preparing the Suwilaay'msga Na Ga'niiyatgm, Teachings of Our Grandfathers book series in the early 1990s, with the blessing of the Tsimshian hereditary chiefs. Since then, the orthography and the recording of the language have largely been conducted by the Tsimshian Sm'algyax Authority. The Living Legacy Talking Dictionary provides both written and spoken samples of the language. Another orthography, used only in Alaska, is taught by a private organization called Dum Baal-dum. Syllable structure Tsimshian utilizes (C)CV or (C)CVC(C) syllable structures in which the vowels can occur long or short. Syllabic consonants are common and can technically occur anywhere within the word. The only consonants that qualify as syllabic (indicated optionally by underlining) are the sonorants /m/, /n/ and /l/ (and their glottalized counterparts). (Some writers will follow the Gitksan orthographic practice of writing the syllabic sonorants as /im/, /in/ and /il/.) Examples: /hæj.mæː.dm/ "northeast wind" /n.læk/ "fireplace" /k'l.k'oːl/ plural of intransitive verb "dull" Consonant clusters are common. Schulenberg reports finding /pt, pts, ptl, kts, qp, qtk, qtsc, qsk, nts, tɟ/ among many others, though only a smaller portion can occur in the rime. Note that these clusters do not contain syllabic consonants, but are only either in the onset or the coda. Clusters at the ends of words often have an epenthetic vowel inserted, which is usually /a/ [ʌ] but can also be either /i/ [ɪ] or /ɯ/ [ɯ]. Examples (with other phonological changes): /ɟelq/ → [ɟelaɢ] "outside" /æːlks/ → [æːliks] "servant" /ʌʔʌjæːɰx/ → [æːjæːwɯx] "Aurora Borealis, Northern Lights" Vowel pitch The long vowels of Tsimshian must be pronounced in one of three distinct ways: with a sustained pitch /eː/ → [eː]; a "falling pitch and offglide"/eː/ → [êə], or with the insertion of a glottal stop /eː/ → [eʔe]. In every day writing, the diacritical marks may be left out, so that the first two could be written , whereas it is common to represent [eʔe] Examples: (steady pitch) [kpiːl] "ten" (of abstract and round objects) (falling pitch) [nôsɯ] "wolverine" (glottal interruption) [χbæʔælʌ] "squall; storm from the south" Stress The primary stress generally falls on the last syllable of a word. In the case of a suffix or connective being added, then the stress falls on the penultimate syllable. Phonological processes There are a number of complex phonological processes that affect underlying segments. The following is just a sample of some of the changes that may occur. Short vowels