An invaluable record of eighteen Lushootseed stories with interlinear grammatical analyses.

Rich in cultural and linguistic information, the traditional stories of the Coast Salish contain the keys to cultural revitalization. Tellings from Our Elders presents eighteen stories in Snohomish, a dialect of Lushootseed, the language of the indigenous peoples who live on the southern and eastern shores of Puget Sound, as told by members of the last generation to claim the language as their mother tongue.

Many of these stories – or syeyehub – were recorded decades ago and their transcriptions made available, but few were transcribed, and even fewer analyzed. Deep understanding of the structure and logic of the language itself has eluded linguists. In this landmark study, David Beck and Thom Hess provide this missing analysis. With English translations, full morpheme-by-morpheme glosses, and a glossary of specialized terminology, this book is certain to be both an invaluable resource for scholars and a tool for those who want to ensure that Lushootseed is used by generations to come.

"As excellent examples of a specifically linguistic form of textual presentation, these volumes definitely achieve what they have set out to do. As such, they are not books that one would pick up simply to read the stories. Nevertheless, it is possible to discern that the stories are rich in teachings, [and] that they are beautifully told …" - BC Studies