11-year-old B.C. girl publishes Indigenous language book after winning UNESCO writing contest
Addy Newman-Ting is in the midst of building a miniature amusement park in her basement for a cast of eclectic characters.
“I like to put cute faces on them,” she says, showing CTV News chestnuts with googly-eye stickers and woodblocks with jiffy-marker smiles.
When Addy’s not crafting rides out of cardboard for them, the 11-year-old’s constructing stories about them on her computer.
“I just like writing,” she says. “It just comes out and it’s a good way to express things.”
Like the sorts of things you think about while growing-up in a multi-cultural family.
“My mom’s language is Mandarin and that’s spoken worldwide,” Addy explains. “But my dad’s (Indigenous) language is almost dead and gone.”
So when Addy heard about a youth writing competition organized by UNESCO, she wondered if this was her chance to raise global awareness about the traditional Kwak’wala language, and asked her dad, Carey Newman, for help.
“What do you do when your kid says that?” Carey smiles. “You say, ‘Of course! I’ll do everything I can to support you.’”
So Carey accepted the role of “research assistant” while Addy wrote the story. It’s about two friends who join forces with two talking animals to inspire a community to protect the environment and find their lost language.
“When she made this connection between land and language,” Carey begins saying, before stopping to fight back tears.
“Kids and their perspective have a way of cutting through all the politics and things and finding the purity of it.”
Addy ended up winning UNESCO's Voices of Future Generations project. Although she feels honoured and grateful that her book — “Finding the Language” — is being published, she’s not pursuing a career as a writer.
“I don’t think I want to be an author,” she says.
She says she wants do something more visually artistic (like what she’s building in her basement) when she grows up, but felt compelled to write the book.
“I want to do it now,” Addy explains. “Because I want the world to hear about it now.”
Now, before it’s too late to find what’s lost and create a real world like the imaginary ones she makes out of cardboard: a world that’s connected, caring, and inclusive.
“We shouldn’t make everybody the same,” Addy says. “We should celebrate each other’s differences.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada's housing market sees largest improvement in affordability in four years: National Bank
Canada’s housing market saw the largest improvement in affordability in nearly four years in the first quarter of 2023, according to a report from economists at the National Bank of Canada.

Prison service to review decision to transfer killer Bernardo to medium security
The federal prison service says it will have a second look at its decision to move convicted killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security facility as political leaders of all stripes react to the news with shock and outrage.
About ducking time: Apple to tweak iPhone autocorrect function
One of the most notable happenings at Apple's event for developers on Monday is likely the iPhone maker's tweak that will keep its autocorrect feature from annoyingly correcting one of the most common expletives to 'ducking.'
Poilievre threatens to filibuster budget bill if Liberals don't meet demands
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is threatening to use procedural tools to delay passage of the federal budget in the House of Commons if the Liberals don't meet his demands.
Here's what Quebec's wildfires look like from outer space
A photo taken from NASA show what the wildfires burning in Quebec look like from up above.
Facing evacuations due to a forest fire or flood? Here’s what to pack in a grab-and-go bag
While some natural disasters or bouts of extreme weather may require sheltering in place until authorities can restore power to the area, others require residents to evacuate quickly, sometimes in a matter of hours — and if you want to be prepared, you should create a grab-and-go bag.
Canada facing critical shortages of leukemia and thyroid cancer drugs
Canada is currently facing a critical shortage of drugs used to fight thyroid cancer and a form of leukemia.
Using melatonin for sleep is on the rise, study says, despite potential health harms
More and more adults are taking over-the-counter melatonin to get to sleep, and some may be using it at dangerously high levels, a study has found.
Small-brained ancient human cousins may have buried their dead, according to a surprising study
An ancient human cousin may have buried its dead and carved symbols into cave walls, surprising findings for a creature with a small brain.