[Th]e Buk ov Samz in Mikmak

Bath: Isaac Pitman, for the British and Foreign Bible Society, Bath, England, 1859. FIRST EDITION. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in contemporary sprinkled sheepskin (corners bumped, three worm-trails to front cover, light wear to corners and head and tail of spine). A fine copy internally with very light marginal soiling to the title page. FIRST EDITION OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS TRANSLATED INTO MI’KMAQ, printed in syllabics using a phonotypic alphabet.

The translator, Nova Scotia born Silas Tertius Rand, was a Canadian Baptist clergyman, missionary, ethnologist, and linguist. Although he mastered the Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, and Mohawk languages, his missionary and linguistic work centered on the Mi'kmaq people. In order to render the Mi’kmaq phonemes in his translations, Rand adapted the phonotypic alphabet created in 1845 by Isaac Pitman (1813-1897) and Alexander John Ellis (1814-1890).

Today, the Mi’kmaq language is written in three different orthographies: “The Francis-Smith Orthography (developed in 1980) is used by people in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and parts of New Brunswick. It is also the official orthography of the Mi'kmaq Sante' Mawio'mi (Grand Council); the Lexicon Orthography, developed by Albert D. DeBlois and Alphonse Metallic in 1984; and the Listuguj Orthography, used by people in Quebec.”(Nova Scotia Archives)

“Mi’kmaq (Mi’kmaw, Micmac or L’nu, “the people” in Mi’kmaq) are Indigenous peoples who are among the original inhabitants in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada. Alternative names for the Mi’kmaq appear in some historical sources and include Gaspesians, Souriquois and Tarrantines.

“Traditionally, the Mi’kmaq inhabited the coastal areas of Gaspé and the Maritime Provinces east of the Saint john River. This traditional territory is known as Mi’gma’gi (Mi’kma’ki) and is made up of seven districts: Unama’gi (Unama’kik), Esge’gewa’gi (Eskikewa’kik), Sugapune’gati (Sipekni’katik), Epegwitg aq Pigtug (Epekwitk aq Piktuk), Gespugwi’tg (Kespukwitk), Signigtewa’gi (Siknikt) and Gespe’gewa’gi (Kespek). Mi’kmaq people have occupied their traditional territory, Mi’gma’gi, since time immemorial. Contemporary Mi’kmaq communities are located predominantly in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but with a significant presence in Quebec, Newfoundland, Maine and the Boston area. In July 2022, the Mi'kmaq language was recognized as the first language of Nova Scotia.

“The Mi’kmaq language is among the Wabanaki cluster of Eastern Algonquian languages, which include the various Abenaki dialects, and the Penobscot and Maliseet-Passamaquoddy languages. According to the 2016 Census, 8,870 people are listed as speaking Mi’kmaq. Mi’kmaq had as many as 17 different dialects, including the unique Québec dialect Restigouche, but linguistic contact with French and English speakers has eroded the prevalence of the language and smoothed dialectical differences.”(Gallant, Canadian Encyclopedia). (Inventory #: 5085)