Anumpa Achukma/Good News: Language Loss Can Be Reversed
# 19 September 30, 2007
Inertia and the Big Push
As you may know inertia is a phenomenon in the physical universe that either matter at rest or keeps it moving. It is the tendency of matter at rest to stay at rest and the tendency of matter in motion to stay in motion. And since we live in a physical universe, this law applies to all of us.
Think of your language program as a huge boulder. It takes a big push to get it started. Once it is rolling, it takes less energy. That is the law of inertia. The Big Push needs to come at the beginning. After that, you can probably keep it rolling with a regular nudge now and then.
This is a simple idea, but one worth considering. If that ball isn’t rolling yet, keep pushing and see if you can get some of your friends to help you.
Language Learning Tip
Make a list of a dozen common phrases you use. Learn these in your native/target language and use them all the time.
If you are working on your own, try listening to those tapes and CDs every day.
Decide to learn X new vocabulary each week. Then, do it.
HOW CAN YOU LEARN TO SPEAK COMANCHE?
The very first thing is to determine whether it is going to be essential for you to learn this language. Without this determination there is no need to proceed. If you do not have the self motivation that “this language is important to me as a Comanche person,” you will not be successful. Now, with that said, let’s begin.
Meeku tanu namaka muki sumu
oyetu Numu niwunu?etu.
Since the majority of us are lacking in a sufficient enough Comanche vocabulary to speak the language, the first step is to build that vocabulary so that we can begin to speak.
Components to becoming a fluent speaker
·
Become literate in “Taa Nunu
Tekwapu.”
Since there is a Comanche spelling system, learn the symbols and letters that represent the sounds of the Comanche language.
· Invest in a recording device that you can play back.
Since there are so few speakers and, with their age and health, our exposure to them speaking Comanche is limited. It is so very important to record the language spoken at every opportunity.
· Involve the family unit in this process.
The language needs to be re-established into the home once again.
The
beginning of the end of our language was when the parents stopped using the
language in their home. The babies
need to hear these wonderful sounds so they may be equipped to produce those
sounds and become native speakers of “Taa Nunu Tekwapu.”
This three step process sounds too simple to be successful.
However, success or failure of the efforts are determined by the individual’s commitment to ownership of the language and a preconceived benefit derived from those efforts (internal motivation). Self motivation and ownership are a strong alliance in this quest to reclaim our language.
Plan of Action
1. Learn Spelling System. Learning to read and write in Comanche is not as difficult as it may appear. With six to eight hours of orientation on this spelling system and an additional six to eight hours of individual work to practice listening to the sounds of Comanche. And then writing the words as you hear them. Practice reading Comanche should also take place during this time. Components two and three should be in use during this orientation period. You will also be exposed to greetings and responses, kinship terms, colors, numbers and conversational phrases.
2. Orientation -- Four Weeks. You have begun to build your Comanche vocabulary. The orientation session would be taken over four weeks, with an hour and a half of weekly orientation sessions. The learners would then use the rest of the week for their practice sessions.
3. Family Oriented. As you have probably realized, this technique of learning the language is family oriented. It is a proven fact that the children’s first teachers are their parents. It is also a proven fact that children learn a language from their first teachers. The earlier children are exposed to a second language the better.
4. Comanche Speakers as Consultants. Speakers of the Comanche language will be utilized as consultants to these language teams. The language teams can select any area of their family life to bring the language into use. In other words, they choose their own curriculum.
5. Consultants Meet with Families Monthly. A consultant will meet with these language teams for an evaluative and consultative session. These sessions could take place monthly depending on the needs of the language teams.
6. Team Selection. Selection of teams will be based on families with children six years old and under in the family. Pregnant women will also be included, even though they have no other children. Having both parents in the home has proven to be more successful in the language learning process, but single parent homes can also be successful and will be considered.
7. Self-Motivation. As has been mentioned, self motivation and ownership is the key to the success or failure of this language learning process. And as the Comanche people have shown by their lack of involvement in trying to learn to speak Comanche, then there is a need for some external motivation. That external motivation would come in the form of compensation for their successful efforts in learning to speak Comanche. All of us have experienced external motivation, working for a good grade in school, doing a good job on the job for the salary you receive. Now external motivation can evolve into internal motivation. A sense of pride in graduation, advanced degrees, promotion on the job. Now the motivation becomes internal, the pride in a job well done or in the accomplishments. Could this be the catalyst that gives us the ownership, the pride that our language will survive within us? I believe this will give the Comanche people the empowerment to speak “Taa Nvmv Tekwap6” once again.
8. Consultant Speaker Selection. The criterion for selection of the fluent speakers will be based on their ability to speak Comanche for a period of five to seven minutes telling of themselves, while speaking only in Comanche. The spelling consultants will demonstrate their ability to hear and write the Comanche language correctly.
The application process for the families and consultants will take place immediately. There will be 15 families in this second year project.
· The orientation sessions for learning to read and write Comanche will commence immediately. These sessions would be scheduled for one day a week for an hour and a half for four weeks.
Expected learner outcomes for the four weeks: 15 sets of parents will become proficient in reading and writing Comanche. Both parents and children will become accustomed to hearing Comanche spoken and begin building their vocabulary.
· The use of a recording and play back device is vitally important to the success of this project.
Expected learner outcomes: 15 families will learn to use this device both in recording and listening to Comanche spoken. The parents will play back and listen to the sounds of the language, they then will write down what they hear. They in turn will read to their children what they have transcribed. The families will learn to make this part of their daily lives and schedule this time as family time.
· The families will be given kinship terms, colors, numbers, greetings and responses, and conversational phrases during the spelling orientation sessions.
Expected learner outcomes: The families will learn to start communicating with each other in Comanche. They will learn to hear the sounds of the language and use the letters that represent those sounds.
· The families will also use the infant CDs that the tribal language program has produced. These CDs will have programmed a how-to-use booklet for the parents. These CDs will be played in the presence of the infants so they can hear the sounds of the language.
Expected learner outcome: The parents and children will learn to hear the sounds of the language and will get additional practice reading from the accompanying booklet. The infants will start processing the sounds of the language.
· The first consultative/evaluative session will take place after the first month of family language learning. At this time it will be determined how well the families did on the expected learner outcomes previously mentioned. It will also be determined at this time if they are successfully progressing in the learning of the language and using the language in their daily lives, so that they may be compensated for their efforts.
· Planning for the following month’s curriculum for each family will take place at this time. These consultative/evaluative sessions will be scheduled following each month’s work at the convenience of each individual family participating in this project.
*******************************************************************************
Success Stories
*Calpulli Ehecatl, Community of the Wind, will debut its first full length theatrical performance in three languages—English, Spanish, and Nahuatl. “Dia de Muertos: A Story of Life and Death” features traditional dance and song, telling the story of the Mesoamerican origins for the present day celebrations. There will be two performances on Friday, November 2, at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.
For more information, contact calpulliehecatl@gmail.com
*Cocopah language class seeks to keep ancient tongue from dying out
BY DARIN FENGER, SUN STAFF WRITER
July 29, 2007
http://www.yumasun.com/articles/language_35558___article_news.html/cocopah_tribe.html
JOE RODRIQUEZ teaches the proper way to pronounce a series of Cocopah words during a recent language class at the Cocopah West Reservation. Bingo may help rescue an ancient language from the brink of extinction. Cocopah Indian Tribe elders, educators and cultural authorities are struggling to preserve the tribe's dying language.
"We don't want to be like those tribes you hear about where they have no language speakers or recordings," said Felicia Gutierrez, a language preservation specialist for the tribe. "Today we don't know our language as much. It could be extinct pretty soon, so we just want to revive it."
The Cocopah Museum, which develops cultural programming for the tribe, began offering language classes to children nine years ago. Classes this summer mark the first time the opportunity has been extended to adult tribal members, as well as non-natives who work for the tribe. Playing a language-version of bingo during those classes seems to be slowly breathing life into words that could have been silenced forever.
To recover the language, Cocopah leaders are essentially relying on the same setting that started its deterioration: the classroom.
"Our language is so important to us because it was given to us by our creator," Gutierrez said. "This is an ancient language. It belongs to us and it's special and sacred. It's part of our identity as a culture and the various traditions we do to maintain who we are as Cocopahs.”
*College receives grant for Ojibwe language and culture program
The College of St. Scholastica
8/1/2007
<http://www.businessnorth.com/pr.asp?RID=2386>
DULUTH - The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth has recently received a new five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support its Ojibwe Language and Culture Education (OLCE) program. In announcing the grant earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar called the program a good investment,”saying that it helps ensure“that our teachers are ready for the challenges in today’s classrooms.”The $1.19 million grant is administered by the Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition. It will support 10 students who are interested in teaching and working in the American Indian community. Students will major in elementary or secondary education and in Ojibwe language and culture education. The dual-major program takes five years to complete. The grant will provide students with tuition support as well as a monthly living stipend.
For questions about the OLCE program contact Valerie Tanner at (218) 723-6014 or (800) 447-5444, ext. 6014 or vtanner@css.edu. Program information can be found at http://www.css.edu/x1598.xml
*75-year-old horse rancher helps to save the Mandan language
The Associated Press - Monday, August 06, 2007
TWIN BUTTES, N.D.
http://www.in-forum.com/ap/index.cfm?page=view&id=D8QRI3V00
An effort to save the Mandan language may rest on the shoulders of a
75-year-old horse rancher. Experts believe Edwin Benson is the only person living who speaks fluent Mandan, the language of the American Indian tribe that became the host of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark during the explorers' winter encampment in North Dakota more than 200 years ago.
For past three summers, in six-hour shifts, Benson and California linguist Sara Trechter have camped out in a small office so he can speak into a microphone while Trechter takes notes. The two recently finished transcribing seven Mandan folk stories. Benson's grandfather insisted on keeping alive Mandan traditions and language. Ben Benson forbid speaking English in his home, a log cabin near the mouth of the Little Missouri River.
Trechter, who teaches at a university in Chico, Calif., learned about efforts to preserve the Mandan language from her doctoral thesis adviser, a Siouan language expert at the University of Kansas. She got in touch with Calvin Grinnell, who works in the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara cultural preservation office on North Dakota's Fort Berthold reservation. Grinnell directs the language preservation project with Joseph Jasztrembski, a history professor at Minot State University.
The effort started about seven years ago with a grant from the National Park Service, which paid to videotape Benson telling folk stories at the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site near Stanton. The project's goal is to produce material for language labs on the reservation, ideally with the videotapes of Benson telling his stories in Mandan and follow-along captions of Trechter's transcriptions on the bottom of the screen.
*Acoma kids show off language skills
http://www.cibolabeacon.com/articles/2007/08/06/news/news11.txt
Monday, August 6, 2007 5:09 PM MDT ACOMA - One by one they proudly stood on the stage dressed in traditional clothing. All eight of the students in the Oral History Project introduced themselves in the Keresan language to the gathering of more than 100 community members at the Acoma Auditorium last Tuesday. The eight students, along with help from their instructors, showed off their acting talents too as they performed a skit based on the Acoma Emergence Story.
William Estevan, one of the instructors of the project, talked about the unique program that has tribes from all across the country seeking Acoma's help in reestablishing their own efforts to save their languages.“The students studied oral language which included the Acoma emergence story, how the people came to their present state. Every day, excluding feast days, the students were involved with the Acoma Keres language and the oral story telling of the history of Acoma,” Estevan said.
Vina Leno, Program Director for the Acoma Language Retention Program, said the program continues to improve each year as it celebrates its 10-year anniversary with a brand new place to call home. “Last year the tribal council approved appropriations for a new building and
the building will be arriving this month,” Leno said. With much of its focus on the Acoma youth, Leno said she is looking to expand the program to include adults and newborns.“Then when the newborns get to the schools they can continue with the program.”
By Will Kie, Beacon staff writer, will@cibolabeacon.com
*Fort Folly youth learning to embrace Mi’kmaq culture
KATIE TOWER
The Sackville Tribune Post
http://sackvilletribunepost.com/index.cfm?sid=52226&sc=129
Fort Folly youth are gaining a greater understanding of their native heritage thanks to a renowned Mi’kmaq elder who is sharing his knowledge with the youngsters at the First Nations reserve. Gilbert Sewell, a storyteller and historian from Pabineau First Nation, has visited the small reserve near Dorchester for the past five years to pass on the legendary stories and songs and, of course, the language that is such a vital part of the Mi’kmaq heritage.
During a month-long program, the young natives - ranging in age from 11 to 18 - are taught the fundamentals of their native culture, including traditional songs and dances; how to survive in the woods, including what plants are safe to eat; the Mi’kmaq language; as well as native history in the region, including the story behind many of the place names, such as Dorchester, Westcock, Parrsboro, Mactaquac, Kouchibouquac and Shediac,
The youngsters say they feel fortunate to take part in Sewell’s program and are eager to learn more about their culture, particularly to become more skilled in their mother tongue. It’s our native language,” says 15-year-old Gerald Knockwood, who has taken part in the summer course for three years now. “It’s our background and it’s what we stand for.”
*N.B. woman recording elders speaking Maliseet for posterity
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 8, 2007 | 2:40 PM AT
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2007/08/08/nb-maliseetclips.html
A New Brunswick woman has launched an online campaign to save a dying native language. Imelda Perley says her new project hopes to capture the voices of about 100 people in New Brunswick, most of them elders, who speak Maliseet as their first language. Perley, who has devoted her life to connecting Maliseet people to their culture as a university and high school teacher, says the fact children aren't speaking the language means Maliseet is facing a real threat.
"It's been taught in schools in the community, but it's been taught as a subject and not something you can carry," she said. "I'm really worried that it's going to become extinct." She says she hopes her site will generate more interest in Maliseet. "I think there's going to be a generation who's going to embrace us and thank us for leaving it behind for them, and they'll carry it forward," Perley said. "If it isn't this generation, it will be a generation coming."
*Mohawk language program launched
Elisabeth Johns / Standard-Freeholder
Local News - Saturday, August 11, 2007 @ 08:00
A program to preserve the Mohawk language was launched Friday as a way to keep the traditional native form of communication in tact. The project, called, Let's Speak Mohawk Again, was lauded as a unique way to preserve Mohawk history and encourage current generations to speak their mother tongue. The Kanien'keha (Mohawk) Language Centre was opened thanks to two grants, a $100,000 grant from the Akwesasne Community Fund and $75,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
*Tongan language now in curriculum
Monday, 13 August 2007, 11:17 am
Press Release: New Zealand Government
13 August 2007
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0708/S00200.htm
Ko e Lea Faka-Tonga 'i he Silapa Nu'usila
Tongan language now in curriculum
The inclusion of the Tongan language in the New Zealand Education Curriculum will help preserve and enhance the language for future generations, Associate Minister of Pacific Island Affairs Luamanuvao Winnie Laban said today.
"We want to see that … the number of all New Zealanders able to speak a foreign language – particularly their native tongue –increase," said Laban. The addition of Tongan to the curriculum is supported by the Labour-led government's 2006 budget announcement of a $4.5 million increase over fouryears for teaching Pasifika languages.
"Losing a language is to lose diversity, culture and identity. Everyone suffers," said Laban.
*New Indigenous TV station turns on
Posted Fri Jul 13, 2007 11:02am AEST
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/07/13/1977687.htm
Australia's first 24-hour Indigenous television service was switched on in Sydney today. Aboriginal leaders, actors, singers, and sports stars attended the launch by the Federal Communications Minister Helen Coonan. The Government-funded National Indigenous TV (NITV) will broadcast to more than 200,000 people across Northern Australia, Queensland, and South Australia on the Optus Aurora satellite and Imparja's second satellite channel.
*Chukchansi language revitalized
COARSEGOLD, Calif.—The few remaining speakers of the Chukchansi language have begun preserving their tribal words and songs using electronic translators first developed for military use. The unwritten Chukchansi language has long been spoken by residents of the Madera County foothills, the traditional territory of the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians. But like many other American Indian languages in California, it is considered nearly extinct. Just six tribal members are sufficiently fluent to teach it to others.
"We're recording our language ... to save our language," said Jane Wyatt, 62, of Coarsegold, who has been teaching the language at the Wassuma Round House culture center. "I learned because my grandmother raised me. That's all we spoke."
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_6670195
*New program teaches Cree
September 5, 2007
By BROOKES MERRITT - SUN MEDIA
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2007/09/05/4471033.html
One of Edmonton's most prominent aboriginal women is leaving a legacy her grandson will be able to enjoy immediately. Eva Bereti's five-year-old grandson, Kaylen, is enrolled in a new bilingual
Cree language program named after her. "Being able to see him grow up learning our language and our culture, it's just wonderful," Bereti said between tears yesterday, the first day of school at Our Lady of Peace elementary. Their new program, called the Eva Bereti Cree Leadership Academy, will introduce about 25 kindergarten and 10 Grade 1 students to Cree culture this year.
"I hope that in the future we can also teach the language to parents who may have lost their Cree over the years," Bereti said.
*Funding approved to develop Chamorro language modules
by Jason Salas, KUAM News
Saturday, September 08, 2007
http://www.kuam.com/news/24372.aspx
Nearly $150,000 has been granted to the Guam Community College to help preserve the island's indigenous tongue. The Administration of Native Americans in Honolulu approved the funding, which will support the development of media-based learning modules to teach Chamorro to current
and future generations. The Protehi I Lengguahen Chamorro project helps maintain the survival and continuing vitality of the Chamorro language, and the forthcoming videos, CDs and DVDs will be disseminated to help teach, preserve, and maintain Chamorro.
Copyright © 2000-2007 by Pacific Telestations, Inc.
*Texas military honors Choctaw code talkers
9/17/2007 1:48 PM
By: Kendra Mendez
http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=192100
It started out when an officer overheard a conversation between two Choctaw soldiers during World War I. That turned into a language code that helped end the war and save lives. Now, 90 years later, the Texas Military Forces honored families of the first U.S. code talkers with an exhibit at the museum at Camp Mabry. Less well known than the Navajo Code Talkers in the Pacific during World War II, the Choctaws pioneered the U.S. military’s use of a Native American language to baffle enemy code-breakers.
During World War I, Native Americans were not considered U.S. citizens, but 10,000 served regardless. The Choctaw soldiers became communicators for the military, using Choctaw in place of military terms. "The codes were getting broken. The lines were getting tapped by the Germans and the code talkers brought a security to the forces because the Germansmcouldn't break their language," Sgt. Jason Colbert said.
Lt. Gen. Charles G. Rodriguez presented 18 Lone Star Medals of Valor to the
families of the Choctaw Code Talkers. The Lone Star Medal of Valor is the
second-highest decoration awarded by Texas Military Forces.
*New Tokelauan language resource launched today
Friday, 28 September 2007, 4:22 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Government
< http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0709/S00520.htm>
A new language resource launched today will help preserve and protect the Tokelauan language and culture for our grandchildren, says Associate Minister of Pacific Island Affairs Luamanuvao Winnie Laban. The Tau Gagana Tokelauan language resource is a part of the Labour-led government's Mind Your Language programme and joins the Cook Island and Niuean resources launched last month.
"The comprehensive resource includes three work books at different levels of ability, and a Tokelauan calendar that everyone in the family can learn together," said Laban. "This new resource is fabulous news for New Zealand's Tokelauan communities. New Zealand has a special relationship with Tokelau and I hope our Tokelauan communities embrace the opportunity to learn their language.
Job
Announcement
Assistant Professor, Indigenous Languages
http://ling.ucsd.edu/who/jobs.html
The Department of Linguistics at the University of California, San Diego (http://ling.ucsd.edu) invites applications for a tenure-track position in the area of indigenous languages, with preference for Native American languages. This position is part of a 3-year initiative to hire scholars doing work in the area of Indigenous and Native American Studies at UCSD.
Applicants should have a strong research program on indigenous language(s), including fieldwork and establishing relationships within indigenous communities. Any subfield will be considered; candidates should contribute to the department's focus on empirically-driven experimental and
theoretical research. A Ph.D. or Ph.D. candidacy is required and candidates should demonstrate research productivity, undergraduate and graduate teaching ability, and extramural funding potential.
Duties include research, teaching, and departmental/university service. Please visit the online application link below for further application information and requirements. For fullest consideration, all application materials, including letters, should be received no later than December 1, 2007.
Salaries are in strict accordance with UC pay scales. Non-citizens should state their immigration status. UCSD is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to excellence through diversity. Applicants are invited to preview campus diversity resources and programs at the campus
website for Diversity http://diversity.ucsd.edu. Applicants are also invited to include in their cover letters a personal statement summarizing their contributions to diversity.
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