023! On June 16, 2023, the SSBMI Language Department will host its second annual Language Day Camp event at Wóllok, where we will speak both the Nisenan and Miwok languages with one another while we participate in fun activities outdoors. We have created this website in order to share supplementary Nisenan and Miwok language resources that pertain to this year's Language Day Camp event: Here, you can find audio recordings of the Nisenan and Miwok language in the Language Day Camp 2023 booklet as well as other resources for learning Nisenan and Miwok.

You can access materials pertaining to the Language Day Camp 2023 activities as well as additional Nisenan and Miwok language learning resources by following the links below.

Esak’ahá daak’ábe mi c’aykɨ́? (Do you want to know more?)

The title of Language Day Camp is "Wollokóm Henɨmihím Oc’ikmá" in Nisenan, which translates as the "Wóllok language meeting place".

"Wóllok" is the name of an important Nisenan village, the site of which has hosted Language Day Camp since 2022. "Henɨmihí" means 'speech' or 'language', being derived from the verb "henɨ́m-" 'to speak' via the nominalizing suffix "-ihí" (which is used to create nouns that refer to the act of performing the base verb). "Oc’ikmá" means 'meeting place', being derived from the verb "oc’ík-" 'to meet' via the nominalizing suffix "-má" (which is used to create nouns that refer to the place where the action of the base verb is peformed). Here, both "Wóllok" and "Henɨmihí" take forms of the attributive suffix "-ím" (i.e. "-óm" and "-m") to indicate that each word modifies the word that follows.

The phrase "Wollokóm Henɨmihím Oc’ikmá" breaks down into meaningful units (morphemes) as follows:

Wollokóm Henɨmihím Oc’ikmá
wollok-om henɨm-ihi-m oc’ik-ma
wollok-ATTR speak-NMLZ-ATTR meet-NMLZ
'Wóllok language meeting place'

You can listen to an audio recording of the phrase "Wollokóm Henɨmihím Oc’ikmá" by clicking below:

Menekɨ́m siyéebe hedém website-í? (Who makes this website?)

This website is managed by SSBMI Language Department staff to complement the Language Day Camp 2023 booklet which we shared with participants. At Language Day Camp 2023, our team consisted of: Jonathan Geary, Richenda Ervin, Skye Anderson, and Jesse Archbold. The Nisenan and Miwok audio recordings that you will find on this website are recordings of Jonathan, Richenda, and Skye. We are all learners of the Nisenan and Miwok languages, and we hope that you will join us in learning Nisenan and Miwok too!

If you would like to know more about our efforts, or if you have any questions about the Nisenan and/or Miwok languages, please contact the SSBMI Language Department at Language@ssband.org.

Kɨɨpetím nisek’é mi! Sitapay’omís! (We thank you! Take care of yourself!)