56 Making Connections (IntroPSYC and Community): Languages and Truth and Reconciliation

By Meghan E. Norris and Riley J.T. Bonar

Welcome to our unit on language. In our unit, you will learn about the importance of language for culture, and the role of language in cognition. In this Making Connections, we invite you to hear directly from those who have had their language taken away and who are dedicated to reclaiming their language.

We thank the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, and the many individuals involved in creating this video, for their time and dedication to teaching about Indigenous Language.

As part of this Making Connections, we wanted to take time to learn how to say “Thank you!” in many languages—we are together in this space, but we come from many places. This course is in English, but English might not be the language that feels most like home to you. Please find the phrase for thank you in languages that students in this course are often familiar with. We also share phonetic pronunciations so that you can practice saying thank you in ways that are meaningful for others. Thank you for being here! (If we have made a mistake in our transcriptions below, or if you would like to see a language included that is not here, please drop an email to your course coordinator! Learning languages involves making mistakes, and trying again. We want to ensure we get it right!)

Arabic: شكراً (shoo-kran)

Cantonese: 多謝 (doh jeh)

French: Merci (mehr-SEE)

German: Danke (dahn-kuh)

Hindi: धन्यवाद (dhun-ya-vaad)

Italian: Grazie (GRAHT-see-eh)

Inuktitut: Qujannamiik (koo-yah-na-meek)

Mandarin: 谢谢 (shyeh-shyeh)

Mi’kmaw: Wela’lin(weh-lah-lin)

Mohawk (Kanien’kéha): Nia:wen (nee-ah-wen)

Ojibwe / Anishinaabemowin: Miigwech (mee-gwetch)

Persian: سپاسگزارم (sepaas-gozaram)

Punjabi: ਧੰਨਵਾਦ (dhan-vaad)

Spanish: Gracias (grah-see-ahs)

If you are interested in language and communication, there are many scholars in Queen’s Psychology who are doing work that might interest you. For example, Dr. Michele Morningstar studies the development of emotional communication and social cognition from childhood to adulthood, and Dr. Stanka Fitneva explores the development of language, communication, and social cognition.

References

National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. (2022, September 26). Episode 1: Indigenous languages [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-LyioI_MlQ

How to cite this using APA Style:

Norris, M. E., & Bonar, R. J. T. (2026). Making connections (IntroPSYC and community): Languages and truth and reconciliation. In PSYC 100: Principles of psychology. eCampusOntario. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/testbookje/chapter/making-connections-intropsyc-and-community-languages-and-truth-and-reconciliation/