From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 1 17:24:09 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 10:24:09 -0700 Subject: New technology aids traditional farming revival (fwd) Message-ID: New technology aids traditional farming revival By Levi J. Long The Navajo Times http://www.thenavajotimes.com/0731newtech.html Imagine this: A satellite system, hundreds of miles from Earth, beaming the Navajo language to rural corn farmers in the southwest quadrant of the reservation. Sound a little technical? Maybe. But through this state-of-the-art system could be a native people's salvation for traditions that are slowly eroding away. Recently the nonprofit group Dine Inc. and Southwest Marketing Network formed a partnership for an agricultural development project that uses traditional Navajo farming techniques with state-of-the-art technology. The two groups have formed the Navajo Agricultural Technology Empowerment Center. The Empowerment Center uses a Navajo Nation wide satellite Internet system to communicate with corn farmers. Using the community based Internet centers at each of the 110 chapters on the reservation, the farmers have access to e-mail, streaming video and updates on farming techniques and training using Navajo language audio and video. Currently the group works directly with five reservation communities in Arizona including Teesto, Dilkon, Birdsprings, Leupp, and Tolani Lake. The satellite system is operated by Starband and is administered by the Navajo Nation Virtual Alliance network. Currently the alliance has five pilot sites where touch-screen systems will soon allow monolingual Navajo speakers to navigate the Internet, said Hank Willie, program manager for Diné Community Food Project. When funding becomes available, the Empowerment Center would like to expand the program to all 110 chapters. They'd also like to use handheld computers so farmers can download video-training segments. The computers could also provide support for the farm's financial management system, all in the Navajo language. Diné Inc. stands for Developing Innovations in Navajo Education and was formed in 1997. The group develops community projects and educates Navajo residents across the reservation using grant programs that range from sustainable agricultural development to traditional Navajo teachings using the broadband technology. According to Willie, the Navajo people have seen a drastic decline in native corn cultivation. The number of Navajo corn farms is small and dwindles away each year, he said. For the Navajo people, the Beauty Way and Corn Pollen Path ceremonies are in danger of being lost because Navajo farmers aren't cultivating corn like they used to, Willie said. In 2002, Dine Inc. received two agricultural grants. The awards were administered under the Navajo Agricultural Technology Empowerment Center. The first award is a one-year grant under the Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative by the First Nations Development Institute. The other is a three-year Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program funded by The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. The Cooperative is a program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These grants allow the Empowerment Center to develop family farms and gardens based on traditional Navajo farming techniques. The Empowerment Center also has a partnership with the University of Arizona College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Northern Arizona University Center for Sustainable Environments, Navajo Nation agricultural programs and reservation schools. The scope of the program is to create a clientele of families within the five communities and provide direct assistance in preparing their cornfields for planting. All the cornfields in the region rely on dry land farming techniques that use moisture from rainfall, snow and water runoff from washes developed by Southwest tribes over the centuries. The Empowerment Center program will also provide marketing training and sales strategies for their crops. The Empowerment Center plans to create an advisory board comprised of one member from each of the five core communities. The members will be responsible for development of a sustainable food system for their communities and overseeing project activities. In the meantime farmers around the southwestern communities of the reservation can begin to use their e-mail accounts to speak with other consultants about their farms. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Tue Aug 5 15:40:20 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 08:40:20 -0700 Subject: Hawaiian Bible joins modern age (fwd) Message-ID: Posted on: Monday, August 4, 2003 Hawaiian Bible joins modern age By Jan TenBruggencate http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Aug/04/ln/ln03a.html The Hawaiian Bible is one of the seminal works of early Hawaiian literature, written at a time when residents all spoke the language. Today, its lack of diacritical markings and odd contractions are confusing to non-native speakers. A massive project aims to change that, with an electronic Hawaiian Bible in modern Hawaiian with diacritical markings commonly used today and an additional, audio version so students can hear the words properly spoken. Baibala Hemolele is nearly a year into its three-year project, under a $450,000 grant from the Administration for Native Americans. The project draws on new technology and old: Computer software converts the old Bible into a text file and translates it, and Hawaiian-language experts correct the computer's mistakes. It's a project that worries some old-timers, concerned that the decisions of Hawaiian elders who participated in the original translations are being supplanted. The Rev. William Kaina, 78, recalls that during the 1960s he opposed a proposed translation of the early Bible. "I objected to that. They're taking the authority of the Hawaiian language away from the Hawaiians of that time. I said to them, 'Who made you the authority?' " he said. Kaina's opposition has since faded. Hawaiian was commonly spoken when he was growing up in Kalapana on the Big Island. Parishioners knew from context what the words meant, even with the Hawaiian glottal stop marker left out — or worse, apostrophes inserted to take the place of an "a" because printers didn't have enough vowels available to handle the vowel-rich Hawaiian language. Kaina said he has seen a deep desire for the Hawaiian language among his flock at the Wai'anae Protestant Church. "I would use the Hawaiian language, and by golly they would come to church with pencil and paper. And now they're using the Hawaiian language more and more," he said. Today he is a staunch supporter of Baibala Hemolele. The original Hawaiian Bibles are out of print, and if an updated version helps non-native speakers learn its message and language, all the better, he said. "It's a wonderful project." Jan Hanohano Dill launched the effort through his Partners in Development Foundation, which obtained the federal grant. Semi-retired sugar executive Jack Keppeler, who is part-Hawaiian, is project manager and Helen Kaowili is project coordinator. A number of people in the Hawaiian community participate, including representatives of the Hawaiian-language programs at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa and UH-Hilo. The senior scholar and referee, whose expertise is brought in when translators disagree, is Pua Hopkins, retired University of Hawai'i Hawaiian-language professor and author of the language text "Ka Lei Ha'aheo." "You have a growing body of students who read, write, speak and certainly understand Hawaiian, but they are not native speakers," Hopkins said. The occasional replacement of the letter "a" with an apostrophe can be very confusing, she said. "The Bible project will eventually straighten all that out." Keppeler said the Hawaiian Bible was translated directly from the original Hebrew for the Old Testament, and Greek for the New Testament. In some cases, since the translation took place away from the political environment that influenced the English-language King James version, the Hawaiian Bible may be more true to the original meanings, he said. The first Hawaiian Bible translation, "Palapala Hemolele," involved several missionaries and took from 1822 to its publication in 1839. A second translation, "Baibala Hemolele," was produced by Ephraim Clarke in 1868. The new project uses OCR (optical character recognition) software to convert the old books to computer text files. Human editors compare the new against the original to ensure the computer transferred all letters correctly. Then the file is run through translation software produced at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand. The program, dubbed Kiwi, translates meanings based on the context. For example, if the word "huna" appears in the original, the software tries to determine whether it should be the verb "huna," meaning to conceal, or the noun "huna," a tiny particle. Since it doesn't always guess right, the results are reviewed by Hawaiian-language experts Ralph Koga from Manoa and Kaliko Trapp from Hilo. Changes made by the editors are then fed back to the computer, which can improve its accuracy. "We're surprised to find that this self-teaching software is running in the high 90s in accuracy," Keppeler said. "You keep feeding the correct spellings back and it improves its accuracy." Keppeler said the New Testament should be done by the end of the year, and the Old Testament next year. "By the end of 2004, we should have a pretty complete work product," he said. Then the team will create an audio track using Hawaiian speakers and a set of cross-referencing tools. One goal is to allow readers to click on a section and hear the passage spoken, or click on a word or passage and be directed to reference material — a dictionary, traditional 19th-century Sunday-school curricula and the like. "The Bible was a profound work for Hawai'i," Keppeler said. "It was among the first books to be translated into Hawaiian, and it was the basis for the very high level of literacy in the Hawaiian Kingdom — the highest in the world at that time." Keppeler's discussion of the project shifts between boosterism and understatement, but he does not suggest they are rewriting or revising the ancient text. "We're respelling the Bible," he said. Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant at honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074. From pasxapu at DAKOTACOM.NET Tue Aug 5 22:39:29 2003 From: pasxapu at DAKOTACOM.NET (phil cash cash) Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 15:39:29 -0700 Subject: iChat AV Message-ID: ta'c halaxp (good day! in nez perce), i recently acquired a new visual device for my desktop Mac called "iSight". it can be used with a version of "iChat" called "iChat AV". basically, it allows full screen video conferencing. i think it can be used in other similar types of applications and not just in iChat. let me know if any of you has a similar hook up as i would like to test it out. please respond individually. thanks, Phil Cash Cash (cayuse/nez perce) qashqash at mac.com UofA, ILAT From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 8 06:34:57 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 23:34:57 -0700 Subject: 'Spirit Walk' will trek through area (fwd) Message-ID: 'Spirit Walk' will trek through area By: Michele Scott, Herald Staff Writer August 07, 2003 http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9970185&BRD=1408&PAG=461&dept_id=463231&rfi=6 CLINTON - A group of Lakota Sioux will walk into the Gateway area next week as it works its way to Washington, D.C., as part of the national Spirit Walk 2003. The group is to arrive in Low Moor on Tuesday to spend the night before walking down U.S. 30 through Clinton and across the U.S. 30 Bridge on the way to Morrison, Ill. The group began its trek from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The Spirit Walk 2003 is a 1,700-mile journey to raise awareness and funding for the preservation of the American Indian culture and their language. It is a race against time. The Sioux language was once the most widely spoken American Indian language in North America, and now it is at risk of becoming extinct. If a people lose their language, their cultural ways also will be at risk of dying out as well. The Lakota Sioux are walking to show the world what the Lakota people have given this nation and to humanity and the desperate situation in which their culture, their language and their way of living is in right now, according to John LaFountaine, president of the Board of Directors of the Seven Fires Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the Lakota people preserve their culture and language by bringing elderly people and children together to teach them their native language. At the current time, less than 25 percent of the Lakota population speak or understand their native tongue, and even fewer are fluent. The Seven Fires Foundation believes that the consequences of the loss of their language would be catastrophic for the Lakota Nation. With the right support, the foundation believes the Lakota language has a realistic chance for long-term survival due to the fact that there are still people who speak the language as well as available documentation of the language. The Spirit Walk 2003 will take the group through Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia before they reach Washington D.C. in late September. Then organizers will meet with government representatives and request assistance for all the programs that preserve Lakota and other native cultures in the United States. Along the way, the group will be making stops in various communities to share their message of hope through storytelling and music. Anyone interested in showing their support or contributing to the group to help their cause should watch for the group to make its way down U.S. 30 into Clinton sometime on the morning of Aug. 13. Times are approximate, so no set time is available. All money collected will go to the Seven Fires Foundation. ©Clinton Herald 2003 From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 8 06:38:39 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 23:38:39 -0700 Subject: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages (fwd) Message-ID: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages http://www.watleyreview.com/2003/072903-2.html General Motors (GM) has announced the purchase of exclusive rights to the entire Algonquian language family, including such well-known tongues as Cheyenne, Cree, and Mohican, in a $1.6 billion dollar deal. "We are confident that this acquisition will benefit both the peoples who speak these languages and GM," said company spokesman Karl Hennessey. "This is truly a rare win-win situation." GM acquired the languages in an apparent effort to secure the rights to potentially thousands of cool-sounding names for automobiles. With one of the least creative management structures in the automotive industry, GM has for years produced cars with increasingly lame names that have hurt sales. "The problem is almost everything is getting used up," GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told Reuters recently. "If you have a good name, it can help. I've seen a lot of stupid names in my life." These would presumably include the 2003 Buick GoThing, the 2002 GM Pustule, and the 2003 Oldsmobile Scab. By purchasing exclusive rights to an Amerindian language family which includes over 30 different languages, GM is hoping to counter similar efforts by competing companies such as DaimlerChrysler, which recently purchased Portuguese. "The GM arrangement is very generous," said Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Secretary Gerald Howton. "It permits the tribes to continue using the languages free of charge through 2030, after which point, if there are any surviving native speakers, they can continue to use the language under attractive subscription terms." Any names which GM adopts as automobile names will be removed from eligibility, but GM has agreed to provide a list of no fewer than three synonyms for any word removed from circulation. "This is incredibly insulting," said Powhatan tribal elder Mark Matoaka before scaring this reporter away with stern glances. "The BIA will do everything it can to ensure that the funds from GM are distributed fairly and equitably," said Howton. "Our record speaks for itself." From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 8 06:43:37 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 23:43:37 -0700 Subject: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages (fwd) In-Reply-To: <1060324719.01ae5f653dcc0@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: Dear ILAT, The previous message was/is a parody, a fiction (according to the webpage that posted it as news). So do not be alarmed. heenek'e (again), Phil Cash Cash UofA, ILAT > ----- Message from cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU --------- > Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 23:38:39 -0700 > From: Phil Cash Cash > Reply-To: Indigenous Languages and Technology > Subject: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages (fwd) > To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU > > General Motors Purchases Indian Languages > http://www.watleyreview.com/2003/072903-2.html > > General Motors (GM) has announced the purchase of exclusive rights > to > the entire Algonquian language family, including such well-known > tongues as Cheyenne, Cree, and Mohican, in a $1.6 billion dollar > deal. > > "We are confident that this acquisition will benefit both the > peoples > who speak these languages and GM," said company spokesman Karl > Hennessey. "This is truly a rare win-win situation." > > GM acquired the languages in an apparent effort to secure the rights > to > potentially thousands of cool-sounding names for automobiles. With > one > of the least creative management structures in the automotive > industry, > GM has for years produced cars with increasingly lame names that have > hurt sales. > > "The problem is almost everything is getting used up," GM Vice > Chairman > Bob Lutz told Reuters recently. "If you have a good name, it can > help. > I've seen a lot of stupid names in my life." These would presumably > include the 2003 Buick GoThing, the 2002 GM Pustule, and the 2003 > Oldsmobile Scab. > > By purchasing exclusive rights to an Amerindian language family > which > includes over 30 different languages, GM is hoping to counter similar > efforts by competing companies such as DaimlerChrysler, which > recently > purchased Portuguese. > > "The GM arrangement is very generous," said Bureau of Indian Affairs > (BIA) Secretary Gerald Howton. "It permits the tribes to continue > using the languages free of charge through 2030, after which point, > if > there are any surviving native speakers, they can continue to use the > language under attractive subscription terms." Any names which GM > adopts as automobile names will be removed from eligibility, but GM > has > agreed to provide a list of no fewer than three synonyms for any word > removed from circulation. > > "This is incredibly insulting," said Powhatan tribal elder Mark > Matoaka > before scaring this reporter away with stern glances. > > "The BIA will do everything it can to ensure that the funds from GM > are > distributed fairly and equitably," said Howton. "Our record speaks > for > itself." > > > ----- End message from cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU ----- From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 8 20:42:31 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 13:42:31 -0700 Subject: Love of Creek language inspires teacher to share (fwd) Message-ID: Love of Creek language inspires teacher to share By KEITH DINWIDDIE / The Norman Transcript http://www.okmulgeetimes.com/display/inn_news/709.txt NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- In the American Indian language of Creek, the word mvhayv (pronounced mu-high-ya) means teacher. On the University of Oklahoma campus, Margaret Mauldin is much more than that. Mauldin, affectionately known as "Mvhayv" to her students at OU, is one of the world's foremost authorities on the Creek language. In the fall of 1995, Mauldin became OU's first Creek language instructor. In her first semester as a university-level Creek instructor, Mauldin said she had only limited homemade materials to use. "OU had been experimenting with several tribal languages, such as Kiowa, Choctaw and Cherokee, but before that time there was no Creek language course offered for college credit," Mauldin said. "But all of these languages, including Creek, were at the beginning level." Mauldin's love affair with the Creek language can be traced to her childhood. As a Native American, Mauldin grew up in a home where English was not the first language. In Mauldin's childhood home in Okemah, Creek was the language spoken most frequently between family and friends. In fact, Mauldin's mother, who died two years ago at the age of 94, spoke only Creek her entire life. Mauldin, who is now 63, said growing up in a Creek-speaking home gave her an appreciation and love for the language she has carried with her throughout her life. Before becoming a teacher, Mauldin spent several years driving 18-wheelers across the United States. During her years on the road, Mauldin said she found herself missing the Creek language. Once she returned home to Okemah, she discovered fewer and fewer people were speaking Creek. "It struck me that I wasn't hearing the language as frequently as I used to," Mauldin said. "I kept wondering why 'they' weren't doing anything about it, and then I thought why aren't I doing anything about it. I decided then that I could make a difference, and I would make a difference." Mauldin said she gave up all employment and began working on a plan to keep the Creek language alive and growing. She said the first step in the process was evaluating how fluent she actually was in the language and finding out how well she could read what little written material there was available. She said the only real reading source she could find was the Creek version of the New Testament, making the book her source material of sorts when it came to spelling and grammar. In 1991, she began teaching Creek language classes in her home in Okemah. Mauldin said she was initially surprised at how many people wanted to learn the language. "I advertised the classes in the Okemah newspaper, and people just came," Mauldin said. "I originally wanted to teach the language to two people in the same family or two people who spoke to each other frequently. That way these people could practice the language together on a daily basis. I still believe language learning should be done by families. That's the most effective method of learning a language." Mauldin's first step in bringing the Creek language to the OU campus also came in 1991. After hearing Mauldin speak in Creek at a tribal meeting in Okemah, John Moore, OU anthropology chairperson at the time, contacted Mauldin and asked her to do some translation work for OU. Eventually, the translation job led to a position as a consultant for anthropological linguistics classes at the school. Realizing Mauldin's familiarity and knowledge of Creek language were virtually unparalleled, OU offered her a position as an instructor of curriculum development in the Creek language in the department of anthropology/Native American studies. Today, Mauldin is joined by her daughter Gloria McCarty as OU's two Creek language instructors. Together, the mother and daughter teach six courses at three levels. "The Creek language program today compared to what it was when we started it in 1995 is like night and day," Mauldin said. "While we've come a long way, we're really just now taking step two. We're now gathering data and materials for a textbook, and we want our textbook to be just as good, attractive and shiny as the textbooks for most other classes." While the Creek language program has operated without a textbook for its first eight years at OU, students in the curriculum do at least have access to a Creek dictionary, thanks to Mauldin. In 2000, Mauldin, along with linguist Jack Martin, published a Creek dictionary. It was only the second Creek language dictionary ever published and the first since 1890. As part of her Creek curriculum at OU, Mauldin teaches her students a number of classic Creek songs and hymns, giving students a chance to harken back to what it was like for Mauldin growing up in a Native American home in rural Oklahoma. All of the songs Mauldin includes in her classes have been transcribed entirely from her memory. From sjtatsch at UCDAVIS.EDU Sat Aug 9 18:02:25 2003 From: sjtatsch at UCDAVIS.EDU (Sheri J. Tatsch) Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2003 11:02:25 -0700 Subject: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages (fwd) In-Reply-To: <1060324719.01ae5f653dcc0@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: To all, I can't believe this has happened so quickly. I could see it coming, but Oh my god! I just returned from Italy where I gave a paper on this very issue. Unfortunately, I thought there was time to spread my theoretical protection of languages before there would have to be any legal action taken by the tribes. The paper is to be sent out for publication in 2 weeks. Has anyone seen the language of the agreement with GM? Access to the agreement? Any further information would help. >General Motors Purchases Indian Languages >http://www.watleyreview.com/2003/072903-2.html > > General Motors (GM) has announced the purchase of exclusive rights to >the entire Algonquian language family, including such well-known >tongues as Cheyenne, Cree, and Mohican, in a $1.6 billion dollar deal. > > "We are confident that this acquisition will benefit both the peoples >who speak these languages and GM," said company spokesman Karl >Hennessey. "This is truly a rare win-win situation." > > GM acquired the languages in an apparent effort to secure the rights to >potentially thousands of cool-sounding names for automobiles. With one >of the least creative management structures in the automotive industry, >GM has for years produced cars with increasingly lame names that have >hurt sales. > > "The problem is almost everything is getting used up," GM Vice Chairman >Bob Lutz told Reuters recently. "If you have a good name, it can help. >I've seen a lot of stupid names in my life." These would presumably >include the 2003 Buick GoThing, the 2002 GM Pustule, and the 2003 >Oldsmobile Scab. > > By purchasing exclusive rights to an Amerindian language family which >includes over 30 different languages, GM is hoping to counter similar >efforts by competing companies such as DaimlerChrysler, which recently >purchased Portuguese. > > "The GM arrangement is very generous," said Bureau of Indian Affairs >(BIA) Secretary Gerald Howton. "It permits the tribes to continue >using the languages free of charge through 2030, after which point, if >there are any surviving native speakers, they can continue to use the >language under attractive subscription terms." Any names which GM >adopts as automobile names will be removed from eligibility, but GM has >agreed to provide a list of no fewer than three synonyms for any word >removed from circulation. > > "This is incredibly insulting," said Powhatan tribal elder Mark Matoaka >before scaring this reporter away with stern glances. > > "The BIA will do everything it can to ensure that the funds from GM are >distributed fairly and equitably," said Howton. "Our record speaks for >itself." -- Sheri Tatsch Executive Director Native American Language Center Department of Native American Studies One Shields Ave. Davis, CA 95616 530-754-8361 From sjtatsch at UCDAVIS.EDU Sat Aug 9 18:06:39 2003 From: sjtatsch at UCDAVIS.EDU (Sheri J. Tatsch) Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2003 11:06:39 -0700 Subject: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages (fwd) In-Reply-To: <1060325017.7a12d8462e7aa@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: To all, parody, maybe here. Appropriation is occurring worldwide of all things indigenous intangible.To the extent that UNESCO has been campaigning for the legal protection of such through the international courts. The protection of Indigenous languages is international law. -Sheri >Dear ILAT, > >The previous message was/is a parody, a fiction (according to the >webpage that posted it as news). So do not be alarmed. > >heenek'e (again), > >Phil Cash Cash >UofA, ILAT > > >> ----- Message from cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU --------- >> Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 23:38:39 -0700 >> From: Phil Cash Cash >> Reply-To: Indigenous Languages and Technology > >> Subject: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages (fwd) >> To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU >> >> General Motors Purchases Indian Languages >> http://www.watleyreview.com/2003/072903-2.html >> >> General Motors (GM) has announced the purchase of exclusive rights >> to >> the entire Algonquian language family, including such well-known >> tongues as Cheyenne, Cree, and Mohican, in a $1.6 billion dollar >> deal. >> >> "We are confident that this acquisition will benefit both the >> peoples >> who speak these languages and GM," said company spokesman Karl >> Hennessey. "This is truly a rare win-win situation." >> >> GM acquired the languages in an apparent effort to secure the rights >> to >> potentially thousands of cool-sounding names for automobiles. With >> one >> of the least creative management structures in the automotive >> industry, >> GM has for years produced cars with increasingly lame names that have >> hurt sales. >> >> "The problem is almost everything is getting used up," GM Vice >> Chairman >> Bob Lutz told Reuters recently. "If you have a good name, it can >> help. >> I've seen a lot of stupid names in my life." These would presumably >> include the 2003 Buick GoThing, the 2002 GM Pustule, and the 2003 >> Oldsmobile Scab. >> >> By purchasing exclusive rights to an Amerindian language family >> which >> includes over 30 different languages, GM is hoping to counter similar >> efforts by competing companies such as DaimlerChrysler, which >> recently >> purchased Portuguese. >> >> "The GM arrangement is very generous," said Bureau of Indian Affairs >> (BIA) Secretary Gerald Howton. "It permits the tribes to continue >> using the languages free of charge through 2030, after which point, >> if >> there are any surviving native speakers, they can continue to use the >> language under attractive subscription terms." Any names which GM >> adopts as automobile names will be removed from eligibility, but GM >> has >> agreed to provide a list of no fewer than three synonyms for any word >> removed from circulation. > > > > "This is incredibly insulting," said Powhatan tribal elder Mark > > Matoaka > > before scaring this reporter away with stern glances. > > > > "The BIA will do everything it can to ensure that the funds from GM >> are >> distributed fairly and equitably," said Howton. "Our record speaks >> for >> itself." >> >> >> ----- End message from cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU ----- -- Sheri Tatsch Executive Director Native American Language Center Department of Native American Studies One Shields Ave. Davis, CA 95616 530-754-8361 From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Mon Aug 11 17:56:47 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 10:56:47 -0700 Subject: Tlingit classrooms - a good report card (fwd) Message-ID: Tlingit classrooms - a good report card Emphasis is on English, Tlingit language instruction, Native culture By ERIC FRY JUNEAU EMPIRE © 2003 http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/081103/loc_tlingitclass.shtml Students in Tlingit-oriented classrooms at Harborview Elementary generally perform as well as other students in the school district, and do better than Native students on average, a recent study shows. "This whole emphasis on literacy is paying off," Annie Calkins, a former school district administrator who has studied the program, told the Juneau School Board last week. Eunice James-Lee's son Hunter, 9, has been enrolled in the Tlingit program for three years. "For the chance for our kids to succeed in school, to see them thrive, to see them develop, to grow in confidence - I wanted that for my children - and to know who they are, where they're from," she said. Hunter "enjoys being in the class. He enjoys the teachers - just in general likes going to school," she said. "... Hunter has done wonderful." The Tlingit classrooms have operated for three years, emphasizing English and Tlingit language instruction, and incorporating Native culture such as potlatches. Besides the classroom teachers, the program employs a cultural specialist and elders. Native students suffer from low self-esteem, teacher Shgen George told the School Board. They tend to talk less and talk quieter, but children in the Tlingit classrooms are proud to be Tlingit, she said. "I think that's the lowest, deepest root of this program," George said. The program, which was funded in its first two years by a federal grant to the Sealaska Heritage Foundation, included a joint kindergarten-first grade classroom in its first year and a joint K-one-two classroom in its second year. Last year there were 41 students between a K-one classroom and a grades two-three classroom, and there was a waiting list, Calkins said. The program is funded now by the school district. The classrooms are housed at Harborview downtown but are open to students throughout Juneau. About three-quarters of the students have been Native. In the past school year, four out of 10 students qualified for free or reduced-price lunches. About one in seven were identified for special education services. As in school districts across the nation, a smaller percentage of Juneau students who are from low-income families or from racial minorities perform well on standardized tests and other measures of academic success than other students. Nonetheless, in many of the Tlingit program's grades in its three years of existence, a larger percentage of its students are meeting the state's academic standards than are other students. But it should be noted that the test data for the Tlingit program combines its Native and non-Native students. The study reviews only reading and writing proficiency and not that of math, because the original grant was for a literacy program. Moreover, in many cases the number of students, such as five or six, in one grade in the Tlingit program was too small to be statistically significant, Calkins said. "That's why the pattern and the trend is more interesting than the individual class," she said. Of the four students who have been in the program for all three years and who started as kindergartners, three are reading books at their grade level or close to it. Of the eight three-year students who started as first-graders, seven read at least at their grade level and some read a grade above that, and the other student has special needs. The students in the Tlingit classrooms also perform better on average on an oral language test than did a sample of 92 Juneau Native children in 1996. Calkins attributed the program's test scores to high expectations from teachers, a strong sense of community, the strong presence of Native culture and language, parental involvement and dedicated teachers who have had to develop their own curriculum and materials. This school year, the program will have a K-one-two classroom and a grades three-four classroom. The school district is seeking a federal grant to expand the program to the fifth grade in the following year. The grant also would provide money to develop curriculum, train teachers, bus some kindergartners from Glacier Valley to be in the program and eventually set up Tlingit-oriented classrooms in a school in the Mendenhall Valley, said Assistant Superintendent Bernie Sorenson. James-Lee, mother of one of the program's students, grew up in Angoon with parents who were fluent Tlingit speakers. She went to potlatches with them. The Tlingit classroom, with its potlatches and plays in Tlingit, gives her son Hunter the chance to learn some of the culture and language, she said. "They learn phrases (in Tlingit). They learn colors. They learn counting. They learn how to introduce themselves, say their clan, their moiety. It's just really impressive," James-Lee said. Eric Fry can be reached at efry at juneauempire.com. From mward at LUNA.CC.NM.US Mon Aug 11 19:15:01 2003 From: mward at LUNA.CC.NM.US (Matthew Ward) Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 13:15:01 -0600 Subject: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages (fwd) Message-ID: Very funny! Great article. Nice to hear some humor. Unfortunately, this parody is at least somewhat based on actual recent events. The McDonald's corporation, for example, recently started suing a large number of restaurant owners in Scotland for using the common Scottish family name "McDonald's" in their restaurant names (McDonald's Fish n' Chips, McDonald's Sandwiches, etc.). So, an American company forbids Scottish families from using their own Scottish names on their own businesses! I don't remember what happened to that case, but I do remember that some members of the Scottish Parliment were talking about countersuing McDonalds for "degrading Scottish culture." Phil Cash Cash wrote: >General Motors Purchases Indian Languages >http://www.watleyreview.com/2003/072903-2.html > > General Motors (GM) has announced the purchase of exclusive rights to >the entire Algonquian language family, including such well-known >tongues as Cheyenne, Cree, and Mohican, in a $1.6 billion dollar deal. > > "We are confident that this acquisition will benefit both the peoples >who speak these languages and GM," said company spokesman Karl >Hennessey. "This is truly a rare win-win situation." > > GM acquired the languages in an apparent effort to secure the rights to >potentially thousands of cool-sounding names for automobiles. With one >of the least creative management structures in the automotive industry, >GM has for years produced cars with increasingly lame names that have >hurt sales. > > "The problem is almost everything is getting used up," GM Vice Chairman >Bob Lutz told Reuters recently. "If you have a good name, it can help. >I've seen a lot of stupid names in my life." These would presumably >include the 2003 Buick GoThing, the 2002 GM Pustule, and the 2003 >Oldsmobile Scab. > > By purchasing exclusive rights to an Amerindian language family which >includes over 30 different languages, GM is hoping to counter similar >efforts by competing companies such as DaimlerChrysler, which recently >purchased Portuguese. > > "The GM arrangement is very generous," said Bureau of Indian Affairs >(BIA) Secretary Gerald Howton. "It permits the tribes to continue >using the languages free of charge through 2030, after which point, if >there are any surviving native speakers, they can continue to use the >language under attractive subscription terms." Any names which GM >adopts as automobile names will be removed from eligibility, but GM has >agreed to provide a list of no fewer than three synonyms for any word >removed from circulation. > > "This is incredibly insulting," said Powhatan tribal elder Mark Matoaka >before scaring this reporter away with stern glances. > > "The BIA will do everything it can to ensure that the funds from GM are >distributed fairly and equitably," said Howton. "Our record speaks for >itself." > > > From coyotez at DARKWING.UOREGON.EDU Mon Aug 11 19:52:10 2003 From: coyotez at DARKWING.UOREGON.EDU (David Gene Lewis) Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 12:52:10 -0700 Subject: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages =?utf-8?q?=28fwd=29?= In-Reply-To: <3F37EB35.6060709@luna.cc.nm.us> Message-ID: Yes interesting, I saw a recent story on CNN about Starbucks trying to close down a restaurant named Haidabucks. Apparently a play on words of what Indian men are named derogatively, and how that name "bucks" is used in Indian communities as part of the reservation humour. Similar to the way "skins" is used by rez indians in reference to themselves, but is not very PC off reservation. Anyway, I'll look up the stpry and send it out. David ------------------- > Very funny! Great article. Nice to hear some humor. > > From coyotez at DARKWING.UOREGON.EDU Mon Aug 11 19:53:15 2003 From: coyotez at DARKWING.UOREGON.EDU (David Gene Lewis) Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 12:53:15 -0700 Subject: Haidabucks... In-Reply-To: <3F37EB35.6060709@luna.cc.nm.us> Message-ID: The Haidabucks story from their website. http://www.haidabuckscafe.com/ David From mward at LUNA.CC.NM.US Mon Aug 11 22:29:44 2003 From: mward at LUNA.CC.NM.US (Matthew Ward) Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 16:29:44 -0600 Subject: Haidabucks... Message-ID: Thanks for the link! Starbucks is a terrible corporation--I speak as one born and raised in Washington State, and I remember when they were a nice little company. Living in Asia, seeing how what bullies they are... my favorite quote from them was when I was living in Taiwan "We know that this is a tea-drinking culture... but we're going to change that" The blood boils. Don't drink Starbucks coffee! David Gene Lewis wrote: >The Haidabucks story from their website. >http://www.haidabuckscafe.com/ >David > > > From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Tue Aug 12 16:00:59 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 09:00:59 -0700 Subject: Tlingit classrooms get high marks (fwd) Message-ID: Tlingit classrooms get high marks Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - The Associated Press http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~7244~1566026,00.html# JUNEAU--Tlingit-oriented classrooms at a Juneau elementary school are being hailed a success. Students enrolled in the Harborview Elementary School program generally perform as well as other students in the school district, and do better than Native students on average, a recent study shows. "This whole emphasis on literacy is paying off," Annie Calkins, a former school district administrator who has studied the program, told the Juneau School Board last week. Eunice James-Lee's son Hunter, 9, has been enrolled in the Tlingit program for three years. "For the chance for our kids to succeed in school, to see them thrive, to see them develop, to grow in confidence--I wanted that for my children--and to know who they are, where they're from," she said. The Tlingit classrooms have operated for three years, emphasizing English and Tlingit language instruction, and incorporating Native culture such as potlatches. Beside the classroom teachers, the program employs a cultural specialist and elders, according to the Juneau Empire. Native students suffer from low self-esteem, teacher Shgen George told the school board. They tend to talk less and talk quieter, but children in the Tlingit classrooms are proud to be Tlingit, she said. "I think that's the lowest, deepest root of this program," George said. The program was funded in its first two years by a federal grant to the Sealaska Heritage Foundation. The program is funded now by the school district. The classrooms are housed at Harborview downtown but are open to students throughout Juneau. About three-quarters of the students have been Native. In the past school year, four out of 10 students qualified for free or reduced-price lunches. As in school districts across the nation, a smaller percentage of Juneau students who are from low-income families or from racial minorities perform well on standardized tests and other measures of academic success than other students. Nonetheless, in many of the Tlingit program's grades in its three years of existence, a larger percentage of its students are meeting the state's academic standards than are other students. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 14 00:29:18 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 17:29:18 -0700 Subject: UNM faculty works to preserve native language (fwd) Message-ID: UNM faculty works to preserve native language http://www.cibolabeacon.com/articles/2003/08/13/news/news9.txt Christine P. Sims, faculty lecturer in the University of New Mexico Department of Linguistics, recently testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs about the need for a training program focused on Native American language revitalization in the Southwest. Sims, chair of the non-profit Linguistic Institute for Native Americans (LINA), testified on behalf of Acoma Pueblo in support of proposed amendments to the Native American Languages Act of 1990 and 1992. Originally, the proposed amendments included three sites in Alaska, Hawaii, and Montana that would provide training in conducting language immersion programs. Sims included in her testimony the importance of establishing a fourth site in the Southwest where a significant number of tribes and native languages exist. The bill, introduced in July, would create a training center in UNM's Native American Studies Department to work with LINA and other university departments. "For indigenous people across this nation, the significance of issues related to language survival are inextricably entwined with cultural survival," Sims testified. "For some tribes, language loss has occurred to the degree that few or no speakers now exist." Establishing a training center at UNM would build on current language revitalization efforts begun in several New Mexico tribes and those in neighboring states. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 14 18:52:40 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 11:52:40 -0700 Subject: ROC mulls laws to protect aboriginal languages (fwd) Message-ID: ROC mulls laws to protect aboriginal languages http://publish.gio.gov.tw/FCJ/current/03081521.html Publish Date:08/15/2003 Story Type:National Affairs; Byline:Cecilia Fanchiang         The ROC government recently identified specific measures to conserve Taiwan's aboriginal languages as they continue to disappear after centuries of modernization and assimilation. In February, the Education Ministry's Mandarin Promotion Council wrote the Draft Law on the Equality of Languages, highlighting a growing sensitivity to aboriginal affairs and the belief that all of the island's linguistic legacies should benefit from preservation efforts.         MPC sources claim to have examined language policies and regulations in Europe, North America and the Pacific region and drafted the proposed law after consultations with other government agencies, such as the Council for Hakka Affairs and Council of Indigenous Peoples, as well as Academia Sinica's Preparatory Office for the Institute of Linguistics. The goal was to protect the right of the island's major ethnic groups to employ their native tongues in daily life and during political, economic, religious and educational activities.         As written, the law would decree that native languages be respected and enjoy legal equality with the nation's official language, Mandarin Chinese. The draft would have made it illegal for a regional authority to outlaw or willfully restrict any language.         The draft stipulated that government agencies at every level be responsible for preserving, studying and ensuring the continuity of native languages. At the municipal and county levels, this means special task forces would have been formed to observe and enforce linguistic policies promulgated by the central government.         All public addresses would be multilingual and language programs, especially for endangered aboriginal languages, would be encouraged in public schools, according to the bill. There was a provision ensuring that competence in certain native languages be included in Taiwan's civil-service examinations. Also, the government would have been responsible for funding development of a linguistic database.         However, the MPC's draft will not be put before the Legislative Yuan. Instead, it was given to the Council for Cultural Affairs for a broader definition of language conservation. It is to be reworked in order to shift its focus to the cultural and heritable aspects of native languages. The CCA is currently leading other government departments in mapping out a whole new set of stipulations for the promotion and protection of native tongues.         In the past, the government department that oversees native affairs proposed a four-year indigenous languages revival project. As part of the CIP's 2001-2004 plan for indigenous autonomy, the administration's goals were to improve the regulatory environment and the promotional mechanisms for aboriginal mother tongues.         The CIP adopted strategies for education, romanization and documentation as well as research into aboriginal languages. The council is organizing the third annual nationwide Aboriginal Language Skill Certificate Test in October in an effort to locate prospective teachers of the nation's dying languages.         Taipei City Hall has its own department to oversee aboriginal affairs within city limits. The Indigenous Peoples Commission has also set its sights on rescuing aboriginal languages from obsolescence. Kung Wen-chi, IPC chairman, cited a recent survey conducted by National Chengchi University that showed 11.3 percent of aboriginal families still speak their mother tongues at home. "The indigenous languages are losing ground quickly, especially in metropolitan areas," worried Kung, adding that the government's aboriginal policy will see a changeover in 2005.         The IPC is presently drawing up plans for what it calls the autonomous development of aboriginal languages. The plan includes incentives for aboriginal parents to teach the language at home, and it would call for indigenous language courses at public institutions. It is being touted as the blueprint for aboriginal-language education in the capital.         The city's plan will undergo a public hearing before becoming law. "Pushed by City Hall, the IPC's plan for the autonomous development of aboriginal languages is the first of its kind," explained Kung, alleging that the by-law would not contradict anything in the central government's law when it gets passed.         According to Kung, the spirit of the IPC bill lies in the protection of aboriginal languages in the greater Taipei metropolitan area. "It's the way City Hall pays its respects to aboriginal languages," said Kung, who suggested that stops be announced on the subway public-address system in aboriginal tongues, at least at certain stations.         With the help of National Taiwan Normal University, the commission initiated the "Aboriginal Language Nest" program in July 2001. Language nests have been set up in every district of Taipei to provide teachers of aboriginal languages resources relating to native culture, language and history.          From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 14 18:56:30 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 11:56:30 -0700 Subject: Learning by doing (fwd) Message-ID: Learning by doing Native language institute works to stave off decline of traditional tongues http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/081403/loc_languaugeclass.shtml Thursday, August 14, 2003 By ERIC FRY JUNEAU EMPIRE © 2003 Students in Donna May Roberts' class in Shim-al-gyack, the language of the Tsimshian Indians, point to the ground in unison, walk in place, rub their stomachs, make kissy sounds and generally do whatever she says. It looks like an aerobics class, but that's the way Roberts teaches language, and it's becoming an important element in the Native language courses at Sealaska Heritage Institute's Kusteeyi program. "Oh, you guys look like Olympic runners," Roberts, formerly of Metlakatla and now from Portland, Ore., told her students Tuesday evening. Kusteeyi - held at University of Alaska Southeast campuses in Ketchikan in May and in Juneau for the past two weeks - teaches Southeast Native languages mostly by immersing students in the traditional tongues. Juneau's Anita Moran, whose grandmother speaks Tlingit, is taking a beginning Tlingit class. "We have the opportunity to communicate together in Tlingit," she said. "We attend a lot of potlatches, where they speak in Tlingit. It would be great to understand it." Organizers and students at Kusteeyi hope to reinvigorate Tlingit, Haida and Shim-al-gyack at a time when fluent speakers are declining as elders die. There are an estimated 140 completely fluent speakers of Tlingit, six of Haida and six of Shim-al-gyack in Alaska, said Sealaska Heritage sociolinguist Roy Mitchell. The program in Juneau attracted about 50 students from around Southeast to classes that included beginning Tlingit and Shim-al-gyack, how to teach language immersion, Tlingit public speaking for dormant speakers and master-apprentice team training. "It's like a person who is wounded who is starting to feel better now," Paul Marks of Juneau said after Wednesday morning's public-speaking class. "We weren't talking before. It's like we were in a coma. Now we're waking up. It's because of the younger people who are excited about it and asking. If it wasn't for them, why would we want to continue on?" Roberts' teaching method, a variation on what's called total physical response, works by repeating phrases and movements as the silent students imitate her movements. In just the first 15 minutes of her class Tuesday, she gave well over a hundred instructions. She built on them by repeating them with variations, such as "point left," "point right," "point with one hand" and "point with two hands." There's no time for students to daydream, and the teacher can see immediately if a student doesn't understand an instruction. "It is a lot of energy on the part of the teacher, and a lot of language," Mitchell said. "Students need to be comprehending hundreds of times to sink into the subconscious mind." The idea is to teach a second language the way people learn their first language. Young children hear the sounds of their language and come to understand the meanings before they speak the words themselves. And they learn language from their parents in real-life situations. In Roberts' class, students also use workbooks illustrated with drawings of stick figures that enact movements. And then there's Mary Chapin Carpenter singing on the CD player about luck. That means it's time for Shim-al-gyack bingo, in which students put stones on stick-figure drawings that match the Native word for the action. In the master-apprentice class, co-taught by Mitchell and Jordan Lachler, students learn how to pass on the language in one-on-one settings. It can be one way to teach a new generation of Native-language teachers. Clara Peratrovich, a retired Tlingit-language teacher from Klawock, practiced the technique Tuesday with two other students and a family of stuffed-animal sea otters, one of whom sported a Tlingit scarf. Peratrovich, with words and by nudging the otters, instructed the students to move the otters around as she spoke in Tlingit about the animals' family life. "There's no one in our community anymore that would step forward" to teach Tlingit, Peratrovich said after class. "My value for the language is really high. I feel we have to have somebody continue the language teaching, so it won't die off." Debbie Head, a cultural arts teacher in Craig, has been an apprentice to the master Peratrovich since September. "She was as starving to share as I was starving to learn," Head said. But adult learners are not the absorbent sponges that children are, she said. Kusteeyi is modeling proven learning techniques, "and they are making a big difference." On Wednesday, in Nora Marks Dauenhauer's class for dormant Tlingit speakers - those who understand the language but perhaps stopped speaking it - students, mostly elderly, gave orations as beginning Tlingit speakers, mostly young people, listened. Afterward, Catrina Mitchell, who coordinates Kusteeyi and is learning Tlingit, thanked the elder speakers. "We're on a personal journey learning our language," she said. "One day, I'd like to stand before you and say more." Sitka's Paul Jackson, one of Dauenhauer's students, said the young people perhaps didn't understand everything they heard in the orations. But, he added, "We have hooked them. I don't think we should let them go." Eric Fry can be reached at efry at juneauempire.com. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 14 23:03:35 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 16:03:35 -0700 Subject: Minnesota Indigenous Language Symposium (fwd) Message-ID: The University of Minnesota and The Grotto Foundation are co-hosting the first Minnesota Indigenous Language Symposium focused on language revitalization initiatives within Minnesota and its neighboring states. Featured are presentations of key programs developed by present and past Grotto Foundation Grantees, and keynote speakers in the areas of community language activism, master apprentice models, immersion programs, higher education programs, and language related media. Location: Holiday Inn St. Paul East I-94 at McKnight Road Toll Free Number: 1-800-HOLIDAY FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Yvonne Kelly, University of Minnesota 612-624-8217, ykelly at umn.edu Or Visit Our Website at http://cla.umn.edu/amerind/events.html From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 14 23:05:43 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 16:05:43 -0700 Subject: Call for papers: Revitalizing Algonquian Languages Conference (fwd) Message-ID: Call for Papers, Revitalizing Algonquian Languages Conference; Sharing Effective Renewal Practices II, February 18-20, 2004 To be held at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center Papers are invited in the areas of Algonquian linguistic preservation, revitalization, education programs, and innovational technologies. Send submissions to : Charlene Jones, Chairperson of the Historical, Cultural and Preservation Committee P.O. Box 3060 Mashantucket, CT.  06338 EMAIL: dgregoire at mptn-nsn.gov Phone:  860-396-2052 Fax:   860-396-2194 Please include registration form, academic affiliation or area of research, tribal affiliation, title of presentation, a one page abstract and a summary for advertising purposes. Deadline for submission:  October 15, 2003 Sponsored by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Historical, Cultural and Preservation Committee. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 15 18:07:04 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 11:07:04 -0700 Subject: Dying Words -- Part I (fwd) Message-ID: Dying Words -- Linguists Express Concern Over Fate Of Endangered Languages (Part 1) http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2003/08/15082003160729.asp By Charles Carlson As many as half of the world's 6,000 languages face extinction in the coming decades if measures are not taken to preserve and maintain them. This was the subject of a recent conference of international linguists in the Czech capital, Prague. Participants learned of new efforts being undertaken to preserve an important part of the world's cultural heritage. In this first of a two-part series, RFE/RL reports on tentative efforts to revive an aboriginal Australian language that hasn't been spoken in three decades. Prague, 15 August 2003 (RFE/RL) -- Alf Palmer's native language is Warrangu, an Australian aboriginal language that was once spoken around the city of Townsville in North Queensland. Palmer was the last native speaker of Warrangu. He died in the early 1970s and with him, his language. Warrangu was the subject of a talk given by Japanese professor Tasaku Tsunoda to an International Congress of Linguists in the Czech capital Prague last month. Tsunoda carried out fieldwork in the Townsville area between 1971 and 1974. During this period he met Alf Palmer, who taught Tsunoda his language. "I'm the last one to speak Warrangu," Alf Palmer told Tsunoda. "When I die, this language will die. I'll teach you everything I know, so put it down properly." Professor Tsunoda said his association with Palmer first alerted him to the problem of dying languages. "In retrospect, it was Alf Palmer who taught me the importance of documenting endangered languages. His was perhaps one of the earliest responses to the crisis of language endangerment," he said. More than a quarter of a century later, a few groups of Australians, including some members of the Warrangu group, started a movement to revive their ancestral languages. Tsunoda was asked to come to Australia and to teach Warrangu to the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Alf Palmer. He spent several weeks giving lessons on Warrangu and playing the tapes he had recorded during his meetings with Palmer. During the lessons, Tsunoda looked around the room and noticed tears in the eyes of Alf Palmer's grandchildren and great-grandchildren. "These tears meant how much their ancestral language means to them, and this in turn shows that these tears are the very reason why we should be engaged in the activities to combat the crisis of language endangerment," he said. One of Palmer's grandchildren is now hoping that the study of the Warrangu language will be included in the curriculum of the local university. Tsunoda said this is only a dream at this stage. Other speakers at the Prague conference expressed concern that up to 50 percent of the world's 6,000 languages face the threat of extinction, saying, "This is something humanity cannot afford to let happen." The conference organizer, professor Ferenc Kiefer of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, said: "There are various calculations, but the pessimist would say that only a couple [hundred] of these [languages] will survive. The optimist would say that maybe 2,000, [or] two-thirds, of these languages [would survive] -- and that is a lot." Other speakers emphasized it is not enough to study endangered languages, they must be documented as well. If documentation is sufficient, this can be used in preparations for actually teaching the language to younger generations, as Tsunoda did. This is the situation facing Ket, a language spoken in the Russian Federation along the Yenisei river in the Krasnoyarsk region. Only two or three native Ket speakers remain, so it is especially important that scholars go there to record and document the language. Professor Douglas Whalen, a linguist, is president and founder of the Endangered Language Fund at Yale University. He told RFE/RL: "Languages have been endangered for some years. They have been dying off throughout history, but the rate of dying off seems to have accelerated as much as we can tell. When the Linguistic Society of America was founded in 1925, [early expert] Leonard Bloomfield noted that the American languages in particular were dying at a rapid rate, and felt that this was happening without them being documented very well, in part because of lack of funds and organization." Realizing the importance of studying and documenting endangered languages, the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies recently established a chair for language documentation and description. The chair is funded by the Lisbet Rausing Charitable Fund, which established a fund of 20 million British pounds ($32 million) for work on endangered languages. Professor Peter Austin, head of the program, listed the program's three main objectives in a conversation with RFE/RL. The first is an academic program to train a new generation of researchers to work on endangered languages. The second will document those languages, while the third will create an international archive. "The second is a documentation program, which is a series of research grants available to any serious researcher to apply to receive funding to do research on endangered languages around the world; and the third is an endangered-languages archive, and this will be a major international archive of material on languages from all over the world, endangered languages," Austin said. The preservation of smaller languages is a problem the European Union is continuing to grapple with, and the problem will intensify next year when the EU expands to take on 10 mostly Eastern European new members. Part 2 will look at the EU's efforts to protect some of Europe's mother tongues. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 15 18:08:33 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 11:08:33 -0700 Subject: Dying Words -- Part II (fwd) Message-ID: Dying Words -- EU Expansion To Affect Minority Languages (Part 2) By Charles Carlson The growth of English within the European Union may put at risk the vitality of the EU's minority languages. This was one of the subjects debated at a recent conference of international linguists held in the Czech capital, Prague. In this second of a two-part series on "Dying Words," RFE/RL reports that some of the EU's prospective members fear their native languages may become "second-class citizens" once they join the bloc next year. Prague, 15 August 2003 (RFE/RL) -- Frisian is a minority language spoken in the north of the Netherlands. Tjeerd de Graaf from the Frisian Academy in the Dutch city of Ljouwert says the Frisian language has "about 300,000 speakers, so you can consider it as a minority language, not endangered, but it is a minority in the Netherlands. The situation in the province is that there is bilingual education, it has its own literature, we have bilingual signposts, etc., but this has happened only after a kind of emancipation in the last 50 years." De Graaf believes the minority languages of countries that are already members of the European Union are not being fully integrated into the existing bloc, despite EU efforts to do so. This calls into question the fate of minority languages from the 10 mostly Central and Eastern European countries that are due to join the bloc next year. At present, the EU has 11 official languages -- Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish. The languages of each member state are considered official and working languages of the European Parliament and the European Commission in Brussels. But according to the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language, translation rights are routinely violated because working documents are seldom available in all 11 languages. English has gradually replaced French as the EU's preferred language for external communication. The 10 countries that will join the EU next year are operating under the assumption that their languages will have the same rights as the bloc's other official languages. And it is, indeed, the official policy of the EU to recognize the state languages of the new countries as official languages of the expanded bloc. In practice, however, this is unlikely, since the EU's present interpretation and translation services are already stretched to the limit. In 2001, the total cost of translation and interpretation at all EU institutions was approximately 690 million euros ($777 million), or about two euros per year for every EU citizen. Professor Ferenc Kiefer is a linguist and a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He was the organizer of the 17th International Congress of Linguists in Prague last month. Kiefer says he fears for the future of some of the lesser-used languages of nations joining the EU. "With more and more countries joining the [European] Union, a major problem is the problem of lesser-used languages in the union, bilingualism, minority languages, etc., so these languages need not be endangered," Kiefer says. "But since they are lesser-used, it may happen that a situation will develop in which such-and-such a language, a lesser-used language, will be just a home language, and in an official context they would use, say, English as a [common language]. And this kind of situation has to be handled somehow." But as Kiefer points out, while the EU should be linguistically prepared to receive the new countries, each acceding country must likewise develop the linguistic technology needed to join the EU. "It has been known for many years now that each country must also be linguistically prepared for the union. So one way of doing that is to develop the necessary linguistic technologies. If you just think of how to use a computer, the computer should be able to be used in Czech, in Hungarian, etc., not just in English, so the instructions should be available in the native language -- but not only that. There are many other things that have to be solved," Kiefer says. Kiefer says one such challenge is developing speech synthesis or speech analysis in order to automatically generate speech, and the reverse, converting speech into text. If these technologies are not developed, Kiefer notes, all official business will be conducted in English and smaller languages will suffer. There is also the question of minority languages within the countries that will join the EU. Kiefer says a distinction must be made between minority languages that are spoken only by an ethnic minority in a given country and those that are the language of one country but are also spoken in other countries. For example, he points out that Hungarian -- an official language in one country -- is spoken in parts of Slovakia as a minority language. "But Hungary has Hungarian as an official language, so this is then a task of Hungary's language policy to support schooling, etc., in Hungarian for these minorities. In this sense, Hungarian is a minority language," he says. De Graaf from the Frisian Academy notes there are more than 30 minorities within the EU as it now exists with claims for recognition as minority languages, and they should also receive some kind of cultural status in their respective countries. He says one of the tasks of the Frisian Academy is to discuss the role of the new countries joining the union and to make an inventory of the respective minority languages. The academy has links with the Kashubyan, a small ethnic group in Poland that has its own distinct language, like the Frisians. Linguists' concerns over the survival of Europe's minority languages may be overblown. Through its European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages (EBLUL), the EU funds a number of programs for the benefit of the estimated 40 million citizens of EU states who regularly speak a regional or minority language. The EBLUL is an independent nongovernmental organization that has observer status in the Council of Europe, UNESCO, and the UN. Its role is to safeguard minority languages in EU member states and, presumably, the minority languages of the countries that will join the EU. But EBLUL Secretary-General Markus Warasin says its efforts are hampered by the lack of a clear EU linguistic policy. "There will be some problems integrating all the new languages because the European Union has not really a very clear picture of its linguistic policy. They have a clear vision about the official state languages, but their position toward the lesser-used languages is not that clear as you might presume," Warasin says. He adds that protecting and promoting lesser-used languages also lacks a firm legal basis. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Mon Aug 18 06:18:14 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 23:18:14 -0700 Subject: Tlingit culture camp prepares kids for school (fwd) Message-ID: Tlingit culture camp prepares kids for school Sunday, August 17, 2003 By ERIC FRY JUNEAU EMPIRE © 2003 http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/081703/loc_culturecamp.shtml The young children, led by teacher Kitty Eddy's voice and her fingers, chanted in unison as they counted in English from one to 100, pausing to stretch out the nines - "thirty-niiiiine" - before gathering speed on the next set of numbers. Then they counted, with the same vigor, the numbers in Tlingit. The school year hasn't begun yet, but about 20 students who are entering or who have been in the Juneau School District's two Tlingit-oriented classrooms at Harborview Elementary attended a free two-week culture camp that ended Friday. The camp was funded by a federal grant to the Sealaska Heritage Institute. Teachers hope the incoming kindergartners will feel more comfortable in school, and returning students will ease into the new school year. A few older students attended as role models for the younger children. The camp also gives teachers and students time for more extended projects, such as catching, cleaning, brining and smoking fish, or picking berries and making jam and fixing up some fried bread to put it on. The activities with fish "really focused on traditional respect for salmon," cultural specialist Nancy Douglas said. Students learned to clean salmon with the fish's head upstream so its spirit can continue its journey, and to return inedible parts to the water, and to say "thank you" in Tlingit to the fish, she said. "You can be more involved and kids can be more involved (during the camp) because the regular school day is so chopped up," Eddy said. Those summer activities mean students have something to talk about and write about when they're in the literacy-based classrooms. Even in the summer camp, students read and write each day. "We found that our kids needed experiences to be able to use as spinoffs for reading and writing, so we needed to have experiences together," Eddy said. Hans Chester, who teaches courses at Sealaska Heritage's Kusteeyi Native language program for adults, visited the classroom to teach students the Tlingit names for the salmon species, colors, and simple instructions such as stand up and sit down. "He gives you enough cues and clues with his body language that you can figure out what he wants you to do," Eddy said. Even if Chester's Tlingit expressions aren't always understood, teacher Shgen George has a ready-made reply: "Right back at you!" The culture camp is a relaxing forum for the teachers, parents and students to get to know each other. Teachers refer to the students as "friends." After lunch Friday, Eddy started the camp day with Kai McQueen, who will be a first-grader, leading the class in changing the calendar. "What do you need to do to that 'tomorrow' card - the number?" Eddy prompted Kai. He put in the number 16. All together the children chanted "Yesterday was the 14th, today is the 15th, and tomorrow will be the 16th." "So what's the job of a calendar?" Eddy asked the children, who were seated on the floor in front of her. And they answered in unison: to keep track of what day it is. They also used the calendar to practice Tlingit and mathematical patterns. As Kai pointed, they called out the Tlingit word for blueberries for three days in a row and then the word for salmon every fourth day. After some counting exercises in English and Tlingit, Eddy asked the children to stand and sing the Tlingit national anthem. "OK, ladies and gentlemen, you need to stand very proudly and sing very beautifully. So find your spot very respectfully," she told the children. As Douglas drummed, the children swayed and sang, holding their arms out with their hands palms up. Then the children split up, some to make fried bread, some to paint their new bookbags, some to write a few sentences about picking blueberries, and others to string beads. When a girl silently indicated she wanted the powdered milk at the fried bread table, Douglas asked her, "What are your words, dear? 'Please' - 'please' what? Thank you for using sentences." Eddy patiently walked Darrian Washington, a first-grader, through each sound of her sentences about blueberries. " 'Blue' - buh, buh, buh," Eddy said, and the girl thought, consulted a printed alphabet card, and then wrote the letter "b." When Darrian was done, Eddy told her: "You did a super, super job. Can we fix one thing? All the letters at the beginning of a sentence have to be capitals." After that, Eddy and Darrian exchanged high-fives. Thomas Johnnie Sr., who has two children in the Tlingit classrooms but who couldn't attend the camp, said his kids count the days to school. The Tlingit-oriented classrooms "really opened up my boys from being shy," he said. "More outgoing. It's really brought out what they were holding inside culturewise, and they're very excited." Eric Fry can be reached at efry at juneauempire.com. From gforger at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Mon Aug 18 15:39:58 2003 From: gforger at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Garry Forger) Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 08:39:58 -0700 Subject: New book Message-ID: The following was reviewed in the August 11 issue of the New Yorker. "Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages" by Mark Abley. Excerpt: Of the six thousand or so languages that exist today, more than ninety per cent are endangered. Abley has travelled as far afield as arctic Canada and the Timor Sea documenting the survival or last gasps of some of these languages. -- Garry J. Forger, MLS Technology Coordinator The University of Arizona Learning Technologies Center 1077 N. Highland Ave Tucson, AZ 85721-0073 gforger at u.arizona.edu http://www.ltc.arizona.edu/ Phone 520-626-7761 Fax 520-626-8220 From mward at LUNA.CC.NM.US Tue Aug 19 14:33:41 2003 From: mward at LUNA.CC.NM.US (Matthew Ward) Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 08:33:41 -0600 Subject: Dying Words -- Part II (fwd) Message-ID: Good article. However, having read about the linguistic situation in the EU, I don't think that this particular issue has much to do with English. Speakers of major European (not minority or endangered) European languages are concerned, in my mind rightfully, that EU government business not be too dominated by English. However, most minority languages in the EU are being replaced by other major European languages, not by English. Basque, for example, is threatened by Spanish, Romansh is threatened by German or French. It is only the minority languages being spoken in English-speaking European countries (Great Britain, Ireland) which are being threatened by English. Phil Cash Cash wrote: >Dying Words -- EU Expansion To Affect Minority Languages (Part 2) > > By Charles Carlson > > The growth of English within the European Union may put at risk the >vitality of the EU's minority languages. This was one of the subjects >debated at a recent conference of international linguists held in the >Czech capital, Prague. In this second of a two-part series on "Dying >Words," RFE/RL reports that some of the EU's prospective members fear >their native languages may become "second-class citizens" once they >join the bloc next year. > >Prague, 15 August 2003 (RFE/RL) -- Frisian is a minority language spoken >in the north of the Netherlands. > > Tjeerd de Graaf from the Frisian Academy in the Dutch city of Ljouwert >says the Frisian language has "about 300,000 speakers, so you can >consider it as a minority language, not endangered, but it is a >minority in the Netherlands. The situation in the province is that >there is bilingual education, it has its own literature, we have >bilingual signposts, etc., but this has happened only after a kind of >emancipation in the last 50 years." > >De Graaf believes the minority languages of countries that are already >members of the European Union are not being fully integrated into the >existing bloc, despite EU efforts to do so. > >This calls into question the fate of minority languages from the 10 >mostly Central and Eastern European countries that are due to join the >bloc next year. > >At present, the EU has 11 official languages -- Danish, Dutch, English, >Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and >Swedish. The languages of each member state are considered official and >working languages of the European Parliament and the European >Commission in Brussels. > >But according to the International Association of Teachers of English as >a Foreign Language, translation rights are routinely violated because >working documents are seldom available in all 11 languages. English has >gradually replaced French as the EU's preferred language for external >communication. > >The 10 countries that will join the EU next year are operating under the >assumption that their languages will have the same rights as the bloc's >other official languages. And it is, indeed, the official policy of the >EU to recognize the state languages of the new countries as official >languages of the expanded bloc. > >In practice, however, this is unlikely, since the EU's present >interpretation and translation services are already stretched to the >limit. In 2001, the total cost of translation and interpretation at all >EU institutions was approximately 690 million euros ($777 million), or >about two euros per year for every EU citizen. > >Professor Ferenc Kiefer is a linguist and a member of the Hungarian >Academy of Sciences. He was the organizer of the 17th International >Congress of Linguists in Prague last month. Kiefer says he fears for >the future of some of the lesser-used languages of nations joining the >EU. > > "With more and more countries joining the [European] Union, a major >problem is the problem of lesser-used languages in the union, >bilingualism, minority languages, etc., so these languages need not be >endangered," Kiefer says. "But since they are lesser-used, it may >happen that a situation will develop in which such-and-such a language, >a lesser-used language, will be just a home language, and in an >official context they would use, say, English as a [common language]. >And this kind of situation has to be handled somehow." > >But as Kiefer points out, while the EU should be linguistically prepared >to receive the new countries, each acceding country must likewise >develop the linguistic technology needed to join the EU. > > "It has been known for many years now that each country must also be >linguistically prepared for the union. So one way of doing that is to >develop the necessary linguistic technologies. If you just think of how >to use a computer, the computer should be able to be used in Czech, in >Hungarian, etc., not just in English, so the instructions should be >available in the native language -- but not only that. There are many >other things that have to be solved," Kiefer says. > >Kiefer says one such challenge is developing speech synthesis or speech >analysis in order to automatically generate speech, and the reverse, >converting speech into text. If these technologies are not developed, >Kiefer notes, all official business will be conducted in English and >smaller languages will suffer. > >There is also the question of minority languages within the countries >that will join the EU. Kiefer says a distinction must be made between >minority languages that are spoken only by an ethnic minority in a >given country and those that are the language of one country but are >also spoken in other countries. For example, he points out that >Hungarian -- an official language in one country -- is spoken in parts >of Slovakia as a minority language. > > "But Hungary has Hungarian as an official language, so this is then a >task of Hungary's language policy to support schooling, etc., in >Hungarian for these minorities. In this sense, Hungarian is a minority >language," he says. > > De Graaf from the Frisian Academy notes there are more than 30 >minorities within the EU as it now exists with claims for recognition >as minority languages, and they should also receive some kind of >cultural status in their respective countries. > >He says one of the tasks of the Frisian Academy is to discuss the role >of the new countries joining the union and to make an inventory of the >respective minority languages. The academy has links with the >Kashubyan, a small ethnic group in Poland that has its own distinct >language, like the Frisians. > >Linguists' concerns over the survival of Europe's minority languages may >be overblown. Through its European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages >(EBLUL), the EU funds a number of programs for the benefit of the >estimated 40 million citizens of EU states who regularly speak a >regional or minority language. > >The EBLUL is an independent nongovernmental organization that has >observer status in the Council of Europe, UNESCO, and the UN. Its role >is to safeguard minority languages in EU member states and, presumably, >the minority languages of the countries that will join the EU. > > But EBLUL Secretary-General Markus Warasin says its efforts are >hampered by the lack of a clear EU linguistic policy. > > "There will be some problems integrating all the new languages because >the European Union has not really a very clear picture of its >linguistic policy. They have a clear vision about the official state >languages, but their position toward the lesser-used languages is not >that clear as you might presume," Warasin says. > >He adds that protecting and promoting lesser-used languages also lacks a >firm legal basis. > > > From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 21 00:37:28 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2003 17:37:28 -0700 Subject: Backlash risks adding millions to cost of native residential school lawsuits (fwd) Message-ID: Backlash risks adding millions to cost of native residential school lawsuits By SUE BAILEY http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2003/08/20/164984-cp.html OTTAWA (CP) - Outraged native leaders are threatening to derail Ottawa's $1.7-billion plan to settle a crushing backlog of residential school lawsuits. The growing backlash could end up costing Ottawa millions of dollars it had hoped to save by keeping cases out of a sluggish court system. At current rates, it's estimated the claims would drag on for 50 years and run up legal bills of at least $2 billion - not including settlements. Fierce resistance from plaintiffs has delayed the process and forced Ottawa to consider changes. The federal government's plan to speed settlements, announced last December, was geared to resolve up to 18,000 cases out of court in seven years. The government would cover 70 per cent of proven damages for physical and sexual abuse, but only for those who sign away their future right to sue for language and cultural losses. That's "a sham," said a spokesman for the Assembly of First Nations' residential schools survivors group. It's also shameful, said Ted Quewezance. "The plan fails to address . . . many different kinds of harms suffered by children in the institutions. The government should be ashamed of itself." At a heated closed-door meeting recently in Ottawa, the assembly demanded changes. "If they don't fly, we'll tell our people not to touch it," Quewezance said of the faltering deal. Another option might be a class-action lawsuit, led by 19 law firms across Canada, that would seek damages for up to 90,000 former students, Quewezance said. The lawsuit, if certified this fall, would seek $12 billion from the government for physical, sexual and cultural damages. Ottawa's fast-tracking plan would put cases before 32 adjudicators, such as retired judges. Plaintiffs would have to collect 30 per cent of any payout from the Catholic, Anglican, United or Presbyterian churches that ran the schools for much of the last century. Ottawa would cover the rest. Critics say the deal was crafted with little native input. They have also assailed Ottawa's move to award damages using a points system that some have called a "meat chart." It offers small amounts for less serious assaults, up to $100,000 or more for the most brutal abuse. Government officials say the system merely reflects how damages are typically assessed in civil litigation. Ottawa is trying to handle "a very difficult and emotional issue" as quickly as possible, says Shawn Tupper, director general of the Office of Indian Residential Schools Resolution. "We're having a debate," he conceded of testy exchanges reported at last week's meeting with former students. Still, Tupper says adjudicators are being screened and hearings should be underway by December - if plaintiffs take that route. "This process is not designed to deal with 100 per cent of the claims," he said in an interview. "We're taking what we're hearing seriously and considering whether any movement can be made." Ottawa will spend $172-million over 10 years to help restore native languages damaged in residential schools, Tupper added. Many plaintiffs claim they were punished, sometimes beaten, for speaking their native tongue. Students lost fluency and were often reluctant to later teach their children the ancient dialects. No Canadian judge has ever awarded damages for so-called cultural losses, prompting Ottawa to fund language programs instead, Tupper said. More than 12,000 former students have sued Ottawa and the four churches that ran the government-owned schools, alleging physical, sexual and cultural abuse. It's believed that many more lawsuits will be filed. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 21 21:29:52 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2003 14:29:52 -0700 Subject: Institute works to stave off decline of traditional tongues (fwd) Message-ID: Web posted Thursday, August 21, 2003 Institute works to stave off decline of traditional tongues By ERIC FRY The Juneau Empire http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/082103/ala_082103ala004001.shtml JUNEAU (AP) ‹ Students in Donna May Roberts' class in Shim-al-gyack, the language of the Tsimshian Indians, point to the ground in unison, walk in place, rub their stomachs, make kissy sounds and generally do whatever she says. It looks like an aerobics class, but that's the way Roberts teaches language, and it's becoming an important element in the Native language courses at Sealaska Heritage Institute's Kusteeyi program. ''Oh, you guys look like Olympic runners,'' Roberts, formerly of Metlakatla and now from Portland, Ore., told her students one Tuesday evening. Kusteeyi ‹ held at University of Alaska Southeast campuses in Ketchikan in May and in Juneau for two weeks in August ‹ teaches Southeast Native languages mostly by immersing students in the traditional tongues. Juneau's Anita Moran, whose grandmother speaks Tlingit, is taking a beginning Tlingit class. ''We have the opportunity to communicate together in Tlingit,'' she said. ''We attend a lot of potlatches, where they speak in Tlingit. It would be great to understand it.'' Organizers and students at Kusteeyi hope to reinvigorate Tlingit, Haida and Shim-al-gyack at a time when fluent speakers are declining as elders die. There are an estimated 140 completely fluent speakers of Tlingit, six of Haida and six of Shim-al-gyack in Alaska, said Sealaska Heritage sociolinguist Roy Mitchell. The program in Juneau attracted about 50 students from around Southeast to classes that included beginning Tlingit and Shim-al-gyack, how to teach language immersion, Tlingit public speaking for dormant speakers and master-apprentice team training. ''It's like a person who is wounded who is starting to feel better now,'' Paul Marks of Juneau said after Wednesday morning's public-speaking class. ''We weren't talking before. It's like we were in a coma. Now we're waking up. It's because of the younger people who are excited about it and asking. If it wasn't for them, why would we want to continue on?'' Roberts' teaching method, a variation on what's called total physical response, works by repeating phrases and movements as the silent students imitate her movements. In just the first 15 minutes of her class Tuesday, she gave well over a hundred instructions. She built on them by repeating them with variations, such as ''point left,'' ''point right,'' ''point with one hand'' and ''point with two hands.'' There's no time for students to daydream, and the teacher can see immediately if a student doesn't understand an instruction. ''It is a lot of energy on the part of the teacher, and a lot of language,'' Mitchell said. ''Students need to be comprehending hundreds of times to sink into the subconscious mind.'' The idea is to teach a second language the way people learn their first language. Young children hear the sounds of their language and come to understand the meanings before they speak the words themselves. And they learn language from their parents in real-life situations. In Roberts' class, students also use workbooks illustrated with drawings of stick figures that enact movements. And then there's Mary Chapin Carpenter singing on the CD player about luck. That means it's time for Shim-al-gyack bingo, in which students put stones on stick-figure drawings that match the Native word for the action. In the master-apprentice class, co-taught by Mitchell and Jordan Lachler, students learn how to pass on the language in one-on-one settings. It can be one way to teach a new generation of Native-language teachers. Clara Peratrovich, a retired Tlingit-language teacher from Klawock, practiced the technique Tuesday with two other students and a family of stuffed-animal sea otters, one of whom sported a Tlingit scarf. Peratrovich, with words and by nudging the otters, instructed the students to move the otters around as she spoke in Tlingit about the animals' family life. ''There's no one in our community anymore that would step forward'' to teach Tlingit, Peratrovich said after class. ''My value for the language is really high. I feel we have to have somebody continue the language teaching, so it won't die off.'' Debbie Head, a cultural arts teacher in Craig, has been an apprentice to the master Peratrovich since September. ''She was as starving to share as I was starving to learn,'' Head said. But adult learners are not the absorbent sponges that children are, she said. Kusteeyi is modeling proven learning techniques, ''and they are making a big difference.'' In Nora Marks Dauenhauer's class for dormant Tlingit speakers ‹ those who understand the language but perhaps stopped speaking it ‹ students, mostly elderly, gave orations as beginning Tlingit speakers, mostly young people, listened. Afterward, Catrina Mitchell, who coordinates Kusteeyi and is learning Tlingit, thanked the elder speakers. ''We're on a personal journey learning our language,'' she said. ''One day, I'd like to stand before you and say more.'' Sitka's Paul Jackson, one of Dauenhauer's students, said the young people perhaps didn't understand everything they heard in the orations. But, he added, ''We have hooked them. I don't think we should let them go.'' From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 21 21:32:47 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2003 14:32:47 -0700 Subject: Group taking 'Spirit Walk' to preserve tribe's heritage (fwd) Message-ID: Thursday, August 21, 2003 Group taking 'Spirit Walk' to preserve tribe's heritage By Scott Richardson Pantagraph staff http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/082103/new_20030821028.shtml EL PASO -- American Indian John LaFountaine is walking 1,700 miles from South Dakota to Washington, D.C., to stop America's "original culture" from fading away. Before arriving at the Freight House Exchange in El Paso on Wednesday afternoon, LaFountaine, 48, president of the board of the Seven Fires Foundation, said "Spirit Walk" supports the South Dakota-based Lakota Project and other groups working to preserve American Indian heritage. The walk, which began 870 miles to the west at the Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, is timed to coincide with the start of the bicentennial celebration of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, when there may be increased interest in American Indian issues the Oregon-based, non-profit foundation is involved in. Averaging about 24 miles a day and walking when temperatures some days were more than 100 degrees, LaFountaine and three companions expect to arrive in the nation's capital Sept. 26. There, Seven Fires Foundation representatives will lobby for passage of Senate Bill 575 that would allow federally-recognized tribes and institutions of higher learning to seek money for programs that preserve American Indian languages and cultures. Designation of that day as National Native American Day also is a goal. The group had seven members for the first leg of the journey. Upon reaching Peoria on Tuesday, two teenagers returned home for school and another left to go back to work. The remaining four will continue the walk today on U.S. 24 through Gridley and Chenoa and spend the night in Fairbury. Along the way, they are sharing American Indian culture through dance and story-telling. "We are sharing with them not only the Lakota culture, but what the native traditions have to offer. They are the original traditions of this land," said LaFountaine, adding, "The support we've received is heart-warming." LaFountaine is Annishinabeg, a tribe commonly known as Chippewa. He was a self-described "urban Indian" when he moved to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Porcupine, S.D. The Lakota accepted him, sharing their traditions and private ceremonies. The experience energized his own yearning to explore his tribal roots; LaFountaine now speaks some Lakota and Annishinabeg. The Spirit Walk is his way of saying, "Thanks." "I've spent 16 years learning from the Lakota," said LaFountaine, of Reno, Nev., and former curator and archivist for the Leer family of Learjets. "I felt in my heart I would like to give back to them in small measure." Today, less than 2 percent of the 100,000 Lakota living at Pine Ridge know the Lakota language, he said. Oglala Lakota College estimates fewer than 25 percent of the tribe can speak their language. Most who know it are tribal elders, LaFountaine said, and the college estimates they will comprise just 10 percent of the total Lakota population in the next generation. "The native language is dying out," agreed Tammy Van, another walker and executive director of the Seven Fires Foundation. "When the language is gone, the culture is gone." Lakota families often are financially strapped, and both parents work, leaving little time to pass on traditional ways, said LaFountaine, noting reservations see higher than usual rates of school drop-outs, infant mortality and drug abuse. "Through the assimilation process, much has been lost," said Van, whose heritage is German, Irish and Dutch. "I'd like to help make that right." Contact Scott Richardson at srichardson at pantagraph.com From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Fri Aug 22 21:42:17 2003 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 14:42:17 -0700 Subject: Digital Language question Message-ID: > excellent photo! Hey, do you know about computer technology for language > documentation? I am going to be purchasing, cooledits pro, but my budget > is limited to 2K for all of the hardware and software that I will need. > Can you help me out with leads to purchasing the mic, DAT?, etc.? > From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Sat Aug 23 00:27:11 2003 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 17:27:11 -0700 Subject: Language Help Message-ID: Dad's Lady Warrior What would that be translated into Diné From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sat Aug 23 03:28:05 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 20:28:05 -0700 Subject: Yukon Native Language Centre (link) Message-ID: Dear ILAT, I thought this site might be of interest. The Gwich'in language lessons are especially nice. http://www.yukoncollege.yk.ca/ynlc/index.html phil cash cash UofA, ILAT From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 24 16:44:45 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 09:44:45 -0700 Subject: Hawaiian newspapers will soon be on the Web (fwd) Message-ID: Posted on: Sunday, August 24, 2003 Hawaiian newspapers will soon be on the Web By Jan TenBruggencate Advertiser Staff Writer http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Aug/24/ln/ln20a.html A treasure trove of Hawaiian history sits in tens of thousands of pages from 125 different Hawaiian-language newspapers that were published from the early 1800s to the middle 1900s. That history, most of it microfilmed but never republished or translated, should begin to be available via the Internet as early as September. It will be a searchable database in the original Hawaiian. The Bishop Museum's Hawaiian-language newspapers project, Ho'olaupa'i, is using optical character recognition software to convert the microfilm news-print pages to digital format, which will be placed on a Web site. A staff of 10 Hawaiian scholars, guided by Kau'i Goodhue, is checking the digital text against the originals. The work builds on preliminary efforts by the University of Hawai'i's Hamilton Library and Alu Like, an education, vocational training and employment program for Native Hawaiians. Some of the Hawaiian-language papers were weeklies published only for a month or two. Others continued for decades, sometimes incorporating other newspapers along the way. One of these was "Ka Nupepa Kuokoa," the longest-lived Hawaiian-language paper, which was in print from 1861 until 1927. It and other papers carried social commentary, vigorous debates on public issues, ancient tales, discussions of land issues and much more. Historian and educator Samuel Manaiakalani Kamakau was a contributor to the paper. So were many Native Hawaiians who disagreed with some of his versions of Hawaiian history. "Kamakau and (historian David) Malo had contemporaries that didn't necessarily agree with them. The result is a debate," said Guy Kaulukukui, Bishop Museum's vice president for cultural studies. Hilo, Hawai'i-based cultural consultant Kepa Maly said the newspapers provide a much broader picture of what was going on in Hawai'i than history books do. "I think it's an amazing project, and very important to further understand the wide range of the cultural landscape. I don't want to be insensitive, but the primary historical texts that have been translated to date have been significantly connected to the Kamehameha family," Maly said. Other writers represented in the newspaper archives may represent alternative views to those of the ruling family, he said. The newspapers also have significant information about land use, property rights, ownership, boundaries — much of which has never been properly studied in property disputes, he said. Another remarkable resource is a Hawaiian tradition of writing lyrical dirges called "kanikau," which can be poetic, descriptive and, in some cases, heartbreaking, Goodhue said. She recalls one in which a woman laments the death of her husband, who suffered from leprosy, in the arms of his new lover, namely the Hansen's disease colony of Kalaupapa on Moloka'i. The newspaper project's staff is coming across a number of Hawaiian words not found in the major Hawaiian dictionaries, and is scheduling meetings with Hawaiian elders and scholars to figure out what they mean. In some cases, the meanings can be determined from context. In others, it's not so easy. "In a society where there are all native speakers, they make up slang like we do today," Goodhue said. One such word is printed "haleao," which probably would be written "hale a'o" today. It likely translates "house of learning." Its synonym today would be "hale kula," or school. Another word is the descriptive term "palalauki." The project's staff says it may be related to the term for aging pandanus leaves, "pala lau hala." But "pala lau ki" would refer to something aged and yellowed like a ti leaf. Between the new words, the new ideas and the wealth of stories, Ho'olaupa'i will provide scholars and anyone interested in Hawai'i with an unmatched new resource. Even nonspeakers will be able to search for a name, a place or a concept, and on finding references, to either puzzle out a meaning or take specific text to a speaker of the language for translation. "This project allows access to a massive library of Hawaiian writings that have never been available to most people," Goodhue said. The digitization project will take years to complete, Goodhue said. It is now supported by private donations and grants from the U.S. Departments of Labor and Interior, but more money is needed. Kaulukukui said it will take about $500,000 a year for five years to accomplish the task. There are about 125,000 pages of newsprint, each of which equals seven to eight pages of text. That approaches 1 million pages of text. "The opportunity we have here is remarkable. It will provide us with historical perspectives that do not currently exist," Kaulukukui said. Some work already has been done to make the early Hawaiian-language papers available. At the Web site libweb.hawaii.edu/hnp/newspapers.htm, nonsearchable images taken from microfilm copies of newspapers are available. These were part of a 1997 Hamilton Library project. Further work on the newspapers is available at nupepa.olelo.hawaii.edu/cgi-bin/npepa. This site includes searchable and nonsearchable data, from a project operated by Alu Like's Native Hawaiian Library and Hawaiian Language Legacy Program. Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant at honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 24 16:50:01 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 09:50:01 -0700 Subject: Mind your tongue (fwd) Message-ID: Mind your tongue http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology/News/0,,2-13-1443_1406287,00.html# Paris - "Vel ny partanyn snaue, Joe?," says the ghostly voice from the archives. "'Cha nel monney, cha nel monney,' dooyrt Joe. 'T'ad feer ghoan'." The voice belonged to Ned Maddrell, the very last native speaker of Manx, the Celtic language once spoken on the Isle of Man - the small island located between Britain and Ireland. Maddrell died in 1974, leaving behind recordings of his fishing anecdotes and daily chat (translation of this snippet: "Are the crabs crawling, Joe? 'Not much, not much,' said Joe. 'They're very scarce'."). Casual, almost banal as they seemed at the time, Mandrell's utterances are now precious beyond price. Carefully stored and pored over by phonetics experts, his words are the linguistic equivalent of a gene bank for dead species. More than 300 languages have already become extinct, and "thousands" more are hurtling down the same road, say Daniel Abrams and Steven Strogatz of New York's Cornell University. "Ninety percent of languages are expected to disappear with the current generation." It is a linguistic loss whose equivalent in biodiversity is the mass extinction 65 million years ago which wiped out innumerable species, including the dinosaurs. The most authoritative database on languages lists 6 809 languages that are spoken in the world today, of which 357 have fewer than 50 speakers. In the case of Abaga, a language spoken in Papua New Guinea's Eastern Highlands Province, just five people still speak it. That estimate was made in 1994, and Abaga may already have vanished. If language extinction is acknowledged as one of the greatest threats to human heritage, only now are scientific tools emerging that help to explain how a language erodes and dies, and what can be done to defend it. Evolutionary biologists are struck by similar patterns between threatened tongues and threatened biodiversity. A language, like species, can head for oblivion if it is threatened by a powerful invader; if it no longer has a large enough, or young enough, or economically viable population to speak it; and if its habitat is destroyed or displaced by war. Invasive languages are promoted by national governments as a unifying political force or for bureaucracy; or they are essential for work or economic activity, used in television, the radio or movies; or they are fashionable, especially among the young. In poor or remote communities, these newcomers work like an insidious virus, able to sicken the local language quickly and put it on its deathbed within two or three generations. "The present 'killers' of languages are English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Swahili, Chinese and Indonesia/Malay," according to a study written by Margit Waas for the US journal Applied Linguistics Forum. "About 45% of all the people in the world speak at least one of the five main languages: English, Spanish, Russian, Hindi and Mandarin Chinese. Approximately 100 languages are spoken by 95% of the world's people, and the remaining thousands by only five percent." Language death can be charted by numbers. Under this "de-acquisition" process, the entire community initially speaks the native tongue daily. As the invader takes root, the number of only-native speakers falls and the number of bilingual speakers rises. Then comes a tipping point at which the native speakers become a minority with a middle-aged demographic profile. As they age, the language becomes more and more isolated socially, less useful economically and less prestigious, and eventually dies with its last few speakers. Hauling a language away from the maw of extinction is rare, and the few successes have been in rich countries with the awareness and resources to combat the problem. Abrams and Strogatz, in a study published last Thursday in Nature, charted the numbers of speakers of Welsh; of Scottish Gaelic, in the remote region of Sutherland; and of Quechua, the most common surviving indigenous language in Latin America, as spoken in Peru. The decline in Welsh speakers will bottom out by 2020; Gaelic speakers in Sutherland are less than a tenth of what they were 120 years ago; and Quechua in Peru will be wiped out by 2030, they suggest. The key to Welsh's survivability lies in government help: street signs in Welsh, TV and radio programming, language courses for adults and the compulsory learning of Welsh for all children up to the age of 16. In other words, prestige is vital. "The example of Quebec French demonstrates that language decline can be slowed by strategies such as policy-making, education and advertising, in essence increasing an endangered language's status," say Abrams and Strogatz. - SAPA/AFP From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Mon Aug 25 15:44:50 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 08:44:50 -0700 Subject: Program immerses students in Cherokee (fwd) Message-ID: Program immerses students in Cherokee Tulsa World 8/23/2003 LOST CITY (AP) -- The kindergarten teacher speaks to her class in Cherokee, telling the children to pull out their mats for nap time. She calls out their names in Cherokee, telling "Yo-na," or Bear, to place his mat away from "A-wi," or Deer. Soft Cherokee music lulls them to sleep. Their parents were mocked for speaking Cherokee. Their grandparents punished. But Cherokee is the only language these children will speak in their public school classroom. Lost City is the first public school class to immerse students in the American Indian language in Oklahoma. Another public school class is being planned by the Eastern band of Cherokees in North Carolina at Swain County High School. Cherokee Nation Chief Chad Smith spoke to educators at a meeting last year and told them the language is dying. Fewer than 8,000 of the 100,000 Cherokees in Oklahoma can speak the language fluently, and most of those who can are older than 45. Smith said his father was punished for speaking Cherokee at Sequoyah High School in Tahlequah, the seat of Cherokee government. "If you spoke the language, your mouth was washed out with soap," he said. "It was an effort to destroy the language, and it was fairly successful." Assimilation policies once discouraged the use of the native language in schools, he said. Harry Oosahwee, the tribe's language projects supervisor, said he was mocked and ridiculed for speaking his first language in his public school. Annette Millard, the school superintendent, spoke to Smith at the meeting and was determined to do her part to preserve the language. She runs a school that sits on 40 acres off a winding country road outside the small town of Hulbert. Sixty-five of the 100 students are members of the Cherokee tribe. "It is important to them that they are able to learn about their culture and language and speak as much of it as possible," she said. "The language is going to be gone if we don't do something, and the best people to learn are kids in the developmental stage of kindergarten." She started learning the language along with her staff. The Cherokee Nation has paid the salaries of the teacher and an assistant in the hope that the younger generation will renew the culture of their ancestors by learning the disappearing tongue. Ten children are currently enrolled in the class. Next year, the immersion class will be held for first grade, and the students will continue with these classes as they move through the school. Chief Smith hopes the Cherokee Nation has acted in time. "The vessel that holds the culture," he said, "is the language." From fnkrs at UAF.EDU Mon Aug 25 18:39:45 2003 From: fnkrs at UAF.EDU (Hishinlai') Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 10:39:45 -0800 Subject: Program immerses students in Cherokee Message-ID: This is fantastic news! Wish this were the mentality of all school administrators, parents, and politicians. Hishinlai' >===== Original Message From Indigenous Languages and Technology ===== >Program immerses students in Cherokee > >Tulsa World >8/23/2003 > >LOST CITY (AP) -- The kindergarten teacher speaks to her class in >Cherokee, telling the children to pull out their mats for nap time. > >She calls out their names in Cherokee, telling "Yo-na," or Bear, to >place his mat away from "A-wi," or Deer. Soft Cherokee music lulls them >to sleep. > >Their parents were mocked for speaking Cherokee. Their grandparents >punished. But Cherokee is the only language these children will speak >in their public school classroom. > >Lost City is the first public school class to immerse students in the >American Indian language in Oklahoma. Another public school class is >being planned by the Eastern band of Cherokees in North Carolina at >Swain County High School. > >Cherokee Nation Chief Chad Smith spoke to educators at a meeting last >year and told them the language is dying. > >Fewer than 8,000 of the 100,000 Cherokees in Oklahoma can speak the >language fluently, and most of those who can are older than 45. > >Smith said his father was punished for speaking Cherokee at Sequoyah >High School in Tahlequah, the seat of Cherokee government. > >"If you spoke the language, your mouth was washed out with soap," he >said. "It was an effort to destroy the language, and it was fairly >successful." > >Assimilation policies once discouraged the use of the native language in >schools, he said. Harry Oosahwee, the tribe's language projects >supervisor, said he was mocked and ridiculed for speaking his first >language in his public school. > >Annette Millard, the school superintendent, spoke to Smith at the >meeting and was determined to do her part to preserve the language. > >She runs a school that sits on 40 acres off a winding country road >outside the small town of Hulbert. Sixty-five of the 100 students are >members of the Cherokee tribe. > >"It is important to them that they are able to learn about their culture >and language and speak as much of it as possible," she said. > >"The language is going to be gone if we don't do something, and the best >people to learn are kids in the developmental stage of kindergarten." > >She started learning the language along with her staff. > >The Cherokee Nation has paid the salaries of the teacher and an >assistant in the hope that the younger generation will renew the >culture of their ancestors by learning the disappearing tongue. > >Ten children are currently enrolled in the class. Next year, the >immersion class will be held for first grade, and the students will >continue with these classes as they move through the school. > >Chief Smith hopes the Cherokee Nation has acted in time. > >"The vessel that holds the culture," he said, "is the language." <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Hishinlai' "Kathy R. Sikorski", Gwich'in Instructor University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Native Language Center P. O. Box 757680 Fairbanks, AK 99775-7680 P (907) 474-7875 F (907) 474-7876 E fnkrs at uaf.edu ANLC-L at www.uaf.edu/anlc/ Hah! Nakhweet'ihthan t'ihch'yaa! From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Mon Aug 25 22:08:49 2003 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 15:08:49 -0700 Subject: Immersion (language) Message-ID: Public School Teaches Cherokee to Kindergarteners By Jenny Burns, Associated Press Writer Lost City, Okla. (AP) _ The kindergarten teacher speaks to her class in Cherokee, telling the children to pull out their mats for nap time. She calls our their names in Cherokee, telling "Yo-na," or Bear, to place his mat away from "A-wi," or Deer. Soft Cherokee music lulls them to sleep. Their parents were mocked for speaking Cherokee. Their grandparents punished. But Cherokee is the only language these children will speak in their public school classroom. Lost City is the first public school class to immerse students in the American Indian language in Oklahoma. Another public school class is being planned by the Eastern band of Cherokees in North Carolina at Swain County High School. Cherokee Nation Chief Chad Smith spoke to educators at a meeting last year and told them the language is dying. Fewer than 8,000 of the 100,000 Cherokees in Oklahoma can speak the language fluently and most of those who can are over 45. Smith's father was punished for speaking Cherokee in Sequoyah High School, located at the seat of Cherokee government in Tahlequah. "If you spoke the language, your mouth was washed out with soap," Smith said. "It was an effort to destroy the language and it was fairly successful." Assimilation policies once discouraged the use of the native language in schools, he said. Harry Oosahwee, the tribe's language projects supervisor, said he was mocked and ridiculed for speaking his first language in his public school. Annette Millard, the school superintendent, spoke to Smith at the meeting and was determined to do her part to preserve the language. She runs a school that sits on 40 acres off a winding country road outside the small town of Hulbert. Sixty-five of the 100 students are members of the Cherokee tribe. "It is important to them that they are able to learn about their culture and language and speak as much of it as possible," she said. "The language is going to be gone if we don't do something and the best people to learn are kids in the developmental stage of kindergarten." She offered a classroom for the immersion class and started learning the language along with her staff. The Cherokee Nation has paid the salaries of the teacher and an assistant in hopes that the younger generation will renew the culture of their ancestors by learning the disappearing tongue. "My grandma speaks Cherokee to old people," said kindergartner Matthew Keener, who goes by "Yo-na" at school. Those students not in the immersion class are exposed to Cherokee as well. The school has a weekly "Rise and Shine" assembly where all grades begin with the greeting, "o-si-yo," and discuss the word for the week. One recent week, the word was truthfulness, or "du-yu-go-dv." Millard calls students by their Cherokee names and remembers to encourage them by saying "o-sta" with a smile. All the students from the pre-kindergarten to eighth grade level know that means "good." Her office is adorned with Cherokee words and pronunciations posted on objects like the telephone and her desk chair. She bought software to print the Cherokee alphabet, which was codified into 85 symbols, each representing a syllable, by Sequoyah in 1821. Millard says she has learned to appreciate the gentle rhythm of the language and its earthy roots. She finds the word "cattle" harsh sounding in English. When she stands out in her cow pasture and calls them "wa-ga," she said, "it's like they'll almost turn and look at me." The Cherokee Nation would cease to exist without its language, Oosahwee said. "We have our medicine, our plant life, our universe and the language the Creator has given us," he said. "Our medicine doesn't understand other languages but Cherokee. All this is interconnected." Ten children are currently enrolled in the class. Their Cherokee language instruction will continue. Next year, the immersion class will be held for first grade, and the students will continue with these classes as they move through the school. The hope is that they will speak Cherokee at home to their parents. After three weeks of school, Lane Smith, or "A-wi," told his mother that he was going outside to play. Since he spoke in Cherokee, she wasn't quite sure what he was saying, but she is now starting to relearn the language she knew at age five. "My family has asked Lane what he has learned today and they are learning right along with him," she said. "I plan to have him keep going with the language." Chief Smith hopes the Cherokee Nation has acted in time. "The vessel that holds the culture," he said, "is the language." ___ On the Net: Cherokee Nation: http://www.cherokee.org/ From miakalish at REDPONY.US Tue Aug 26 02:53:56 2003 From: miakalish at REDPONY.US (MiaKalish@RedPony) Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 20:53:56 -0600 Subject: SOBIG virus on ILAT Message-ID: Hi, People. Someone on this list has a virus called SOBIG. It is the person/one of the people who is on frontiernet.net, in Arizona. The email address is: 170-215-37-43.bras01.kgm.az.frontiernet.net . This isn't hard to fix. You just need to go to the Microsoft site for SOBIG. I used to have the link but I don't have it any more. I have another suspicious email from plover.csun.edu [130.166.1.24], but I am less sure that this person is on this list. What happens is that the virus starts sending itself to everyone in your email address book. I am running PC-Cillin on all my computers; this is the 2nd really nasty virus attack in a month, and the 3rd this summer. It would sure be nice if people invested a little in a virus protection program so that they didn't infect their internet friends and acquaintances. PC-Cillin is available as a download, and is only about 40 bucks, less if you take the quiz. Mia ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mail Delivery Subsystem" To: Sent: Monday, August 25, 2003 5:47 PM Subject: Returned mail: User unknown > The original message was received at Mon, 25 Aug 2003 19:47:07 -0400 (EDT) > from 170-215-37-43.bras01.kgm.az.frontiernet.net [170.215.37.43] > > > *** ATTENTION *** > > Your e-mail is being returned to you because there was a problem with its > delivery. The address which was undeliverable is listed in the section > labeled: "----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----". > > The reason your mail is being returned to you is listed in the section > labeled: "----- Transcript of Session Follows -----". > > The line beginning with "<<<" describes the specific reason your e-mail could > not be delivered. The next line contains a second error message which is a > general translation for other e-mail servers. > > Please direct further questions regarding this message to your e-mail > administrator. > > --AOL Postmaster > > > > ----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors ----- > > > ----- Transcript of session follows ----- > ... while talking to air-xi04.mail.aol.com.: > >>> RCPT To: > <<< 550 MAILBOX NOT FOUND > 550 ... User unknown > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > Received: from BOBS (170-215-37-43.bras01.kgm.az.frontiernet.net [170.215.37.43]) by rly-xi04.mx.aol.com (v95.1) with ESMTP id MAILRELAYINXI42-4da3f4a9fda53; Mon, 25 Aug 2003 19:46:42 -0400 > From: > To: > Subject: Re: Re: My details > Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 16:46:37 --0700 > X-MailScanner: Found to be clean > Importance: Normal > X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2600.0000 > X-MSMail-Priority: Normal > X-Priority: 3 (Normal) > MIME-Version: 1.0 > Content-Type: multipart/mixed; > boundary="_NextPart_000_06B06D55" > X-AOL-IP: 170.215.37.43 > X-AOL-SCOLL-SCORE: 0:XXX:XX > X-AOL-SCOLL-URL_COUNT: 0 > Message-ID: <200308251947.4da3f4a9fda53 at rly-xi04.mx.aol.com> > -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ATT00030.dat Type: application/octet-stream Size: 306 bytes Desc: not available URL: From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Tue Aug 26 15:18:30 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 08:18:30 -0700 Subject: Navajo/English books help students with language arts (fwd) Message-ID: Navajo/English books help students with language arts Pamela G. Dempsey Diné Bureau http://www.gallupindependent.com/08-23-03languagearts.html FLAGSTAFF — Who wants to be a prairie dog? Bidii, (it means Greedy in Navajo), might be if he doesn't learn to hurry. This character, introduced in the book by the same title, is one of many from Salina Bookshelf, Inc., a Flagstaff-based publishing company of Navajo-English workbooks and children's books. Hatched in 1994, Salina wanted to bring Navajo-language and education together in a different way. They began by publishing, "Who Wants to be a Prairie Dog?", a 1940's-story originally used by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Boarding School system. "Our primary focus on developing literature to be used in schools was trying to address, not all issues facing language preservation, but some, in offering an alternative, offering something schools can use," said Eric Lockard, publisher of the company. Several of their newer titles such as "Little Prankster Girl" and "Red is Beautiful" continue with Salina's tradition of teaching Navajo culture and language with memorable characters, detailed art, and relevant story lines. This year, Salina introduced their first baby books which "teach Navajo by association." "We're expanding," Lockard said. "There's a real need for Navajo language material in schools." Authors, translators, and editors work on a project for at least a year before its sent into production. Authors such as Martha Blue and Roberta John spend time with their editor working on the literal meanings of the phrasing in both English and Navajo. "You have two authors conveying the same message in two different culture to find a happy medium," Lockard said. "They get together to work on a project, and make concessions in hope to make a better story." Salina's illustrators are as just as diverse. "We work with new and established artists," Lockard said. "We really like the diversity in illustrations." Their next ventures include an interactive CD-ROM to accompany their "Learn Along with Ashkii" series. So far, the project is half-way done and includes characters familiar to some of Salina's titles. Once completed, the user can choose to visit a hogan, a school, a deli, and a laundry to learn Navajo words for everyday use. Bahe Whitehorn, Jr., whose father, Bahe Whitehorn, Sr. worked as an artist for the company, is the graphic designer on the project and found the work, no matter how detailed, to be fun. "It's real fun, it's something I'm really interested in," he said. Salina also published tourism materials - "culture appropriate material most representing Navajo culture as defined by Navajos," Lockard said - and a Navajo Language Learning CD-ROM, which teaches how to tell time, count, read a calendar, and learn to say common Navajo words. Teachers can use them for tests. As successful, though, as Salina is in bringing interesting and culturally relevant teaching tools to the students who use them most, one event may top it all. "We're excited when books come back (from the printers)," Lockard said. "It's like Christmas." From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Tue Aug 26 16:15:10 2003 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 09:15:10 -0700 Subject: SOBIG virus on ILAT Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gforger at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Tue Aug 26 16:47:05 2003 From: gforger at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Garry Forger) Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 09:47:05 -0700 Subject: SOBIG virus on ILAT Message-ID: Dear ILTATers. The current virus worm that is going around aliases individuals emails. In other words, people are getting emails with the worm attached with my return email address as the sender, even though I do not have the virus and did not initiate any of the emails. This makes it very difficult to track down the infected computers that do have the worm virus. And yes, keeping away from Windows does help. Garry Forger Andre Cramblit wrote: > "MiaKalish at RedPony" wrote: > >> It would sure be nice if >> people invested a little in a virus protection program so that they >> didn't >> infect their internet friends and acquaintances. PC-Cillin is >> available as >> a download, and is only about 40 bucks, less if you take the quiz. >> >> > Easier yet-get a Macintosh > http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/ -- Garry J. Forger, MLS Technology Coordinator The University of Arizona Learning Technologies Center 1077 N. Highland Ave Tucson, AZ 85721-0073 gforger at u.arizona.edu http://www.ltc.arizona.edu/ Phone 520-626-7761 Fax 520-626-8220 From CRANEM at MAIL.ECU.EDU Tue Aug 26 19:01:59 2003 From: CRANEM at MAIL.ECU.EDU (Bizzaro, Resa Crane) Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 15:01:59 -0400 Subject: SOBIG virus on ILAT Message-ID: Hi, everyone. This is my first post to the list. At my university, we have a site license for Norton Anti-Virus. I can take a blank CD to our Computer Services Division and they give me a CD with NAV on it. I can install it on my office and home computers. It may be that your university (if you're in a university) has this service, as well, and it's certainly worth looking into. I know it's frustrating to "detox" our computers so often; maybe this suggestion will work for more than just me. Thanks to all of you for the information you make available on the list. Resa Resa Crane Bizzaro English Department East Carolina University Greenville, NC 27858 (252) 328-1395 - Office (252) 328-4889 - Fax -----Original Message----- From: Andre Cramblit [mailto:andrekar at NCIDC.ORG] Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2003 12:15 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: SOBIG virus on ILAT "MiaKalish at RedPony" wrote: It would sure be nice if people invested a little in a virus protection program so that they didn't infect their internet friends and acquaintances. PC-Cillin is available as a download, and is only about 40 bucks, less if you take the quiz. Easier yet-get a Macintosh http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pasxapu at DAKOTACOM.NET Tue Aug 26 20:06:51 2003 From: pasxapu at DAKOTACOM.NET (phil cash cash) Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 13:06:51 -0700 Subject: SOBIG virus on ILAT In-Reply-To: <3F4B8F09.5090300@email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: It seems the Sobig virus makes it appear that you are the originator of the virus. I received a number of notices from various places stating that my edu account was the sender of a Sobig virus. None of the messages that I had supposedly sent that day corresponded to any email recipient or date or time of the virus message nor did I ever have the virus in the first place (fingers crossed). And I've been using my Mac for the past 2 months! phil cash cash UofA On Tuesday, August 26, 2003, at 09:47 AM, Garry Forger wrote: > Dear ILTATers. > > The current virus worm that is going around aliases individuals emails. > In other words, people are getting emails with the worm attached with > my return email address as the sender, even though I do not have the > virus and did not initiate any of the emails. This makes it very > difficult to track down the infected computers that do have the worm > virus. > > And yes, keeping away from Windows does help. > Garry Forger > > Andre Cramblit wrote: > >> "MiaKalish at RedPony" wrote: >> >>> It would sure be nice if >>> people invested a little in a virus protection program so that they >>> didn't >>> infect their internet friends and acquaintances. PC-Cillin is >>> available as >>> a download, and is only about 40 bucks, less if you take the quiz. >>> >>> >> Easier yet-get a Macintosh >> http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/ > > > -- > Garry J. Forger, MLS > Technology Coordinator > The University of Arizona > Learning Technologies Center > 1077 N. Highland Ave > Tucson, AZ 85721-0073 > gforger at u.arizona.edu > http://www.ltc.arizona.edu/ > Phone 520-626-7761 > Fax 520-626-8220 > From miakalish at REDPONY.US Tue Aug 26 23:43:20 2003 From: miakalish at REDPONY.US (MiaKalish@RedPony) Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 17:43:20 -0600 Subject: SOBIG virus on ILAT Message-ID: How this was explained to me is that the virus infects a computer, reads the address book, and sends it back to each individual in the address book As-If he or she had sent it. think - I'm trying to remember - the infected computer is the TO address, not the FROM address. Mia ----- Original Message ----- From: "phil cash cash" To: Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2003 2:06 PM Subject: Re: SOBIG virus on ILAT > It seems the Sobig virus makes it appear that you are the originator of > the virus. I received a number of notices from various places stating > that my edu account was the sender of a Sobig virus. None of the > messages that I had supposedly sent that day corresponded to any email > recipient or date or time of the virus message nor did I ever have the > virus in the first place (fingers crossed). And I've been using my Mac > for the past 2 months! > > phil cash cash > UofA > > On Tuesday, August 26, 2003, at 09:47 AM, Garry Forger wrote: > > > Dear ILTATers. > > > > The current virus worm that is going around aliases individuals emails. > > In other words, people are getting emails with the worm attached with > > my return email address as the sender, even though I do not have the > > virus and did not initiate any of the emails. This makes it very > > difficult to track down the infected computers that do have the worm > > virus. > > > > And yes, keeping away from Windows does help. > > Garry Forger > > > > Andre Cramblit wrote: > > > >> "MiaKalish at RedPony" wrote: > >> > >>> It would sure be nice if > >>> people invested a little in a virus protection program so that they > >>> didn't > >>> infect their internet friends and acquaintances. PC-Cillin is > >>> available as > >>> a download, and is only about 40 bucks, less if you take the quiz. > >>> > >>> > >> Easier yet-get a Macintosh > >> http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/ > > > > > > -- > > Garry J. Forger, MLS > > Technology Coordinator > > The University of Arizona > > Learning Technologies Center > > 1077 N. Highland Ave > > Tucson, AZ 85721-0073 > > gforger at u.arizona.edu > > http://www.ltc.arizona.edu/ > > Phone 520-626-7761 > > Fax 520-626-8220 > > > > From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Wed Aug 27 15:58:17 2003 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2003 08:58:17 -0700 Subject: Aboriginal Languages Message-ID: DO ABORIGINAL LANGUAGES DESERVE OFFICIAL STATUS? Aboriginal Peoples Television Network Fri Aug 29 > 8 pm et / 5 pt This week on the 'Best of Contact,' we look at whether Aboriginal languages receive the respect and support they deserve. With about 60 Aboriginal languages spoken in Canada today, many at risk of dying out forever, native groups want laws to protect and promote their revival. But Canada's Official Languages Act only recognizes French and English. Every year, Canada spends at least $450 million on French services and education (though another estimate says it's much higher at $1.7 billion). Should Aboriginal languages not get the same treatment? Does the government have an obligation to bring back what it once tried to destroy through residential schools? Or are the costs just too high? Tune in this Friday at 8 pm et (5 pt) as we ask 'Do Aboriginal Languages Deserve Official Status?' [orig. air date: Feb 21, 2003] Visit our discussion forum at http://www.aptn.ca/en/Community/index_html From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Wed Aug 27 16:28:44 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2003 09:28:44 -0700 Subject: Scholars Perform Autopsy on Ancient Writing Systems (fwd) Message-ID: Scholars Perform Autopsy on Ancient Writing Systems Cause of Death Related to Lack Of Accessibility http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40010-2003Aug24.html By Guy Gugliotta Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, August 25, 2003; Page A07 When a system of writing begins to die, people probably don't even notice at first. Maybe the culture that spawned it loses its vitality, and the script decays along with it. Maybe the scribes or priests decide that most ordinary people aren't able to learn it, so they don't teach it. Or a new, simpler system may show up -- an alphabet, perhaps -- that can be easily learned by aggressive upstarts who don't speak the old language and don't care to learn its fancy pictographic forms. Or perhaps invaders take over. They decide the old language is an inconvenience, the old culture is mumbo jumbo and the script that serves it is subversive. The scribes are shunned, discredited and, if they persist, obliterated. In the first study of its kind, three experts in the study of written language have described the common characteristics that caused three famous scripts -- ancient Egyptian, Middle Eastern cuneiform and pre-Columbian Mayan -- to disappear. "Thousands of languages have come and gone, and we've studied that process for years," said Brigham Young University archaeologist Stephen D. Houston, the study's Maya specialist. "But throughout history, maybe 100 writing systems have ever existed. We should know more about why they disappear." The collaboration among Houston, University of Cambridge Egyptologist John Baines and Assyriologist Jerrold S. Cooper of Johns Hopkins University began at a meeting that Houston hosted earlier this year to discuss the origins of writing. What resulted was "Last Writing," an essay on script death published recently in the British journal Comparative Studies in Society and History. Its basic conclusion: Writing systems die when those who use them restrict access to them. "The sociological and cultural dimension is crucial," Houston said. "Successful systems don't have these prohibitions. Once there's this perception that the writing is only for this function or that function, script death is almost a self-fulfilling prophecy." On the surface, the disappearances of the three ancient scripts appear to have little in common. Both Egyptian and cuneiform survived for 4,000 years, a millennium longer than the Latin alphabet that Westerners use today, and both died in the early centuries of the Christian era after long declines. Mayan, by contrast, lasted about 2,000 years and died relatively abruptly around 1600 because of active repression by Spanish conquerors. Both Mayan and Egyptian served only one language, while cuneiform, invented by ancient Sumerians around 3500 B.C., was adopted by many different Mesopotamian peoples who spoke Semitic and Indo-European languages and other tongues completely unrelated to Sumerian. Mayan and cuneiform took one basic form, while Egyptian was actually four related but different systems. Hieroglyphics, the lovely script that adorns the pyramids and monuments of the pharaohs, was the most elaborate. Mayan never had a real competitor, while cuneiform eventually succumbed to rough-and-ready local Semitic alphabets -- principally Aramaic -- that better served the region. Egyptian endured centuries of onslaught from the Greek and Latin of its invaders before finally giving way. Despite the differences, all three writing systems fell victim to some of the same mistakes: "There's discrimination against everyday use, so that while religion may help a script survive, it does not extend its reach," Baines said. "And when the people [or conquerors] begin to identify the religion and its script as something heretical or dangerous, there's nobody left to protect it." For ancient languages, the margin for survival was always narrow: "We're so used to universal literacy that we forget that the whole Mayan [literate] population may have been a third of the number of people who go to a college football game today," said Pennsylvania State University anthropologist David Webster, a Maya expert. "I don't think most of us focus on just how limited literacy was in a lot of these societies." For centuries Egyptian script thrived because it served a relatively homogeneous people who lived on the edge of the known world unchallenged by outside forces, Baines said. This changed with conquests first by Alexander the Great in the 4th century B.C. and later by the Romans. Greek became Egypt's official language during the Hellenistic period, and the Romans discriminated against indigenous nobles by taxing those who didn't speak it: "This was a body blow," said Cambridge's Baines. But the Romans, who saw themselves as the heirs of the pharaohs, invested heavily in temple building, which helped hieroglyphics survive and even thrive, he added. It wasn't until polytheism went into disrepute with the strengthening of Christianity that Egyptian script lost its anchor and finally died. In Mesopotamia, cuneiform benefited for about 2,000 years by being the only script in the region. Even as Sumerian civilization began to decline, the Semitic Akkadians who replaced them adopted their writing system around 2500 B.C. Other peoples followed. Cuneiform continued into the first millennium B.C. as the script for ritual, administration and commerce, but later tablets show notes in the margin written in the more recently developed Aramaic alphabet, an ominous sign. Besides that, said Johns Hopkins' Cooper, "the fact that nobody spoke the [Sumerian] language [by about 1400 B.C.] put the script in jeopardy." Finally, he added, "the texts depended on a certain kind of belief system that was changing, while the texts weren't." The script began to disappear, lingering in temples and then disappearing altogether after a last flowering among Chaldean astronomers who probably used it, Cooper said, because cuneiform's numerical system is based on 60, offering a much less cumbersome mathematical mechanism than anything else that existed at the time. The fate of Mayan script differed from cuneiform or Egyptian, because it appears to have suffered a largely self-inflicted wound. Long before the Spanish conquest, use of the elaborate glyphs that had flourished for 1,500 years was sharply restricted, Penn State's Webster said, probably because they "were so closely identified with rulers whose rule had been discredited" by wars and corruption. By the time the Spaniards set out to systematically destroy the remains of Mayan civilization, the script may have needed little more than a coup de grace. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Wed Aug 27 16:33:33 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2003 09:33:33 -0700 Subject: Language's Status Drives Its Survival (fwd) Message-ID: Language's Status Drives Its Survival By Bob Beale, ABC Science Online http://dsc.discovery.com/news/afp/20030818/language.html Aug. 21, 2003 — Languages evolve and compete with each other much like plants and animals, but those driven to extinction are almost always tongues with a low social status, U.S. research shows. The social status of a language is the most accurate way of predicting whether it will survive, argue researchers in a paper appearing in the journal Nature. They also suggest that active intervention to boost the status of rare and endangered languages can save them. "Thousands of the world's languages are vanishing at an alarming rate, with 90 percent of them being expected to disappear with the current generation," warned Daniel Abrams and Steven Strogatz, both of Cornell University in New York. The pair have developed a simple mathematical model of language competition to explain how dialects such as Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Quechua — the most common surviving indigenous language in the Americas — have lost out to more dominant tongues. The model is based on data they collected over time on the number of speakers of endangered languages in 42 regions of Peru, Scotland, Wales, Bolivia, Ireland and Alsaçe-Lorraine. All have been in steep decline over the past century or so, and the model suggests that Scottish Gaelic and Quechua will be close to extinct by about 2030. Previous models of language dynamics have focused on the transmission and evolution of syntax, grammar or other structural properties of a language itself. Yet by comparing various influences that help to explain the steadily declining numbers of speakers of each language, Abrams and Strogatz singled out status as the single most significant factor that could predict its extinction threat. "Quechua, for example, still has many speakers in Huanuco, Peru," they note. "But its low status is driving a rapid shift to Spanish, which leads to an unfortunate situation in which a child cannot communicate with his or her grandparents." A language's fate generally depends on both its number of speakers and its perceived status, the latter usually reflecting the social or economic opportunities afforded to its speakers, they said. When two languages are in competition, the one that offers the greatest opportunities to its speakers will usually prevail. The researchers point out that bilingual societies do exist: "But the histories of countries where two languages coexist today generally involve split populations that lived without significant interaction, effectively in separate, monolingual societies. Only recently have these communities begun to mix, allowing language competition to begin." They urged active intervention to slow the global rate of language decline, pointing out that their model also predicts that higher status will keep a language alive. They also cite a real-life instance where this has happened: "The example of Québec French demonstrates that language decline can be slowed by strategies such as policy-making, education and advertising, in essence increasing an endangered language's status." Similar measures may make a difference elsewhere, they argued. From sdp at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Wed Aug 27 21:44:16 2003 From: sdp at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Sue Penfield) Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2003 14:44:16 -0700 Subject: Fw: ILI in Seattle - August 2004! Message-ID: ----- Original Message ----- From: "Indigenous Language Institute" To: Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2003 8:50 PM Subject: ILI in Seattle - August 2004! > Greetings from Seattle! > > Attached is the first announcement for next summer's Multimedia Technology > Symposium entitled "ANCIENT VOICES, MODERN TOOLS: Language and > Tech-Knowledge" to be presented in collaboration by the Indigenous > Language Institute and the University of Washington. The conference will > take place in Seattle on the University of Washington campus from August > 20 through 23, 2004. > > The material to be presented at this conference is essential to all > individuals and groups who are working to preserve native languages. We > hope that you will start making plans now to join us next summer. > > The program is still in development stage and more information will be > made available on the ILI website (www.indigenous-language.org) and by > mail in due course. In the meantime, we are interested in hearing from > those who would be willing to demonstrate their language technologies as > part of a workshop presentation. > > Please share the attached brochure with your colleagues and friends and > forward it to all who might be interested in attending. And mark your > calendar to be in Seattle August 20 through 23, 2004! > > Best Regards, > > Sue Ellen Jacobs, University of Washington > Inee Yang Slaughter, Indigenous Language Institute > -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: AdvanceNoticeBrochureBW.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 345111 bytes Desc: not available URL: From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 28 16:53:08 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2003 09:53:08 -0700 Subject: Major Enhancements to the Unicode Standard (link) Message-ID: Dear ILAT, I thought this news article might be of interest. Just follow the link. Major Enhancements to the Unicode Standard http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=SVBIZINK3.story&STORY=/www/story/08-27-2003/0002007261&EDATE=WED+Aug+27+2003,+09:03+AM Phil UofA, ILAT From sdp at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 28 22:06:47 2003 From: sdp at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Sue Penfield) Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2003 15:06:47 -0700 Subject: Fw: ILI in Seattle - August 2004! Message-ID: Sean , Thanks for mentioning this...there is a website which I didn't notice when I forwarded the entire thing at http://www.indigneous-language.org ( the official site for ILI ) and updates on the workshop will be posted there. Susan ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sean M. Burke" To: ; Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2003 11:26 PM Subject: Re: Fw: ILI in Seattle - August 2004! > You know, if you want people to actually pass around your brochure file, > you shouldn't make it be a THIRD OF A MEGABYTE long. > It would also be more considerate if you put the brochure on a web page and > then you could pass around the URL to that web page, instead of passing > around the file itself. > > > > From: "Indigenous Language Institute" > > To: > > Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2003 8:50 PM > > Subject: ILI in Seattle - August 2004! > > > > Greetings from Seattle! > > > > Attached is the first announcement for next summer's Multimedia Technology > > Symposium entitled "ANCIENT VOICES, MODERN TOOLS: Language and > > Tech-Knowledge" to be presented in collaboration by the Indigenous > > Language Institute and the University of Washington. The conference will > > take place in Seattle on the University of Washington campus from August > > 20 through 23, 2004. > > > > The material to be presented at this conference is essential to all > > individuals and groups who are working to preserve native languages. We > > hope that you will start making plans now to join us next summer. > > > > The program is still in development stage and more information will be > > made available on the ILI website (www.indigenous-language.org) and by > > mail in due course. In the meantime, we are interested in hearing from > > those who would be willing to demonstrate their language technologies as > > part of a workshop presentation. > > > > Please share the attached brochure with your colleagues and friends and > > forward it to all who might be interested in attending. And mark your > > calendar to be in Seattle August 20 through 23, 2004! > > > > Best Regards, > > > > Sue Ellen Jacobs, University of Washington > > Inee Yang Slaughter, Indigenous Language Institute > > [Attachment: AdvanceNoticeBrochureBW.pdf (345,111 bytes)] > > -- > Sean M. Burke http://search.cpan.org/~sburke/ > > From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 29 12:48:48 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2003 05:48:48 -0700 Subject: Computer game boosts children's' language skills (fwd) Message-ID: Computer game boosts children's' language skills Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition. http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994093 A simple computer program that teaches children to distinguish between sounds can dramatically boost their listening skills. It can allow them to progress by the equivalent of two years in just a few weeks, the game's creator claims. The game, called Phonomena, was devised by David Moore of the University of Oxford, UK, as an aid for children with language problems, but he says his latest trials also show that it can help any child. Other experts, however, are reserving judgement until independent tests are carried out. Phonomena is designed to improve children's ability to distinguish between different phonemes, the basic sounds that form the building blocks of language. Up to a fifth of all children are thought to have problems hearing the differences between some sounds, says Moore, who heads the UK Medical Research Council's Institute of Hearing Research. In the game, children have to distinguish between pairs of phonemes such as the "i" sound from the word "bit" and the "e" from "bet". They are played one phoneme followed by two more examples, and asked which one matches the first sound. As the game progresses the phonemes are gradually "morphed" to make them more and more similar, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish between them. With 44 phonemes in English, there are potentially more than 1000 different pairs, but the game concentrates on just 22 pairs of the commonest and most similar-sounding phonemes. Listening ages In the latest trials, 18 children aged between eight and 10 played the game three times a week for four weeks. Their language abilities were compared before and after exposure to the game using a standard listening test. The team found a dramatic improvement in their language abilities, with listening ages up by an average 2.4 years compared with 12 children who did not play the game. In earlier trials on children with learning difficulties, the speech and language therapists who tested the game reported similar improvements. But Ted Wragg, an expert in education at the UK's University of Exeter, warns that such trials can produce misleading results. The improvements could be due to the efforts and attention of teachers and therapists, rather than the game itself. There is a history in education of people and companies making claims about learning products that do not stand up to scrutiny, he says. Moore says independent tests will be done. But he is convinced that computer games such as Phonomena that are designed to teach key sensory skills could make a big difference in education. Even normal computer games have been shown to improve visual skills, he points out. "In the future, every child's dream of homework consisting of hours spent playing computer games may well become a reality." Catching a ball It is a bit like teaching someone to catch a ball, Moore adds. "Sensory performance is no different from motor performance. As far as we know, the neural processes driving them both are the same." And just as playing catch improves hand-eye coordination in other tasks, Moore thinks the phoneme training boosts children's general language skills. The advantage of using computers, he says, is each game can be tailored to a child's abilities. An Oxford-based company called MindWeavers has been set up to commercialise the game. Similar computer-based language tools already exist, such as those developed by Scientific Learning of Oakland, California. But these are geared exclusively towards children with speech and language problems and involve intensive training. "We don't believe you need to do this draconian amount of training for it to do good," says Moore. He is also exploring the use of phoneme training as an aid to adults learning a foreign language. Duncan Graham-Rowe From hammond at U.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 29 15:06:46 2003 From: hammond at U.ARIZONA.EDU (Michael T Hammond) Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2003 08:06:46 -0700 Subject: Computer game boosts children's' language skills (fwd) In-Reply-To: <1062161328.169c0440b7eb6@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: phil et al Very interesting, and very good of you to bring it to everybody's attention. I am of course massively in support of bringing technology to bear on Native American language issues, but I have what are probably cranky concerns about the story below. (I know I'm lecturing to the choir here, but here goes anyway.) >From the perspective of Native American languages, I think we have to be really cautious of a world view that treats Native American language development and maintenance in any way like some sort of language disability. These languages are in trouble, not because there is anything "wrong" with the languages or the speakers, but because of the general cultural setting in this country. My second concern is as a linguist. The language below seems to imply that language learning is like learning to do anything else, and raw practice is what is needed, rather than a deeper understanding of how language actually works. mike h. On Fri, 29 Aug 2003, Phil Cash Cash wrote: > Computer game boosts children's' language skills > > Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition. > http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994093 > > A simple computer program that teaches children to distinguish between > sounds can dramatically boost their listening skills. It can allow them > to progress by the equivalent of two years in just a few weeks, the > game's creator claims. > > The game, called Phonomena, was devised by David Moore of the University > of Oxford, UK, as an aid for children with language problems, but he > says his latest trials also show that it can help any child. Other > experts, however, are reserving judgement until independent tests are > carried out. > > Phonomena is designed to improve children's ability to distinguish > between different phonemes, the basic sounds that form the building > blocks of language. Up to a fifth of all children are thought to have > problems hearing the differences between some sounds, says Moore, who > heads the UK Medical Research Council's Institute of Hearing Research. > > In the game, children have to distinguish between pairs of phonemes such > as the "i" sound from the word "bit" and the "e" from "bet". They are > played one phoneme followed by two more examples, and asked which one > matches the first sound. As the game progresses the phonemes are > gradually "morphed" to make them more and more similar, making it > increasingly difficult to distinguish between them. > > With 44 phonemes in English, there are potentially more than 1000 > different pairs, but the game concentrates on just 22 pairs of the > commonest and most similar-sounding phonemes. > > Listening ages > > In the latest trials, 18 children aged between eight and 10 played the > game three times a week for four weeks. Their language abilities were > compared before and after exposure to the game using a standard > listening test. > > The team found a dramatic improvement in their language abilities, with > listening ages up by an average 2.4 years compared with 12 children who > did not play the game. In earlier trials on children with learning > difficulties, the speech and language therapists who tested the game > reported similar improvements. > > But Ted Wragg, an expert in education at the UK's University of Exeter, > warns that such trials can produce misleading results. The improvements > could be due to the efforts and attention of teachers and therapists, > rather than the game itself. There is a history in education of people > and companies making claims about learning products that do not stand > up to scrutiny, he says. > > Moore says independent tests will be done. But he is convinced that > computer games such as Phonomena that are designed to teach key sensory > skills could make a big difference in education. Even normal computer > games have been shown to improve visual skills, he points out. "In the > future, every child's dream of homework consisting of hours spent > playing computer games may well become a reality." > > Catching a ball > > It is a bit like teaching someone to catch a ball, Moore adds. "Sensory > performance is no different from motor performance. As far as we know, > the neural processes driving them both are the same." And just as > playing catch improves hand-eye coordination in other tasks, Moore > thinks the phoneme training boosts children's general language skills. > > The advantage of using computers, he says, is each game can be tailored > to a child's abilities. An Oxford-based company called MindWeavers has > been set up to commercialise the game. > > Similar computer-based language tools already exist, such as those > developed by Scientific Learning of Oakland, California. But these are > geared exclusively towards children with speech and language problems > and involve intensive training. > > "We don't believe you need to do this draconian amount of training for > it to do good," says Moore. He is also exploring the use of phoneme > training as an aid to adults learning a foreign language. > > Duncan Graham-Rowe > From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 29 18:36:51 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2003 11:36:51 -0700 Subject: License to Teach (fwd) Message-ID: Friday, August 29, 2003 License to Teach Jicarilla Apache Nation to certify people to teach Indian language under new Board of Education cert By DIANA HEIL | The New Mexican From left, Wilhelmina Phone, Max Phone and Maureen Olson of the Jicarilla Apache Nation are applauded by the audience and state Board of Education members Thursday for making history. The tribe is the first in New Mexico to use a new teaching certificate, which allows native speakers to become classroom teachers without a college degree. Thursday, the board approved a memorandum of understanding between the state and the Jicarilla Apache Tribe to launch a Native Language and Culture Program in Dulce Independent Schools. - Jane Phillips | The New Mexican Cleo Wells and Emelene Baltazar know the nuances of the Jicarilla Apache language. But until Jicarilla Apache President Claudia Vigil-Muniz signed an agreement with the New Mexico Board of Education recently, these two women couldn't enter the public elementary school in Dulce with the right to teach what they know. They don't possess college degrees in education. Thursday, the state Board of Education celebrated the Jicarilla Apache Nation as the first tribe in New Mexico to take advantage of a new teaching certificate that gives Wells and Baltazar license to teach. A 2002 state law allows tribes to determine how they will decide who is competent and proficient enough to teach Native languages in public schools. Thursday, the state Board of Education overwhelmingly approved the rule that sets the Certification in Native Language and Culture (K-12) in motion and gave a final nod to the memorandum of understanding with the Jicarilla Apache Nation. "It does my heart good because we're losing our tribal customs," Irvin Max Phone, one of five Jicarilla Apaches who developed the agreement, said before the state Board of Education on Thursday. Audience and board members gave the Jicarilla Apache Tribe a standing ovation. "We very humbly consider you to be heroes," said board President Adelmo Archuleta, who said that by preserving their language they are preserving the beauty of New Mexico. Already, kindergartners and first-graders in Dulce are benefiting. Wells and Baltazar are co-teachers with Maureen Olson, a teacher with a master's degree in education and an administrator's license. Olson, who narrates a Native language show on Dulce's KCIE-90.5 FM radio station and is working with linguists on a new Jicarilla language dictionary, headed the Jicarilla Language Team that spent a year developing the agreement with the state. Two weeks ago, the trio began its work with children. By talking to one another, students hear the rhythm of the language. "There's little kids who just repeat what you said. Others say, 'Oh, I know what you said!' " Olson said. Twice a week for 30 minutes the teachers bring formal lessons. But for another two days a week, for 45 minutes a day, they assist the regular classroom teacher and speak informally to children in Apache: "Where's your pencil?" "Where's your paper?" "Listen to the teacher." Olson, who ran a language program in the schools for a while, won support for the Native Language and Culture Program through word of mouth. If our kids don't understand Apache, what are they going to be? What if there is no language supporting the culture? "It just seems like the right people were interested. People began to realize that if we don't do something the language is going to be just like something we did long ago," Olson said. "We've had the backing of the Apache legislative council. The majority of them are fluent speakers." Some of the elders hope that when children speak Apache again, they'll gain traditional values such as respect for people, life and ceremonies; a hard-working ethic that starts early in the morning; and a sense of purpose within the extended family. And then there's the simple desire for communication. "I do want my grandchildren hopefully to be able to speak back to me in Apache," Olson said. "That's really the goal." Exchanges aren't the same in the English language. "It's just a different way of thinking," she said. Located in Rio Arriba County, the tribe counts more than 3,000 members. In 1990, Jicarilla Apache speakers numbered 812. "If the real experts of the language are not given the proper status in the classroom, then the children get the impression that their language doesn't have an important place," said Inée Yang Slaughter, executive director of the Indigenous Language Institute. The Santa Fe-based group knows language preservation is a race against time for most tribes and pueblos in New Mexico. In a few New Mexico communities, tribal members of all ages speak the Native language. But in a more common scenario, adults or just grandparents speak and use the language. The children do not. "This really is a wonderful vehicle to accelerate the process," Slaughter said of the certification in Native language and culture. "It also gives the speakers the proper status of teachers in the classroom." The Navajo Nation is working on an agreement with the state, too. But Roz Carroll of the state Department of Education said she's disappointed more tribes aren't pursuing it, given that the idea came from tribal members. From DMartine at CDE.CA.GOV Fri Aug 29 18:42:46 2003 From: DMartine at CDE.CA.GOV (Dorothy Martinez) Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2003 11:42:46 -0700 Subject: License to Teach (fwd) Message-ID: Please discontinue use of the e-mail address shown, and add e-mail to: dmark916 at aol.com Thank you. D. Martinez >>> cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU 08/29/03 11:36AM >>> Friday, August 29, 2003 License to Teach Jicarilla Apache Nation to certify people to teach Indian language under new Board of Education cert By DIANA HEIL | The New Mexican From left, Wilhelmina Phone, Max Phone and Maureen Olson of the Jicarilla Apache Nation are applauded by the audience and state Board of Education members Thursday for making history. The tribe is the first in New Mexico to use a new teaching certificate, which allows native speakers to become classroom teachers without a college degree. Thursday, the board approved a memorandum of understanding between the state and the Jicarilla Apache Tribe to launch a Native Language and Culture Program in Dulce Independent Schools. - Jane Phillips | The New Mexican Cleo Wells and Emelene Baltazar know the nuances of the Jicarilla Apache language. But until Jicarilla Apache President Claudia Vigil-Muniz signed an agreement with the New Mexico Board of Education recently, these two women couldn't enter the public elementary school in Dulce with the right to teach what they know. They don't possess college degrees in education. Thursday, the state Board of Education celebrated the Jicarilla Apache Nation as the first tribe in New Mexico to take advantage of a new teaching certificate that gives Wells and Baltazar license to teach. A 2002 state law allows tribes to determine how they will decide who is competent and proficient enough to teach Native languages in public schools. Thursday, the state Board of Education overwhelmingly approved the rule that sets the Certification in Native Language and Culture (K-12) in motion and gave a final nod to the memorandum of understanding with the Jicarilla Apache Nation. "It does my heart good because we're losing our tribal customs," Irvin Max Phone, one of five Jicarilla Apaches who developed the agreement, said before the state Board of Education on Thursday. Audience and board members gave the Jicarilla Apache Tribe a standing ovation. "We very humbly consider you to be heroes," said board President Adelmo Archuleta, who said that by preserving their language they are preserving the beauty of New Mexico. Already, kindergartners and first-graders in Dulce are benefiting. Wells and Baltazar are co-teachers with Maureen Olson, a teacher with a master's degree in education and an administrator's license. Olson, who narrates a Native language show on Dulce's KCIE-90.5 FM radio station and is working with linguists on a new Jicarilla language dictionary, headed the Jicarilla Language Team that spent a year developing the agreement with the state. Two weeks ago, the trio began its work with children. By talking to one another, students hear the rhythm of the language. "There's little kids who just repeat what you said. Others say, 'Oh, I know what you said!' " Olson said. Twice a week for 30 minutes the teachers bring formal lessons. But for another two days a week, for 45 minutes a day, they assist the regular classroom teacher and speak informally to children in Apache: "Where's your pencil?" "Where's your paper?" "Listen to the teacher." Olson, who ran a language program in the schools for a while, won support for the Native Language and Culture Program through word of mouth. If our kids don't understand Apache, what are they going to be? What if there is no language supporting the culture? "It just seems like the right people were interested. People began to realize that if we don't do something the language is going to be just like something we did long ago," Olson said. "We've had the backing of the Apache legislative council. The majority of them are fluent speakers." Some of the elders hope that when children speak Apache again, they'll gain traditional values such as respect for people, life and ceremonies; a hard-working ethic that starts early in the morning; and a sense of purpose within the extended family. And then there's the simple desire for communication. "I do want my grandchildren hopefully to be able to speak back to me in Apache," Olson said. "That's really the goal." Exchanges aren't the same in the English language. "It's just a different way of thinking," she said. Located in Rio Arriba County, the tribe counts more than 3,000 members. In 1990, Jicarilla Apache speakers numbered 812. "If the real experts of the language are not given the proper status in the classroom, then the children get the impression that their language doesn't have an important place," said Inée Yang Slaughter, executive director of the Indigenous Language Institute. The Santa Fe-based group knows language preservation is a race against time for most tribes and pueblos in New Mexico. In a few New Mexico communities, tribal members of all ages speak the Native language. But in a more common scenario, adults or just grandparents speak and use the language. The children do not. "This really is a wonderful vehicle to accelerate the process," Slaughter said of the certification in Native language and culture. "It also gives the speakers the proper status of teachers in the classroom." The Navajo Nation is working on an agreement with the state, too. But Roz Carroll of the state Department of Education said she's disappointed more tribes aren't pursuing it, given that the idea came from tribal members. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 31 17:27:28 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 10:27:28 -0700 Subject: Multimedia support for use and preservation of Indigenous languages (fwd) Message-ID: Multimedia support for use and preservation of Indigenous languages http://www.dcita.gov.au/Article/0,,0_4-2_4008-4_116619,00.html The Australian Government will fund an innovative multimedia initiative to support remote Indigenous communities in the use and preservation of their languages. The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston, said the Government will invest $400,000 in the development of multimedia language education resources that will contribute to the preservation and use of five Indigenous languages across Australia. These resources will contribute to Indigenous language activities in a number of areas to make learning more attractive to young students through the use of information technology. A series of CD-ROMs and associated training - possibly including games, songs and resource books - will be developed over the next 12 months for delivery to communities by early 2005. The project is an important part of the Government's $8.3 million Telecommunications Action Plan for Remote Indigenous Communities (TAPRIC), which is also improving access to computers and the Internet for remote Indigenous communities. Multimedia production company Multilocus Interactive will develop the Indigenous language resources in partnership with community Language Centres in selected regions of Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory and New South Wales. The Language Centres are part of a network operating across Australia to provide an information and resource base for Indigenous community language programs, and will ensure that communities have a strong role in the project. Multilocus Interactive will also work closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services (ATSIS). Copyright and control of language materials used in developing the project will remain with the language community. Intellectual property arrangements will also allow communities to further develop their language products, providing the potential for future commercial opportunities. The multimedia language education resources project is part of a broader TAPRIC Online Content Development Program, which will complement other initiatives contained in the Australian Government's response to the Regional Telecommunications Inquiry (RTI), including the Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme (HBIS), the Coordinated Communications Infrastructure Fund (CCIF), and the IT training and support services funding for regional Australia. The framework and support the Australian Government is putting in place, through TAPRIC and its response to the RTI, is continuing to help remote Indigenous communities to meet their objectives for ongoing community and economic development. The Government announced its comprehensive response to the 39 recommendations of the independent RTI on 25 June 2003. The response includes allocating more than $180 million to a number of initiatives aimed at further improving existing telecommunications services, 'locking in' service improvements and 'future proofing' telecommunications services in regional, rural and remote Australia. These initiatives will ensure that improvements to services achieved in recent years are maintained into the future and that regional users share equitably in the benefits of future advances in technology. The Government is acting on the RTI recommendations as a matter of priority and its response will be delivered in full regardless of any change in the future ownership of Telstra. Media contact: Simon Troeth 02 6277 7480 or 0439 425 373 Website: www.richardalston.dcita.gov.au From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 31 17:33:42 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 10:33:42 -0700 Subject: First Voices and the Mac Help Preserve Aboriginal languages (fwd no date) Message-ID: First Voices and the Mac Help Preserve Aboriginal languages http://www.apple.com/ca/education/profiles/firstvoices/ “Two tribal school teachers” reach out to the world English-speaking people can scarcely imagine losing their language, but many people around the world are facing this disturbing prospect. As transportation and telecommunication technologies make the world smaller, they also reinforce the dominance of a few modern language groups. Regional languages spoken by relatively small population groups, including Aboriginal peoples, risk extinction within a few generations as young people leave them behind. But what if you could use the same communications technology that threatens aboriginal languages to preserve and teach them? This possibility was not lost on Peter Brand, a 55 year-old Australian born teacher and advocate of Aboriginal culture. After a year of teaching Aboriginal children in his country’s outback and several years visiting Indigenous cultures in other parts of the world, Peter settled on Vancouver Island where he taught for the Saanich Indian School Board for 11 years. In 1999, Peter was teaching Grade One at LAU-WELNEW Tribal School in Brentwood Bay. A computer lab upgrade to 25 networked iMacs enabled the school to experiment with simple indigenous language teaching tools using iMovie. “We had a Saanich language font created for the Mac, started shooting video of plants and wildlife, and subtitled the footage with Saanich words,” says Brand, who worked with John Elliott, son of David Elliott, developer of the Saanich writing system. Pretty cool little tool Brand spent the next spring break working with John Elliott and Ken Foster, technology coordinator for the local public school district. The project was an alphabet book for the Saanich language. Working in HyperStudio, they developed video, sound and text for each of the 40 Saanich alphabet characters. “Then we found a pretty cool little tool,” recalls Brand, “a piece of Mac shareware called Vocab. At that time Vocab was a text-only word study application that enabled users to create word lists and present the words in quizzes and tests.” Vocab became particularly useful at the tribal school after its developer, Angus Gratton, added a sound feature. Many of the students used Vocab to test themselves in the Saanich language. The ensuing months saw the development of Vocab LanguageLab, a multimedia authoring suite as a companion to the original Vocab application. “By this time the kids were using iMovie to create rich media they could import into Vocab LanguageLab along with sounds, pictures and video. It became a complete kit for teaching indigenous languages.” As Brand explains: “Many Aboriginal people are very visual learners. We found that our Apple equipment enabled students to do things quickly and easily with digital video. Our students began creating media-rich learning resources for their fellow students, written in their own unique orthography, or written language style.” Academically, Vocab LanguageLab helped to raise the children’s language proficiency by encouraging them to spend more time working on language related activities. The limiting factor, however, was the fact that only a small audience was being reached. So Brand and John Elliott began to conceive a means of migrating their work to the web. In March 2001, Simon Robinson, the head of the First Peoples’ Cultural Foundation, walked into their computer lab. He said he had heard good things, and asked for a demonstration. Brand and Elliott gave him the full show, including their vision to make the multimedia language tools web-accessible. Final tweaking of the web applications Shortly after that, Robinson invited Brand to co-ordinate the official FirstVoices project. “The project has taken on a life of its own,” Brand elaborates. “Significant investment has been made to bring it to its current form. We’re going through a final tweaking of the web application after beta-testing this year, and we expect it to be in full operation by early 2003.” What exactly is FirstVoices? It’s an easy-to-use, secure, cost-effective web-based tool that enables any language group to develop its own authentic and authoritative archiving and language reference resource from within its own community. Text, sound and video can be uploaded to the FirstVoices online database to establish rich language resources. “It’s extremely gratifying to witness the fruition of something you believe in passionately,” says Brand, who lauds Apple for its enthusiastic support in Canada, the US and Australia. “I never imagined that two tribal school teachers plugging away at something could ultimately reach out to the world in this way. Now that FirstVoices is supported by a team of committed language revitalization advocates, it can develop into a very important resource for Aboriginal languages.” Brand encourages people to check out the site, now in late-stage beta, at www.firstvoices.com. For more information about Apple technology in the classroom visit the Apple Canada web site at www.apple.com/ca/education From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 31 17:50:30 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 10:50:30 -0700 Subject: First Voices and the Mac Help Preserve Aboriginal languages (fwd no date) In-Reply-To: <1062351222.744894f39204d@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: Dear ILAT, You can access the Vocab LanguageLab 1.0.2 software mentioned in the news article at the following link. It appears you can dowload a demo version. http://www.cabsoft.com/vll.html Phil Cash Cash UofA, ILAT > ----- Message from cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU --------- > Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 10:33:42 -0700 > From: Phil Cash Cash > Reply-To: Indigenous Languages and Technology > Subject: First Voices and the Mac Help Preserve Aboriginal languages (fwd no date) > To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU > > First Voices and the Mac Help Preserve Aboriginal languages > http://www.apple.com/ca/education/profiles/firstvoices/ > > “Two tribal school teachers” reach out to the world > > English-speaking people can scarcely imagine losing their language, > but > many people around the world are facing this disturbing prospect. As > transportation and telecommunication technologies make the world > smaller, they also reinforce the dominance of a few modern language > groups. Regional languages spoken by relatively small population > groups, including Aboriginal peoples, risk extinction within a few > generations as young people leave them behind. > > But what if you could use the same communications technology that > threatens aboriginal languages to preserve and teach them? This > possibility was not lost on Peter Brand, a 55 year-old Australian > born > teacher and advocate of Aboriginal culture. After a year of teaching > Aboriginal children in his country’s outback and several years > visiting > Indigenous cultures in other parts of the world, Peter settled on > Vancouver Island where he taught for the Saanich Indian School Board > for 11 years. > > In 1999, Peter was teaching Grade One at LAU-WELNEW Tribal School in > Brentwood Bay. A computer lab upgrade to 25 networked iMacs enabled > the > school to experiment with simple indigenous language teaching tools > using iMovie. “We had a Saanich language font created for the Mac, > started shooting video of plants and wildlife, and subtitled the > footage with Saanich words,” says Brand, who worked with John > Elliott, > son of David Elliott, developer of the Saanich writing system. > > Pretty cool little tool > > Brand spent the next spring break working with John Elliott and Ken > Foster, technology coordinator for the local public school district. > The project was an alphabet book for the Saanich language. Working in > HyperStudio, they developed video, sound and text for each of the 40 > Saanich alphabet characters. “Then we found a pretty cool little > tool,” > recalls Brand, “a piece of Mac shareware called Vocab. At that time > Vocab was a text-only word study application that enabled users to > create word lists and present the words in quizzes and tests.” > > Vocab became particularly useful at the tribal school after its > developer, Angus Gratton, added a sound feature. Many of the students > used Vocab to test themselves in the Saanich language. The ensuing > months saw the development of Vocab LanguageLab, a multimedia > authoring > suite as a companion to the original Vocab application. “By this time > the kids were using iMovie to create rich media they could import > into > Vocab LanguageLab along with sounds, pictures and video. It became a > complete kit for teaching indigenous languages.” > > As Brand explains: “Many Aboriginal people are very visual learners. > We > found that our Apple equipment enabled students to do things quickly > and easily with digital video. Our students began creating media-rich > learning resources for their fellow students, written in their own > unique orthography, or written language style.” Academically, Vocab > LanguageLab helped to raise the children’s language proficiency by > encouraging them to spend more time working on language related > activities. > > The limiting factor, however, was the fact that only a small audience > was being reached. So Brand and John Elliott began to conceive a > means > of migrating their work to the web. > > In March 2001, Simon Robinson, the head of the First Peoples’ > Cultural > Foundation, walked into their computer lab. He said he had heard good > things, and asked for a demonstration. Brand and Elliott gave him the > full show, including their vision to make the multimedia language > tools > web-accessible. > > Final tweaking of the web applications > > Shortly after that, Robinson invited Brand to co-ordinate the > official > FirstVoices project. “The project has taken on a life of its own,” > Brand elaborates. “Significant investment has been made to bring it > to > its current form. We’re going through a final tweaking of the web > application after beta-testing this year, and we expect it to be in > full operation by early 2003.” > > What exactly is FirstVoices? It’s an easy-to-use, secure, > cost-effective > web-based tool that enables any language group to develop its own > authentic and authoritative archiving and language reference resource > from within its own community. Text, sound and video can be uploaded > to > the FirstVoices online database to establish rich language resources. > > “It’s extremely gratifying to witness the fruition of something you > believe in passionately,” says Brand, who lauds Apple for its > enthusiastic support in Canada, the US and Australia. “I never > imagined > that two tribal school teachers plugging away at something could > ultimately reach out to the world in this way. Now that FirstVoices > is > supported by a team of committed language revitalization advocates, > it > can develop into a very important resource for Aboriginal languages.” > > Brand encourages people to check out the site, now in late-stage > beta, > at www.firstvoices.com. > > For more information about Apple technology in the classroom visit > the > Apple Canada web site at www.apple.com/ca/education > > > ----- End message from cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU ----- From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 1 17:24:09 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 10:24:09 -0700 Subject: New technology aids traditional farming revival (fwd) Message-ID: New technology aids traditional farming revival By Levi J. Long The Navajo Times http://www.thenavajotimes.com/0731newtech.html Imagine this: A satellite system, hundreds of miles from Earth, beaming the Navajo language to rural corn farmers in the southwest quadrant of the reservation. Sound a little technical? Maybe. But through this state-of-the-art system could be a native people's salvation for traditions that are slowly eroding away. Recently the nonprofit group Dine Inc. and Southwest Marketing Network formed a partnership for an agricultural development project that uses traditional Navajo farming techniques with state-of-the-art technology. The two groups have formed the Navajo Agricultural Technology Empowerment Center. The Empowerment Center uses a Navajo Nation wide satellite Internet system to communicate with corn farmers. Using the community based Internet centers at each of the 110 chapters on the reservation, the farmers have access to e-mail, streaming video and updates on farming techniques and training using Navajo language audio and video. Currently the group works directly with five reservation communities in Arizona including Teesto, Dilkon, Birdsprings, Leupp, and Tolani Lake. The satellite system is operated by Starband and is administered by the Navajo Nation Virtual Alliance network. Currently the alliance has five pilot sites where touch-screen systems will soon allow monolingual Navajo speakers to navigate the Internet, said Hank Willie, program manager for Din? Community Food Project. When funding becomes available, the Empowerment Center would like to expand the program to all 110 chapters. They'd also like to use handheld computers so farmers can download video-training segments. The computers could also provide support for the farm's financial management system, all in the Navajo language. Din? Inc. stands for Developing Innovations in Navajo Education and was formed in 1997. The group develops community projects and educates Navajo residents across the reservation using grant programs that range from sustainable agricultural development to traditional Navajo teachings using the broadband technology. According to Willie, the Navajo people have seen a drastic decline in native corn cultivation. The number of Navajo corn farms is small and dwindles away each year, he said. For the Navajo people, the Beauty Way and Corn Pollen Path ceremonies are in danger of being lost because Navajo farmers aren't cultivating corn like they used to, Willie said. In 2002, Dine Inc. received two agricultural grants. The awards were administered under the Navajo Agricultural Technology Empowerment Center. The first award is a one-year grant under the Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative by the First Nations Development Institute. The other is a three-year Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Program funded by The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. The Cooperative is a program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These grants allow the Empowerment Center to develop family farms and gardens based on traditional Navajo farming techniques. The Empowerment Center also has a partnership with the University of Arizona College of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Northern Arizona University Center for Sustainable Environments, Navajo Nation agricultural programs and reservation schools. The scope of the program is to create a clientele of families within the five communities and provide direct assistance in preparing their cornfields for planting. All the cornfields in the region rely on dry land farming techniques that use moisture from rainfall, snow and water runoff from washes developed by Southwest tribes over the centuries. The Empowerment Center program will also provide marketing training and sales strategies for their crops. The Empowerment Center plans to create an advisory board comprised of one member from each of the five core communities. The members will be responsible for development of a sustainable food system for their communities and overseeing project activities. In the meantime farmers around the southwestern communities of the reservation can begin to use their e-mail accounts to speak with other consultants about their farms. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Tue Aug 5 15:40:20 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 08:40:20 -0700 Subject: Hawaiian Bible joins modern age (fwd) Message-ID: Posted on: Monday, August 4, 2003 Hawaiian Bible joins modern age By Jan TenBruggencate http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Aug/04/ln/ln03a.html The Hawaiian Bible is one of the seminal works of early Hawaiian literature, written at a time when residents all spoke the language. Today, its lack of diacritical markings and odd contractions are confusing to non-native speakers. A massive project aims to change that, with an electronic Hawaiian Bible in modern Hawaiian with diacritical markings commonly used today and an additional, audio version so students can hear the words properly spoken. Baibala Hemolele is nearly a year into its three-year project, under a $450,000 grant from the Administration for Native Americans. The project draws on new technology and old: Computer software converts the old Bible into a text file and translates it, and Hawaiian-language experts correct the computer's mistakes. It's a project that worries some old-timers, concerned that the decisions of Hawaiian elders who participated in the original translations are being supplanted. The Rev. William Kaina, 78, recalls that during the 1960s he opposed a proposed translation of the early Bible. "I objected to that. They're taking the authority of the Hawaiian language away from the Hawaiians of that time. I said to them, 'Who made you the authority?' " he said. Kaina's opposition has since faded. Hawaiian was commonly spoken when he was growing up in Kalapana on the Big Island. Parishioners knew from context what the words meant, even with the Hawaiian glottal stop marker left out ? or worse, apostrophes inserted to take the place of an "a" because printers didn't have enough vowels available to handle the vowel-rich Hawaiian language. Kaina said he has seen a deep desire for the Hawaiian language among his flock at the Wai'anae Protestant Church. "I would use the Hawaiian language, and by golly they would come to church with pencil and paper. And now they're using the Hawaiian language more and more," he said. Today he is a staunch supporter of Baibala Hemolele. The original Hawaiian Bibles are out of print, and if an updated version helps non-native speakers learn its message and language, all the better, he said. "It's a wonderful project." Jan Hanohano Dill launched the effort through his Partners in Development Foundation, which obtained the federal grant. Semi-retired sugar executive Jack Keppeler, who is part-Hawaiian, is project manager and Helen Kaowili is project coordinator. A number of people in the Hawaiian community participate, including representatives of the Hawaiian-language programs at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa and UH-Hilo. The senior scholar and referee, whose expertise is brought in when translators disagree, is Pua Hopkins, retired University of Hawai'i Hawaiian-language professor and author of the language text "Ka Lei Ha'aheo." "You have a growing body of students who read, write, speak and certainly understand Hawaiian, but they are not native speakers," Hopkins said. The occasional replacement of the letter "a" with an apostrophe can be very confusing, she said. "The Bible project will eventually straighten all that out." Keppeler said the Hawaiian Bible was translated directly from the original Hebrew for the Old Testament, and Greek for the New Testament. In some cases, since the translation took place away from the political environment that influenced the English-language King James version, the Hawaiian Bible may be more true to the original meanings, he said. The first Hawaiian Bible translation, "Palapala Hemolele," involved several missionaries and took from 1822 to its publication in 1839. A second translation, "Baibala Hemolele," was produced by Ephraim Clarke in 1868. The new project uses OCR (optical character recognition) software to convert the old books to computer text files. Human editors compare the new against the original to ensure the computer transferred all letters correctly. Then the file is run through translation software produced at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand. The program, dubbed Kiwi, translates meanings based on the context. For example, if the word "huna" appears in the original, the software tries to determine whether it should be the verb "huna," meaning to conceal, or the noun "huna," a tiny particle. Since it doesn't always guess right, the results are reviewed by Hawaiian-language experts Ralph Koga from Manoa and Kaliko Trapp from Hilo. Changes made by the editors are then fed back to the computer, which can improve its accuracy. "We're surprised to find that this self-teaching software is running in the high 90s in accuracy," Keppeler said. "You keep feeding the correct spellings back and it improves its accuracy." Keppeler said the New Testament should be done by the end of the year, and the Old Testament next year. "By the end of 2004, we should have a pretty complete work product," he said. Then the team will create an audio track using Hawaiian speakers and a set of cross-referencing tools. One goal is to allow readers to click on a section and hear the passage spoken, or click on a word or passage and be directed to reference material ? a dictionary, traditional 19th-century Sunday-school curricula and the like. "The Bible was a profound work for Hawai'i," Keppeler said. "It was among the first books to be translated into Hawaiian, and it was the basis for the very high level of literacy in the Hawaiian Kingdom ? the highest in the world at that time." Keppeler's discussion of the project shifts between boosterism and understatement, but he does not suggest they are rewriting or revising the ancient text. "We're respelling the Bible," he said. Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant at honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074. From pasxapu at DAKOTACOM.NET Tue Aug 5 22:39:29 2003 From: pasxapu at DAKOTACOM.NET (phil cash cash) Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 15:39:29 -0700 Subject: iChat AV Message-ID: ta'c halaxp (good day! in nez perce), i recently acquired a new visual device for my desktop Mac called "iSight". it can be used with a version of "iChat" called "iChat AV". basically, it allows full screen video conferencing. i think it can be used in other similar types of applications and not just in iChat. let me know if any of you has a similar hook up as i would like to test it out. please respond individually. thanks, Phil Cash Cash (cayuse/nez perce) qashqash at mac.com UofA, ILAT From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 8 06:34:57 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 23:34:57 -0700 Subject: 'Spirit Walk' will trek through area (fwd) Message-ID: 'Spirit Walk' will trek through area By: Michele Scott, Herald Staff Writer August 07, 2003 http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9970185&BRD=1408&PAG=461&dept_id=463231&rfi=6 CLINTON - A group of Lakota Sioux will walk into the Gateway area next week as it works its way to Washington, D.C., as part of the national Spirit Walk 2003. The group is to arrive in Low Moor on Tuesday to spend the night before walking down U.S. 30 through Clinton and across the U.S. 30 Bridge on the way to Morrison, Ill. The group began its trek from the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The Spirit Walk 2003 is a 1,700-mile journey to raise awareness and funding for the preservation of the American Indian culture and their language. It is a race against time. The Sioux language was once the most widely spoken American Indian language in North America, and now it is at risk of becoming extinct. If a people lose their language, their cultural ways also will be at risk of dying out as well. The Lakota Sioux are walking to show the world what the Lakota people have given this nation and to humanity and the desperate situation in which their culture, their language and their way of living is in right now, according to John LaFountaine, president of the Board of Directors of the Seven Fires Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the Lakota people preserve their culture and language by bringing elderly people and children together to teach them their native language. At the current time, less than 25 percent of the Lakota population speak or understand their native tongue, and even fewer are fluent. The Seven Fires Foundation believes that the consequences of the loss of their language would be catastrophic for the Lakota Nation. With the right support, the foundation believes the Lakota language has a realistic chance for long-term survival due to the fact that there are still people who speak the language as well as available documentation of the language. The Spirit Walk 2003 will take the group through Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia before they reach Washington D.C. in late September. Then organizers will meet with government representatives and request assistance for all the programs that preserve Lakota and other native cultures in the United States. Along the way, the group will be making stops in various communities to share their message of hope through storytelling and music. Anyone interested in showing their support or contributing to the group to help their cause should watch for the group to make its way down U.S. 30 into Clinton sometime on the morning of Aug. 13. Times are approximate, so no set time is available. All money collected will go to the Seven Fires Foundation. ?Clinton Herald?2003 From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 8 06:38:39 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 23:38:39 -0700 Subject: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages (fwd) Message-ID: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages http://www.watleyreview.com/2003/072903-2.html General Motors (GM) has announced the purchase of exclusive rights to the entire Algonquian language family, including such well-known tongues as Cheyenne, Cree, and Mohican, in a $1.6 billion dollar deal. "We are confident that this acquisition will benefit both the peoples who speak these languages and GM," said company spokesman Karl Hennessey. "This is truly a rare win-win situation." GM acquired the languages in an apparent effort to secure the rights to potentially thousands of cool-sounding names for automobiles. With one of the least creative management structures in the automotive industry, GM has for years produced cars with increasingly lame names that have hurt sales. "The problem is almost everything is getting used up," GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told Reuters recently. "If you have a good name, it can help. I've seen a lot of stupid names in my life." These would presumably include the 2003 Buick GoThing, the 2002 GM Pustule, and the 2003 Oldsmobile Scab. By purchasing exclusive rights to an Amerindian language family which includes over 30 different languages, GM is hoping to counter similar efforts by competing companies such as DaimlerChrysler, which recently purchased Portuguese. "The GM arrangement is very generous," said Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Secretary Gerald Howton. "It permits the tribes to continue using the languages free of charge through 2030, after which point, if there are any surviving native speakers, they can continue to use the language under attractive subscription terms." Any names which GM adopts as automobile names will be removed from eligibility, but GM has agreed to provide a list of no fewer than three synonyms for any word removed from circulation. "This is incredibly insulting," said Powhatan tribal elder Mark Matoaka before scaring this reporter away with stern glances. "The BIA will do everything it can to ensure that the funds from GM are distributed fairly and equitably," said Howton. "Our record speaks for itself." From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 8 06:43:37 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 23:43:37 -0700 Subject: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages (fwd) In-Reply-To: <1060324719.01ae5f653dcc0@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: Dear ILAT, The previous message was/is a parody, a fiction (according to the webpage that posted it as news). So do not be alarmed. heenek'e (again), Phil Cash Cash UofA, ILAT > ----- Message from cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU --------- > Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 23:38:39 -0700 > From: Phil Cash Cash > Reply-To: Indigenous Languages and Technology > Subject: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages (fwd) > To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU > > General Motors Purchases Indian Languages > http://www.watleyreview.com/2003/072903-2.html > > General Motors (GM) has announced the purchase of exclusive rights > to > the entire Algonquian language family, including such well-known > tongues as Cheyenne, Cree, and Mohican, in a $1.6 billion dollar > deal. > > "We are confident that this acquisition will benefit both the > peoples > who speak these languages and GM," said company spokesman Karl > Hennessey. "This is truly a rare win-win situation." > > GM acquired the languages in an apparent effort to secure the rights > to > potentially thousands of cool-sounding names for automobiles. With > one > of the least creative management structures in the automotive > industry, > GM has for years produced cars with increasingly lame names that have > hurt sales. > > "The problem is almost everything is getting used up," GM Vice > Chairman > Bob Lutz told Reuters recently. "If you have a good name, it can > help. > I've seen a lot of stupid names in my life." These would presumably > include the 2003 Buick GoThing, the 2002 GM Pustule, and the 2003 > Oldsmobile Scab. > > By purchasing exclusive rights to an Amerindian language family > which > includes over 30 different languages, GM is hoping to counter similar > efforts by competing companies such as DaimlerChrysler, which > recently > purchased Portuguese. > > "The GM arrangement is very generous," said Bureau of Indian Affairs > (BIA) Secretary Gerald Howton. "It permits the tribes to continue > using the languages free of charge through 2030, after which point, > if > there are any surviving native speakers, they can continue to use the > language under attractive subscription terms." Any names which GM > adopts as automobile names will be removed from eligibility, but GM > has > agreed to provide a list of no fewer than three synonyms for any word > removed from circulation. > > "This is incredibly insulting," said Powhatan tribal elder Mark > Matoaka > before scaring this reporter away with stern glances. > > "The BIA will do everything it can to ensure that the funds from GM > are > distributed fairly and equitably," said Howton. "Our record speaks > for > itself." > > > ----- End message from cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU ----- From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 8 20:42:31 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 13:42:31 -0700 Subject: Love of Creek language inspires teacher to share (fwd) Message-ID: Love of Creek language inspires teacher to share By KEITH DINWIDDIE / The Norman Transcript http://www.okmulgeetimes.com/display/inn_news/709.txt NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- In the American Indian language of Creek, the word mvhayv (pronounced mu-high-ya) means teacher. On the University of Oklahoma campus, Margaret Mauldin is much more than that. Mauldin, affectionately known as "Mvhayv" to her students at OU, is one of the world's foremost authorities on the Creek language. In the fall of 1995, Mauldin became OU's first Creek language instructor. In her first semester as a university-level Creek instructor, Mauldin said she had only limited homemade materials to use. "OU had been experimenting with several tribal languages, such as Kiowa, Choctaw and Cherokee, but before that time there was no Creek language course offered for college credit," Mauldin said. "But all of these languages, including Creek, were at the beginning level." Mauldin's love affair with the Creek language can be traced to her childhood. As a Native American, Mauldin grew up in a home where English was not the first language. In Mauldin's childhood home in Okemah, Creek was the language spoken most frequently between family and friends. In fact, Mauldin's mother, who died two years ago at the age of 94, spoke only Creek her entire life. Mauldin, who is now 63, said growing up in a Creek-speaking home gave her an appreciation and love for the language she has carried with her throughout her life. Before becoming a teacher, Mauldin spent several years driving 18-wheelers across the United States. During her years on the road, Mauldin said she found herself missing the Creek language. Once she returned home to Okemah, she discovered fewer and fewer people were speaking Creek. "It struck me that I wasn't hearing the language as frequently as I used to," Mauldin said. "I kept wondering why 'they' weren't doing anything about it, and then I thought why aren't I doing anything about it. I decided then that I could make a difference, and I would make a difference." Mauldin said she gave up all employment and began working on a plan to keep the Creek language alive and growing. She said the first step in the process was evaluating how fluent she actually was in the language and finding out how well she could read what little written material there was available. She said the only real reading source she could find was the Creek version of the New Testament, making the book her source material of sorts when it came to spelling and grammar. In 1991, she began teaching Creek language classes in her home in Okemah. Mauldin said she was initially surprised at how many people wanted to learn the language. "I advertised the classes in the Okemah newspaper, and people just came," Mauldin said. "I originally wanted to teach the language to two people in the same family or two people who spoke to each other frequently. That way these people could practice the language together on a daily basis. I still believe language learning should be done by families. That's the most effective method of learning a language." Mauldin's first step in bringing the Creek language to the OU campus also came in 1991. After hearing Mauldin speak in Creek at a tribal meeting in Okemah, John Moore, OU anthropology chairperson at the time, contacted Mauldin and asked her to do some translation work for OU. Eventually, the translation job led to a position as a consultant for anthropological linguistics classes at the school. Realizing Mauldin's familiarity and knowledge of Creek language were virtually unparalleled, OU offered her a position as an instructor of curriculum development in the Creek language in the department of anthropology/Native American studies. Today, Mauldin is joined by her daughter Gloria McCarty as OU's two Creek language instructors. Together, the mother and daughter teach six courses at three levels. "The Creek language program today compared to what it was when we started it in 1995 is like night and day," Mauldin said. "While we've come a long way, we're really just now taking step two. We're now gathering data and materials for a textbook, and we want our textbook to be just as good, attractive and shiny as the textbooks for most other classes." While the Creek language program has operated without a textbook for its first eight years at OU, students in the curriculum do at least have access to a Creek dictionary, thanks to Mauldin. In 2000, Mauldin, along with linguist Jack Martin, published a Creek dictionary. It was only the second Creek language dictionary ever published and the first since 1890. As part of her Creek curriculum at OU, Mauldin teaches her students a number of classic Creek songs and hymns, giving students a chance to harken back to what it was like for Mauldin growing up in a Native American home in rural Oklahoma. All of the songs Mauldin includes in her classes have been transcribed entirely from her memory. From sjtatsch at UCDAVIS.EDU Sat Aug 9 18:02:25 2003 From: sjtatsch at UCDAVIS.EDU (Sheri J. Tatsch) Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2003 11:02:25 -0700 Subject: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages (fwd) In-Reply-To: <1060324719.01ae5f653dcc0@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: To all, I can't believe this has happened so quickly. I could see it coming, but Oh my god! I just returned from Italy where I gave a paper on this very issue. Unfortunately, I thought there was time to spread my theoretical protection of languages before there would have to be any legal action taken by the tribes. The paper is to be sent out for publication in 2 weeks. Has anyone seen the language of the agreement with GM? Access to the agreement? Any further information would help. >General Motors Purchases Indian Languages >http://www.watleyreview.com/2003/072903-2.html > > General Motors (GM) has announced the purchase of exclusive rights to >the entire Algonquian language family, including such well-known >tongues as Cheyenne, Cree, and Mohican, in a $1.6 billion dollar deal. > > "We are confident that this acquisition will benefit both the peoples >who speak these languages and GM," said company spokesman Karl >Hennessey. "This is truly a rare win-win situation." > > GM acquired the languages in an apparent effort to secure the rights to >potentially thousands of cool-sounding names for automobiles. With one >of the least creative management structures in the automotive industry, >GM has for years produced cars with increasingly lame names that have >hurt sales. > > "The problem is almost everything is getting used up," GM Vice Chairman >Bob Lutz told Reuters recently. "If you have a good name, it can help. >I've seen a lot of stupid names in my life." These would presumably >include the 2003 Buick GoThing, the 2002 GM Pustule, and the 2003 >Oldsmobile Scab. > > By purchasing exclusive rights to an Amerindian language family which >includes over 30 different languages, GM is hoping to counter similar >efforts by competing companies such as DaimlerChrysler, which recently >purchased Portuguese. > > "The GM arrangement is very generous," said Bureau of Indian Affairs >(BIA) Secretary Gerald Howton. "It permits the tribes to continue >using the languages free of charge through 2030, after which point, if >there are any surviving native speakers, they can continue to use the >language under attractive subscription terms." Any names which GM >adopts as automobile names will be removed from eligibility, but GM has >agreed to provide a list of no fewer than three synonyms for any word >removed from circulation. > > "This is incredibly insulting," said Powhatan tribal elder Mark Matoaka >before scaring this reporter away with stern glances. > > "The BIA will do everything it can to ensure that the funds from GM are >distributed fairly and equitably," said Howton. "Our record speaks for >itself." -- Sheri Tatsch Executive Director Native American Language Center Department of Native American Studies One Shields Ave. Davis, CA 95616 530-754-8361 From sjtatsch at UCDAVIS.EDU Sat Aug 9 18:06:39 2003 From: sjtatsch at UCDAVIS.EDU (Sheri J. Tatsch) Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2003 11:06:39 -0700 Subject: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages (fwd) In-Reply-To: <1060325017.7a12d8462e7aa@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: To all, parody, maybe here. Appropriation is occurring worldwide of all things indigenous intangible.To the extent that UNESCO has been campaigning for the legal protection of such through the international courts. The protection of Indigenous languages is international law. -Sheri >Dear ILAT, > >The previous message was/is a parody, a fiction (according to the >webpage that posted it as news). So do not be alarmed. > >heenek'e (again), > >Phil Cash Cash >UofA, ILAT > > >> ----- Message from cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU --------- >> Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 23:38:39 -0700 >> From: Phil Cash Cash >> Reply-To: Indigenous Languages and Technology > >> Subject: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages (fwd) >> To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU >> >> General Motors Purchases Indian Languages >> http://www.watleyreview.com/2003/072903-2.html >> >> General Motors (GM) has announced the purchase of exclusive rights >> to >> the entire Algonquian language family, including such well-known >> tongues as Cheyenne, Cree, and Mohican, in a $1.6 billion dollar >> deal. >> >> "We are confident that this acquisition will benefit both the >> peoples >> who speak these languages and GM," said company spokesman Karl >> Hennessey. "This is truly a rare win-win situation." >> >> GM acquired the languages in an apparent effort to secure the rights >> to >> potentially thousands of cool-sounding names for automobiles. With >> one >> of the least creative management structures in the automotive >> industry, >> GM has for years produced cars with increasingly lame names that have >> hurt sales. >> >> "The problem is almost everything is getting used up," GM Vice >> Chairman >> Bob Lutz told Reuters recently. "If you have a good name, it can >> help. >> I've seen a lot of stupid names in my life." These would presumably >> include the 2003 Buick GoThing, the 2002 GM Pustule, and the 2003 >> Oldsmobile Scab. >> >> By purchasing exclusive rights to an Amerindian language family >> which >> includes over 30 different languages, GM is hoping to counter similar >> efforts by competing companies such as DaimlerChrysler, which >> recently >> purchased Portuguese. >> >> "The GM arrangement is very generous," said Bureau of Indian Affairs >> (BIA) Secretary Gerald Howton. "It permits the tribes to continue >> using the languages free of charge through 2030, after which point, >> if >> there are any surviving native speakers, they can continue to use the >> language under attractive subscription terms." Any names which GM >> adopts as automobile names will be removed from eligibility, but GM >> has >> agreed to provide a list of no fewer than three synonyms for any word >> removed from circulation. > > > > "This is incredibly insulting," said Powhatan tribal elder Mark > > Matoaka > > before scaring this reporter away with stern glances. > > > > "The BIA will do everything it can to ensure that the funds from GM >> are >> distributed fairly and equitably," said Howton. "Our record speaks >> for >> itself." >> >> >> ----- End message from cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU ----- -- Sheri Tatsch Executive Director Native American Language Center Department of Native American Studies One Shields Ave. Davis, CA 95616 530-754-8361 From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Mon Aug 11 17:56:47 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 10:56:47 -0700 Subject: Tlingit classrooms - a good report card (fwd) Message-ID: Tlingit classrooms - a good report card Emphasis is on English, Tlingit language instruction, Native culture By ERIC FRY JUNEAU EMPIRE ? 2003 http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/081103/loc_tlingitclass.shtml Students in Tlingit-oriented classrooms at Harborview Elementary generally perform as well as other students in the school district, and do better than Native students on average, a recent study shows. "This whole emphasis on literacy is paying off," Annie Calkins, a former school district administrator who has studied the program, told the Juneau School Board last week. Eunice James-Lee's son Hunter, 9, has been enrolled in the Tlingit program for three years. "For the chance for our kids to succeed in school, to see them thrive, to see them develop, to grow in confidence - I wanted that for my children - and to know who they are, where they're from," she said. Hunter "enjoys being in the class. He enjoys the teachers - just in general likes going to school," she said. "... Hunter has done wonderful." The Tlingit classrooms have operated for three years, emphasizing English and Tlingit language instruction, and incorporating Native culture such as potlatches. Besides the classroom teachers, the program employs a cultural specialist and elders. Native students suffer from low self-esteem, teacher Shgen George told the School Board. They tend to talk less and talk quieter, but children in the Tlingit classrooms are proud to be Tlingit, she said. "I think that's the lowest, deepest root of this program," George said. The program, which was funded in its first two years by a federal grant to the Sealaska Heritage Foundation, included a joint kindergarten-first grade classroom in its first year and a joint K-one-two classroom in its second year. Last year there were 41 students between a K-one classroom and a grades two-three classroom, and there was a waiting list, Calkins said. The program is funded now by the school district. The classrooms are housed at Harborview downtown but are open to students throughout Juneau. About three-quarters of the students have been Native. In the past school year, four out of 10 students qualified for free or reduced-price lunches. About one in seven were identified for special education services. As in school districts across the nation, a smaller percentage of Juneau students who are from low-income families or from racial minorities perform well on standardized tests and other measures of academic success than other students. Nonetheless, in many of the Tlingit program's grades in its three years of existence, a larger percentage of its students are meeting the state's academic standards than are other students. But it should be noted that the test data for the Tlingit program combines its Native and non-Native students. The study reviews only reading and writing proficiency and not that of math, because the original grant was for a literacy program. Moreover, in many cases the number of students, such as five or six, in one grade in the Tlingit program was too small to be statistically significant, Calkins said. "That's why the pattern and the trend is more interesting than the individual class," she said. Of the four students who have been in the program for all three years and who started as kindergartners, three are reading books at their grade level or close to it. Of the eight three-year students who started as first-graders, seven read at least at their grade level and some read a grade above that, and the other student has special needs. The students in the Tlingit classrooms also perform better on average on an oral language test than did a sample of 92 Juneau Native children in 1996. Calkins attributed the program's test scores to high expectations from teachers, a strong sense of community, the strong presence of Native culture and language, parental involvement and dedicated teachers who have had to develop their own curriculum and materials. This school year, the program will have a K-one-two classroom and a grades three-four classroom. The school district is seeking a federal grant to expand the program to the fifth grade in the following year. The grant also would provide money to develop curriculum, train teachers, bus some kindergartners from Glacier Valley to be in the program and eventually set up Tlingit-oriented classrooms in a school in the Mendenhall Valley, said Assistant Superintendent Bernie Sorenson. James-Lee, mother of one of the program's students, grew up in Angoon with parents who were fluent Tlingit speakers. She went to potlatches with them. The Tlingit classroom, with its potlatches and plays in Tlingit, gives her son Hunter the chance to learn some of the culture and language, she said. "They learn phrases (in Tlingit). They learn colors. They learn counting. They learn how to introduce themselves, say their clan, their moiety. It's just really impressive," James-Lee said. Eric Fry can be reached at efry at juneauempire.com. From mward at LUNA.CC.NM.US Mon Aug 11 19:15:01 2003 From: mward at LUNA.CC.NM.US (Matthew Ward) Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 13:15:01 -0600 Subject: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages (fwd) Message-ID: Very funny! Great article. Nice to hear some humor. Unfortunately, this parody is at least somewhat based on actual recent events. The McDonald's corporation, for example, recently started suing a large number of restaurant owners in Scotland for using the common Scottish family name "McDonald's" in their restaurant names (McDonald's Fish n' Chips, McDonald's Sandwiches, etc.). So, an American company forbids Scottish families from using their own Scottish names on their own businesses! I don't remember what happened to that case, but I do remember that some members of the Scottish Parliment were talking about countersuing McDonalds for "degrading Scottish culture." Phil Cash Cash wrote: >General Motors Purchases Indian Languages >http://www.watleyreview.com/2003/072903-2.html > > General Motors (GM) has announced the purchase of exclusive rights to >the entire Algonquian language family, including such well-known >tongues as Cheyenne, Cree, and Mohican, in a $1.6 billion dollar deal. > > "We are confident that this acquisition will benefit both the peoples >who speak these languages and GM," said company spokesman Karl >Hennessey. "This is truly a rare win-win situation." > > GM acquired the languages in an apparent effort to secure the rights to >potentially thousands of cool-sounding names for automobiles. With one >of the least creative management structures in the automotive industry, >GM has for years produced cars with increasingly lame names that have >hurt sales. > > "The problem is almost everything is getting used up," GM Vice Chairman >Bob Lutz told Reuters recently. "If you have a good name, it can help. >I've seen a lot of stupid names in my life." These would presumably >include the 2003 Buick GoThing, the 2002 GM Pustule, and the 2003 >Oldsmobile Scab. > > By purchasing exclusive rights to an Amerindian language family which >includes over 30 different languages, GM is hoping to counter similar >efforts by competing companies such as DaimlerChrysler, which recently >purchased Portuguese. > > "The GM arrangement is very generous," said Bureau of Indian Affairs >(BIA) Secretary Gerald Howton. "It permits the tribes to continue >using the languages free of charge through 2030, after which point, if >there are any surviving native speakers, they can continue to use the >language under attractive subscription terms." Any names which GM >adopts as automobile names will be removed from eligibility, but GM has >agreed to provide a list of no fewer than three synonyms for any word >removed from circulation. > > "This is incredibly insulting," said Powhatan tribal elder Mark Matoaka >before scaring this reporter away with stern glances. > > "The BIA will do everything it can to ensure that the funds from GM are >distributed fairly and equitably," said Howton. "Our record speaks for >itself." > > > From coyotez at DARKWING.UOREGON.EDU Mon Aug 11 19:52:10 2003 From: coyotez at DARKWING.UOREGON.EDU (David Gene Lewis) Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 12:52:10 -0700 Subject: General Motors Purchases Indian Languages =?utf-8?q?=28fwd=29?= In-Reply-To: <3F37EB35.6060709@luna.cc.nm.us> Message-ID: Yes interesting, I saw a recent story on CNN about Starbucks trying to close down a restaurant named Haidabucks. Apparently a play on words of what Indian men are named derogatively, and how that name "bucks" is used in Indian communities as part of the reservation humour. Similar to the way "skins" is used by rez indians in reference to themselves, but is not very PC off reservation. Anyway, I'll look up the stpry and send it out. David ------------------- > Very funny! Great article. Nice to hear some humor. > > From coyotez at DARKWING.UOREGON.EDU Mon Aug 11 19:53:15 2003 From: coyotez at DARKWING.UOREGON.EDU (David Gene Lewis) Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 12:53:15 -0700 Subject: Haidabucks... In-Reply-To: <3F37EB35.6060709@luna.cc.nm.us> Message-ID: The Haidabucks story from their website. http://www.haidabuckscafe.com/ David From mward at LUNA.CC.NM.US Mon Aug 11 22:29:44 2003 From: mward at LUNA.CC.NM.US (Matthew Ward) Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 16:29:44 -0600 Subject: Haidabucks... Message-ID: Thanks for the link! Starbucks is a terrible corporation--I speak as one born and raised in Washington State, and I remember when they were a nice little company. Living in Asia, seeing how what bullies they are... my favorite quote from them was when I was living in Taiwan "We know that this is a tea-drinking culture... but we're going to change that" The blood boils. Don't drink Starbucks coffee! David Gene Lewis wrote: >The Haidabucks story from their website. >http://www.haidabuckscafe.com/ >David > > > From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Tue Aug 12 16:00:59 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 09:00:59 -0700 Subject: Tlingit classrooms get high marks (fwd) Message-ID: Tlingit classrooms get high marks Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - The Associated Press http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~7244~1566026,00.html# JUNEAU--Tlingit-oriented classrooms at a Juneau elementary school are being hailed a success. Students enrolled in the Harborview Elementary School program generally perform as well as other students in the school district, and do better than Native students on average, a recent study shows. "This whole emphasis on literacy is paying off," Annie Calkins, a former school district administrator who has studied the program, told the Juneau School Board last week. Eunice James-Lee's son Hunter, 9, has been enrolled in the Tlingit program for three years. "For the chance for our kids to succeed in school, to see them thrive, to see them develop, to grow in confidence--I wanted that for my children--and to know who they are, where they're from," she said. The Tlingit classrooms have operated for three years, emphasizing English and Tlingit language instruction, and incorporating Native culture such as potlatches. Beside the classroom teachers, the program employs a cultural specialist and elders, according to the Juneau Empire. Native students suffer from low self-esteem, teacher Shgen George told the school board. They tend to talk less and talk quieter, but children in the Tlingit classrooms are proud to be Tlingit, she said. "I think that's the lowest, deepest root of this program," George said. The program was funded in its first two years by a federal grant to the Sealaska Heritage Foundation. The program is funded now by the school district. The classrooms are housed at Harborview downtown but are open to students throughout Juneau. About three-quarters of the students have been Native. In the past school year, four out of 10 students qualified for free or reduced-price lunches. As in school districts across the nation, a smaller percentage of Juneau students who are from low-income families or from racial minorities perform well on standardized tests and other measures of academic success than other students. Nonetheless, in many of the Tlingit program's grades in its three years of existence, a larger percentage of its students are meeting the state's academic standards than are other students. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 14 00:29:18 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 17:29:18 -0700 Subject: UNM faculty works to preserve native language (fwd) Message-ID: UNM faculty works to preserve native language http://www.cibolabeacon.com/articles/2003/08/13/news/news9.txt Christine P. Sims, faculty lecturer in the University of New Mexico Department of Linguistics, recently testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs about the need for a training program focused on Native American language revitalization in the Southwest. Sims, chair of the non-profit Linguistic Institute for Native Americans (LINA), testified on behalf of Acoma Pueblo in support of proposed amendments to the Native American Languages Act of 1990 and 1992. Originally, the proposed amendments included three sites in Alaska, Hawaii, and Montana that would provide training in conducting language immersion programs. Sims included in her testimony the importance of establishing a fourth site in the Southwest where a significant number of tribes and native languages exist. The bill, introduced in July, would create a training center in UNM's Native American Studies Department to work with LINA and other university departments. "For indigenous people across this nation, the significance of issues related to language survival are inextricably entwined with cultural survival," Sims testified. "For some tribes, language loss has occurred to the degree that few or no speakers now exist." Establishing a training center at UNM would build on current language revitalization efforts begun in several New Mexico tribes and those in neighboring states. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 14 18:52:40 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 11:52:40 -0700 Subject: ROC mulls laws to protect aboriginal languages (fwd) Message-ID: ROC mulls laws to protect aboriginal languages http://publish.gio.gov.tw/FCJ/current/03081521.html Publish Date:08/15/2003 Story Type:National Affairs; Byline:Cecilia Fanchiang ????????The ROC government recently identified specific measures to conserve Taiwan's aboriginal languages as they continue to disappear after centuries of modernization and assimilation. In February, the Education Ministry's Mandarin Promotion Council wrote the Draft Law on the Equality of Languages, highlighting a growing sensitivity to aboriginal affairs and the belief that all of the island's linguistic legacies should benefit from preservation efforts. ????????MPC sources claim to have examined language policies and regulations in Europe, North America and the Pacific region and drafted the proposed law after consultations with other government agencies, such as the Council for Hakka Affairs and Council of Indigenous Peoples, as well as Academia Sinica's Preparatory Office for the Institute of Linguistics. The goal was to protect the right of the island's major ethnic groups to employ their native tongues in daily life and during political, economic, religious and educational activities. ????????As written, the law would decree that native languages be respected and enjoy legal equality with the nation's official language, Mandarin Chinese. The draft would have made it illegal for a regional authority to outlaw or willfully restrict any language. ????????The draft stipulated that government agencies at every level be responsible for preserving, studying and ensuring the continuity of native languages. At the municipal and county levels, this means special task forces would have been formed to observe and enforce linguistic policies promulgated by the central government. ????????All public addresses would be multilingual and language programs, especially for endangered aboriginal languages, would be encouraged in public schools, according to the bill. There was a provision ensuring that competence in certain native languages be included in Taiwan's civil-service examinations. Also, the government would have been responsible for funding development of a linguistic database. ????????However, the MPC's draft will not be put before the Legislative Yuan. Instead, it was given to the Council for Cultural Affairs for a broader definition of language conservation. It is to be reworked in order to shift its focus to the cultural and heritable aspects of native languages. The CCA is currently leading other government departments in mapping out a whole new set of stipulations for the promotion and protection of native tongues. ????????In the past, the government department that oversees native affairs proposed a four-year indigenous languages revival project. As part of the CIP's 2001-2004 plan for indigenous autonomy, the administration's goals were to improve the regulatory environment and the promotional mechanisms for aboriginal mother tongues. ????????The CIP adopted strategies for education, romanization and documentation as well as research into aboriginal languages. The council is organizing the third annual nationwide Aboriginal Language Skill Certificate Test in October in an effort to locate prospective teachers of the nation's dying languages. ????????Taipei City Hall has its own department to oversee aboriginal affairs within city limits. The Indigenous Peoples Commission has also set its sights on rescuing aboriginal languages from obsolescence. Kung Wen-chi, IPC chairman, cited a recent survey conducted by National Chengchi University that showed 11.3 percent of aboriginal families still speak their mother tongues at home. "The indigenous languages are losing ground quickly, especially in metropolitan areas," worried Kung, adding that the government's aboriginal policy will see a changeover in 2005. ????????The IPC is presently drawing up plans for what it calls the autonomous development of aboriginal languages. The plan includes incentives for aboriginal parents to teach the language at home, and it would call for indigenous language courses at public institutions. It is being touted as the blueprint for aboriginal-language education in the capital. ????????The city's plan will undergo a public hearing before becoming law. "Pushed by City Hall, the IPC's plan for the autonomous development of aboriginal languages is the first of its kind," explained Kung, alleging that the by-law would not contradict anything in the central government's law when it gets passed. ????????According to Kung, the spirit of the IPC bill lies in the protection of aboriginal languages in the greater Taipei metropolitan area. "It's the way City Hall pays its respects to aboriginal languages," said Kung, who suggested that stops be announced on the subway public-address system in aboriginal tongues, at least at certain stations. ????????With the help of National Taiwan Normal University, the commission initiated the "Aboriginal Language Nest" program in July 2001. Language nests have been set up in every district of Taipei to provide teachers of aboriginal languages resources relating to native culture, language and history. ???????? From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 14 18:56:30 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 11:56:30 -0700 Subject: Learning by doing (fwd) Message-ID: Learning by doing Native language institute works to stave off decline of traditional tongues http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/081403/loc_languaugeclass.shtml Thursday, August 14, 2003 By ERIC FRY JUNEAU EMPIRE ? 2003 Students in Donna May Roberts' class in Shim-al-gyack, the language of the Tsimshian Indians, point to the ground in unison, walk in place, rub their stomachs, make kissy sounds and generally do whatever she says. It looks like an aerobics class, but that's the way Roberts teaches language, and it's becoming an important element in the Native language courses at Sealaska Heritage Institute's Kusteeyi program. "Oh, you guys look like Olympic runners," Roberts, formerly of Metlakatla and now from Portland, Ore., told her students Tuesday evening. Kusteeyi - held at University of Alaska Southeast campuses in Ketchikan in May and in Juneau for the past two weeks - teaches Southeast Native languages mostly by immersing students in the traditional tongues. Juneau's Anita Moran, whose grandmother speaks Tlingit, is taking a beginning Tlingit class. "We have the opportunity to communicate together in Tlingit," she said. "We attend a lot of potlatches, where they speak in Tlingit. It would be great to understand it." Organizers and students at Kusteeyi hope to reinvigorate Tlingit, Haida and Shim-al-gyack at a time when fluent speakers are declining as elders die. There are an estimated 140 completely fluent speakers of Tlingit, six of Haida and six of Shim-al-gyack in Alaska, said Sealaska Heritage sociolinguist Roy Mitchell. The program in Juneau attracted about 50 students from around Southeast to classes that included beginning Tlingit and Shim-al-gyack, how to teach language immersion, Tlingit public speaking for dormant speakers and master-apprentice team training. "It's like a person who is wounded who is starting to feel better now," Paul Marks of Juneau said after Wednesday morning's public-speaking class. "We weren't talking before. It's like we were in a coma. Now we're waking up. It's because of the younger people who are excited about it and asking. If it wasn't for them, why would we want to continue on?" Roberts' teaching method, a variation on what's called total physical response, works by repeating phrases and movements as the silent students imitate her movements. In just the first 15 minutes of her class Tuesday, she gave well over a hundred instructions. She built on them by repeating them with variations, such as "point left," "point right," "point with one hand" and "point with two hands." There's no time for students to daydream, and the teacher can see immediately if a student doesn't understand an instruction. "It is a lot of energy on the part of the teacher, and a lot of language," Mitchell said. "Students need to be comprehending hundreds of times to sink into the subconscious mind." The idea is to teach a second language the way people learn their first language. Young children hear the sounds of their language and come to understand the meanings before they speak the words themselves. And they learn language from their parents in real-life situations. In Roberts' class, students also use workbooks illustrated with drawings of stick figures that enact movements. And then there's Mary Chapin Carpenter singing on the CD player about luck. That means it's time for Shim-al-gyack bingo, in which students put stones on stick-figure drawings that match the Native word for the action. In the master-apprentice class, co-taught by Mitchell and Jordan Lachler, students learn how to pass on the language in one-on-one settings. It can be one way to teach a new generation of Native-language teachers. Clara Peratrovich, a retired Tlingit-language teacher from Klawock, practiced the technique Tuesday with two other students and a family of stuffed-animal sea otters, one of whom sported a Tlingit scarf. Peratrovich, with words and by nudging the otters, instructed the students to move the otters around as she spoke in Tlingit about the animals' family life. "There's no one in our community anymore that would step forward" to teach Tlingit, Peratrovich said after class. "My value for the language is really high. I feel we have to have somebody continue the language teaching, so it won't die off." Debbie Head, a cultural arts teacher in Craig, has been an apprentice to the master Peratrovich since September. "She was as starving to share as I was starving to learn," Head said. But adult learners are not the absorbent sponges that children are, she said. Kusteeyi is modeling proven learning techniques, "and they are making a big difference." On Wednesday, in Nora Marks Dauenhauer's class for dormant Tlingit speakers - those who understand the language but perhaps stopped speaking it - students, mostly elderly, gave orations as beginning Tlingit speakers, mostly young people, listened. Afterward, Catrina Mitchell, who coordinates Kusteeyi and is learning Tlingit, thanked the elder speakers. "We're on a personal journey learning our language," she said. "One day, I'd like to stand before you and say more." Sitka's Paul Jackson, one of Dauenhauer's students, said the young people perhaps didn't understand everything they heard in the orations. But, he added, "We have hooked them. I don't think we should let them go." Eric Fry can be reached at efry at juneauempire.com. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 14 23:03:35 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 16:03:35 -0700 Subject: Minnesota Indigenous Language Symposium (fwd) Message-ID: The University of Minnesota and The Grotto Foundation are co-hosting the first Minnesota Indigenous Language Symposium focused on language revitalization initiatives within Minnesota and its neighboring states. Featured are presentations of key programs developed by present and past Grotto Foundation Grantees, and keynote speakers in the areas of community language activism, master apprentice models, immersion programs, higher education programs, and language related media. Location: Holiday Inn St. Paul East I-94 at McKnight Road Toll Free Number: 1-800-HOLIDAY FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Yvonne Kelly, University of Minnesota 612-624-8217, ykelly at umn.edu Or Visit Our Website at http://cla.umn.edu/amerind/events.html From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 14 23:05:43 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 16:05:43 -0700 Subject: Call for papers: Revitalizing Algonquian Languages Conference (fwd) Message-ID: Call for Papers, Revitalizing Algonquian Languages Conference; Sharing Effective Renewal Practices II, February 18-20, 2004 To be held at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center Papers are invited in the areas of Algonquian linguistic preservation, revitalization, education programs, and innovational technologies. Send submissions to : Charlene Jones, Chairperson of the Historical, Cultural and Preservation Committee P.O. Box 3060 Mashantucket, CT.? 06338 EMAIL: dgregoire at mptn-nsn.gov Phone:? 860-396-2052 Fax:?? 860-396-2194 Please include registration form, academic affiliation or area of research, tribal affiliation, title of presentation, a one page abstract and a summary for advertising purposes. Deadline for submission:? October 15, 2003 Sponsored by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Historical, Cultural and Preservation Committee. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 15 18:07:04 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 11:07:04 -0700 Subject: Dying Words -- Part I (fwd) Message-ID: Dying Words -- Linguists Express Concern Over Fate Of Endangered Languages (Part 1) http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2003/08/15082003160729.asp By Charles Carlson As many as half of the world's 6,000 languages face extinction in the coming decades if measures are not taken to preserve and maintain them. This was the subject of a recent conference of international linguists in the Czech capital, Prague. Participants learned of new efforts being undertaken to preserve an important part of the world's cultural heritage. In this first of a two-part series, RFE/RL reports on tentative efforts to revive an aboriginal Australian language that hasn't been spoken in three decades. Prague, 15 August 2003 (RFE/RL) -- Alf Palmer's native language is Warrangu, an Australian aboriginal language that was once spoken around the city of Townsville in North Queensland. Palmer was the last native speaker of Warrangu. He died in the early 1970s and with him, his language. Warrangu was the subject of a talk given by Japanese professor Tasaku Tsunoda to an International Congress of Linguists in the Czech capital Prague last month. Tsunoda carried out fieldwork in the Townsville area between 1971 and 1974. During this period he met Alf Palmer, who taught Tsunoda his language. "I'm the last one to speak Warrangu," Alf Palmer told Tsunoda. "When I die, this language will die. I'll teach you everything I know, so put it down properly." Professor Tsunoda said his association with Palmer first alerted him to the problem of dying languages. "In retrospect, it was Alf Palmer who taught me the importance of documenting endangered languages. His was perhaps one of the earliest responses to the crisis of language endangerment," he said. More than a quarter of a century later, a few groups of Australians, including some members of the Warrangu group, started a movement to revive their ancestral languages. Tsunoda was asked to come to Australia and to teach Warrangu to the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Alf Palmer. He spent several weeks giving lessons on Warrangu and playing the tapes he had recorded during his meetings with Palmer. During the lessons, Tsunoda looked around the room and noticed tears in the eyes of Alf Palmer's grandchildren and great-grandchildren. "These tears meant how much their ancestral language means to them, and this in turn shows that these tears are the very reason why we should be engaged in the activities to combat the crisis of language endangerment," he said. One of Palmer's grandchildren is now hoping that the study of the Warrangu language will be included in the curriculum of the local university. Tsunoda said this is only a dream at this stage. Other speakers at the Prague conference expressed concern that up to 50 percent of the world's 6,000 languages face the threat of extinction, saying, "This is something humanity cannot afford to let happen." The conference organizer, professor Ferenc Kiefer of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, said: "There are various calculations, but the pessimist would say that only a couple [hundred] of these [languages] will survive. The optimist would say that maybe 2,000, [or] two-thirds, of these languages [would survive] -- and that is a lot." Other speakers emphasized it is not enough to study endangered languages, they must be documented as well. If documentation is sufficient, this can be used in preparations for actually teaching the language to younger generations, as Tsunoda did. This is the situation facing Ket, a language spoken in the Russian Federation along the Yenisei river in the Krasnoyarsk region. Only two or three native Ket speakers remain, so it is especially important that scholars go there to record and document the language. Professor Douglas Whalen, a linguist, is president and founder of the Endangered Language Fund at Yale University. He told RFE/RL: "Languages have been endangered for some years. They have been dying off throughout history, but the rate of dying off seems to have accelerated as much as we can tell. When the Linguistic Society of America was founded in 1925, [early expert] Leonard Bloomfield noted that the American languages in particular were dying at a rapid rate, and felt that this was happening without them being documented very well, in part because of lack of funds and organization." Realizing the importance of studying and documenting endangered languages, the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies recently established a chair for language documentation and description. The chair is funded by the Lisbet Rausing Charitable Fund, which established a fund of 20 million British pounds ($32 million) for work on endangered languages. Professor Peter Austin, head of the program, listed the program's three main objectives in a conversation with RFE/RL. The first is an academic program to train a new generation of researchers to work on endangered languages. The second will document those languages, while the third will create an international archive. "The second is a documentation program, which is a series of research grants available to any serious researcher to apply to receive funding to do research on endangered languages around the world; and the third is an endangered-languages archive, and this will be a major international archive of material on languages from all over the world, endangered languages," Austin said. The preservation of smaller languages is a problem the European Union is continuing to grapple with, and the problem will intensify next year when the EU expands to take on 10 mostly Eastern European new members. Part 2 will look at the EU's efforts to protect some of Europe's mother tongues. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 15 18:08:33 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 11:08:33 -0700 Subject: Dying Words -- Part II (fwd) Message-ID: Dying Words -- EU Expansion To Affect Minority Languages (Part 2) By Charles Carlson The growth of English within the European Union may put at risk the vitality of the EU's minority languages. This was one of the subjects debated at a recent conference of international linguists held in the Czech capital, Prague. In this second of a two-part series on "Dying Words," RFE/RL reports that some of the EU's prospective members fear their native languages may become "second-class citizens" once they join the bloc next year. Prague, 15 August 2003 (RFE/RL) -- Frisian is a minority language spoken in the north of the Netherlands. Tjeerd de Graaf from the Frisian Academy in the Dutch city of Ljouwert says the Frisian language has "about 300,000 speakers, so you can consider it as a minority language, not endangered, but it is a minority in the Netherlands. The situation in the province is that there is bilingual education, it has its own literature, we have bilingual signposts, etc., but this has happened only after a kind of emancipation in the last 50 years." De Graaf believes the minority languages of countries that are already members of the European Union are not being fully integrated into the existing bloc, despite EU efforts to do so. This calls into question the fate of minority languages from the 10 mostly Central and Eastern European countries that are due to join the bloc next year. At present, the EU has 11 official languages -- Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish. The languages of each member state are considered official and working languages of the European Parliament and the European Commission in Brussels. But according to the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language, translation rights are routinely violated because working documents are seldom available in all 11 languages. English has gradually replaced French as the EU's preferred language for external communication. The 10 countries that will join the EU next year are operating under the assumption that their languages will have the same rights as the bloc's other official languages. And it is, indeed, the official policy of the EU to recognize the state languages of the new countries as official languages of the expanded bloc. In practice, however, this is unlikely, since the EU's present interpretation and translation services are already stretched to the limit. In 2001, the total cost of translation and interpretation at all EU institutions was approximately 690 million euros ($777 million), or about two euros per year for every EU citizen. Professor Ferenc Kiefer is a linguist and a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He was the organizer of the 17th International Congress of Linguists in Prague last month. Kiefer says he fears for the future of some of the lesser-used languages of nations joining the EU. "With more and more countries joining the [European] Union, a major problem is the problem of lesser-used languages in the union, bilingualism, minority languages, etc., so these languages need not be endangered," Kiefer says. "But since they are lesser-used, it may happen that a situation will develop in which such-and-such a language, a lesser-used language, will be just a home language, and in an official context they would use, say, English as a [common language]. And this kind of situation has to be handled somehow." But as Kiefer points out, while the EU should be linguistically prepared to receive the new countries, each acceding country must likewise develop the linguistic technology needed to join the EU. "It has been known for many years now that each country must also be linguistically prepared for the union. So one way of doing that is to develop the necessary linguistic technologies. If you just think of how to use a computer, the computer should be able to be used in Czech, in Hungarian, etc., not just in English, so the instructions should be available in the native language -- but not only that. There are many other things that have to be solved," Kiefer says. Kiefer says one such challenge is developing speech synthesis or speech analysis in order to automatically generate speech, and the reverse, converting speech into text. If these technologies are not developed, Kiefer notes, all official business will be conducted in English and smaller languages will suffer. There is also the question of minority languages within the countries that will join the EU. Kiefer says a distinction must be made between minority languages that are spoken only by an ethnic minority in a given country and those that are the language of one country but are also spoken in other countries. For example, he points out that Hungarian -- an official language in one country -- is spoken in parts of Slovakia as a minority language. "But Hungary has Hungarian as an official language, so this is then a task of Hungary's language policy to support schooling, etc., in Hungarian for these minorities. In this sense, Hungarian is a minority language," he says. De Graaf from the Frisian Academy notes there are more than 30 minorities within the EU as it now exists with claims for recognition as minority languages, and they should also receive some kind of cultural status in their respective countries. He says one of the tasks of the Frisian Academy is to discuss the role of the new countries joining the union and to make an inventory of the respective minority languages. The academy has links with the Kashubyan, a small ethnic group in Poland that has its own distinct language, like the Frisians. Linguists' concerns over the survival of Europe's minority languages may be overblown. Through its European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages (EBLUL), the EU funds a number of programs for the benefit of the estimated 40 million citizens of EU states who regularly speak a regional or minority language. The EBLUL is an independent nongovernmental organization that has observer status in the Council of Europe, UNESCO, and the UN. Its role is to safeguard minority languages in EU member states and, presumably, the minority languages of the countries that will join the EU. But EBLUL Secretary-General Markus Warasin says its efforts are hampered by the lack of a clear EU linguistic policy. "There will be some problems integrating all the new languages because the European Union has not really a very clear picture of its linguistic policy. They have a clear vision about the official state languages, but their position toward the lesser-used languages is not that clear as you might presume," Warasin says. He adds that protecting and promoting lesser-used languages also lacks a firm legal basis. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Mon Aug 18 06:18:14 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 23:18:14 -0700 Subject: Tlingit culture camp prepares kids for school (fwd) Message-ID: Tlingit culture camp prepares kids for school Sunday, August 17, 2003 By ERIC FRY JUNEAU EMPIRE ? 2003 http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/081703/loc_culturecamp.shtml The young children, led by teacher Kitty Eddy's voice and her fingers, chanted in unison as they counted in English from one to 100, pausing to stretch out the nines - "thirty-niiiiine" - before gathering speed on the next set of numbers. Then they counted, with the same vigor, the numbers in Tlingit. The school year hasn't begun yet, but about 20 students who are entering or who have been in the Juneau School District's two Tlingit-oriented classrooms at Harborview Elementary attended a free two-week culture camp that ended Friday. The camp was funded by a federal grant to the Sealaska Heritage Institute. Teachers hope the incoming kindergartners will feel more comfortable in school, and returning students will ease into the new school year. A few older students attended as role models for the younger children. The camp also gives teachers and students time for more extended projects, such as catching, cleaning, brining and smoking fish, or picking berries and making jam and fixing up some fried bread to put it on. The activities with fish "really focused on traditional respect for salmon," cultural specialist Nancy Douglas said. Students learned to clean salmon with the fish's head upstream so its spirit can continue its journey, and to return inedible parts to the water, and to say "thank you" in Tlingit to the fish, she said. "You can be more involved and kids can be more involved (during the camp) because the regular school day is so chopped up," Eddy said. Those summer activities mean students have something to talk about and write about when they're in the literacy-based classrooms. Even in the summer camp, students read and write each day. "We found that our kids needed experiences to be able to use as spinoffs for reading and writing, so we needed to have experiences together," Eddy said. Hans Chester, who teaches courses at Sealaska Heritage's Kusteeyi Native language program for adults, visited the classroom to teach students the Tlingit names for the salmon species, colors, and simple instructions such as stand up and sit down. "He gives you enough cues and clues with his body language that you can figure out what he wants you to do," Eddy said. Even if Chester's Tlingit expressions aren't always understood, teacher Shgen George has a ready-made reply: "Right back at you!" The culture camp is a relaxing forum for the teachers, parents and students to get to know each other. Teachers refer to the students as "friends." After lunch Friday, Eddy started the camp day with Kai McQueen, who will be a first-grader, leading the class in changing the calendar. "What do you need to do to that 'tomorrow' card - the number?" Eddy prompted Kai. He put in the number 16. All together the children chanted "Yesterday was the 14th, today is the 15th, and tomorrow will be the 16th." "So what's the job of a calendar?" Eddy asked the children, who were seated on the floor in front of her. And they answered in unison: to keep track of what day it is. They also used the calendar to practice Tlingit and mathematical patterns. As Kai pointed, they called out the Tlingit word for blueberries for three days in a row and then the word for salmon every fourth day. After some counting exercises in English and Tlingit, Eddy asked the children to stand and sing the Tlingit national anthem. "OK, ladies and gentlemen, you need to stand very proudly and sing very beautifully. So find your spot very respectfully," she told the children. As Douglas drummed, the children swayed and sang, holding their arms out with their hands palms up. Then the children split up, some to make fried bread, some to paint their new bookbags, some to write a few sentences about picking blueberries, and others to string beads. When a girl silently indicated she wanted the powdered milk at the fried bread table, Douglas asked her, "What are your words, dear? 'Please' - 'please' what? Thank you for using sentences." Eddy patiently walked Darrian Washington, a first-grader, through each sound of her sentences about blueberries. " 'Blue' - buh, buh, buh," Eddy said, and the girl thought, consulted a printed alphabet card, and then wrote the letter "b." When Darrian was done, Eddy told her: "You did a super, super job. Can we fix one thing? All the letters at the beginning of a sentence have to be capitals." After that, Eddy and Darrian exchanged high-fives. Thomas Johnnie Sr., who has two children in the Tlingit classrooms but who couldn't attend the camp, said his kids count the days to school. The Tlingit-oriented classrooms "really opened up my boys from being shy," he said. "More outgoing. It's really brought out what they were holding inside culturewise, and they're very excited." Eric Fry can be reached at efry at juneauempire.com. From gforger at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Mon Aug 18 15:39:58 2003 From: gforger at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Garry Forger) Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 08:39:58 -0700 Subject: New book Message-ID: The following was reviewed in the August 11 issue of the New Yorker. "Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages" by Mark Abley. Excerpt: Of the six thousand or so languages that exist today, more than ninety per cent are endangered. Abley has travelled as far afield as arctic Canada and the Timor Sea documenting the survival or last gasps of some of these languages. -- Garry J. Forger, MLS Technology Coordinator The University of Arizona Learning Technologies Center 1077 N. Highland Ave Tucson, AZ 85721-0073 gforger at u.arizona.edu http://www.ltc.arizona.edu/ Phone 520-626-7761 Fax 520-626-8220 From mward at LUNA.CC.NM.US Tue Aug 19 14:33:41 2003 From: mward at LUNA.CC.NM.US (Matthew Ward) Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 08:33:41 -0600 Subject: Dying Words -- Part II (fwd) Message-ID: Good article. However, having read about the linguistic situation in the EU, I don't think that this particular issue has much to do with English. Speakers of major European (not minority or endangered) European languages are concerned, in my mind rightfully, that EU government business not be too dominated by English. However, most minority languages in the EU are being replaced by other major European languages, not by English. Basque, for example, is threatened by Spanish, Romansh is threatened by German or French. It is only the minority languages being spoken in English-speaking European countries (Great Britain, Ireland) which are being threatened by English. Phil Cash Cash wrote: >Dying Words -- EU Expansion To Affect Minority Languages (Part 2) > > By Charles Carlson > > The growth of English within the European Union may put at risk the >vitality of the EU's minority languages. This was one of the subjects >debated at a recent conference of international linguists held in the >Czech capital, Prague. In this second of a two-part series on "Dying >Words," RFE/RL reports that some of the EU's prospective members fear >their native languages may become "second-class citizens" once they >join the bloc next year. > >Prague, 15 August 2003 (RFE/RL) -- Frisian is a minority language spoken >in the north of the Netherlands. > > Tjeerd de Graaf from the Frisian Academy in the Dutch city of Ljouwert >says the Frisian language has "about 300,000 speakers, so you can >consider it as a minority language, not endangered, but it is a >minority in the Netherlands. The situation in the province is that >there is bilingual education, it has its own literature, we have >bilingual signposts, etc., but this has happened only after a kind of >emancipation in the last 50 years." > >De Graaf believes the minority languages of countries that are already >members of the European Union are not being fully integrated into the >existing bloc, despite EU efforts to do so. > >This calls into question the fate of minority languages from the 10 >mostly Central and Eastern European countries that are due to join the >bloc next year. > >At present, the EU has 11 official languages -- Danish, Dutch, English, >Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and >Swedish. The languages of each member state are considered official and >working languages of the European Parliament and the European >Commission in Brussels. > >But according to the International Association of Teachers of English as >a Foreign Language, translation rights are routinely violated because >working documents are seldom available in all 11 languages. English has >gradually replaced French as the EU's preferred language for external >communication. > >The 10 countries that will join the EU next year are operating under the >assumption that their languages will have the same rights as the bloc's >other official languages. And it is, indeed, the official policy of the >EU to recognize the state languages of the new countries as official >languages of the expanded bloc. > >In practice, however, this is unlikely, since the EU's present >interpretation and translation services are already stretched to the >limit. In 2001, the total cost of translation and interpretation at all >EU institutions was approximately 690 million euros ($777 million), or >about two euros per year for every EU citizen. > >Professor Ferenc Kiefer is a linguist and a member of the Hungarian >Academy of Sciences. He was the organizer of the 17th International >Congress of Linguists in Prague last month. Kiefer says he fears for >the future of some of the lesser-used languages of nations joining the >EU. > > "With more and more countries joining the [European] Union, a major >problem is the problem of lesser-used languages in the union, >bilingualism, minority languages, etc., so these languages need not be >endangered," Kiefer says. "But since they are lesser-used, it may >happen that a situation will develop in which such-and-such a language, >a lesser-used language, will be just a home language, and in an >official context they would use, say, English as a [common language]. >And this kind of situation has to be handled somehow." > >But as Kiefer points out, while the EU should be linguistically prepared >to receive the new countries, each acceding country must likewise >develop the linguistic technology needed to join the EU. > > "It has been known for many years now that each country must also be >linguistically prepared for the union. So one way of doing that is to >develop the necessary linguistic technologies. If you just think of how >to use a computer, the computer should be able to be used in Czech, in >Hungarian, etc., not just in English, so the instructions should be >available in the native language -- but not only that. There are many >other things that have to be solved," Kiefer says. > >Kiefer says one such challenge is developing speech synthesis or speech >analysis in order to automatically generate speech, and the reverse, >converting speech into text. If these technologies are not developed, >Kiefer notes, all official business will be conducted in English and >smaller languages will suffer. > >There is also the question of minority languages within the countries >that will join the EU. Kiefer says a distinction must be made between >minority languages that are spoken only by an ethnic minority in a >given country and those that are the language of one country but are >also spoken in other countries. For example, he points out that >Hungarian -- an official language in one country -- is spoken in parts >of Slovakia as a minority language. > > "But Hungary has Hungarian as an official language, so this is then a >task of Hungary's language policy to support schooling, etc., in >Hungarian for these minorities. In this sense, Hungarian is a minority >language," he says. > > De Graaf from the Frisian Academy notes there are more than 30 >minorities within the EU as it now exists with claims for recognition >as minority languages, and they should also receive some kind of >cultural status in their respective countries. > >He says one of the tasks of the Frisian Academy is to discuss the role >of the new countries joining the union and to make an inventory of the >respective minority languages. The academy has links with the >Kashubyan, a small ethnic group in Poland that has its own distinct >language, like the Frisians. > >Linguists' concerns over the survival of Europe's minority languages may >be overblown. Through its European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages >(EBLUL), the EU funds a number of programs for the benefit of the >estimated 40 million citizens of EU states who regularly speak a >regional or minority language. > >The EBLUL is an independent nongovernmental organization that has >observer status in the Council of Europe, UNESCO, and the UN. Its role >is to safeguard minority languages in EU member states and, presumably, >the minority languages of the countries that will join the EU. > > But EBLUL Secretary-General Markus Warasin says its efforts are >hampered by the lack of a clear EU linguistic policy. > > "There will be some problems integrating all the new languages because >the European Union has not really a very clear picture of its >linguistic policy. They have a clear vision about the official state >languages, but their position toward the lesser-used languages is not >that clear as you might presume," Warasin says. > >He adds that protecting and promoting lesser-used languages also lacks a >firm legal basis. > > > From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 21 00:37:28 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2003 17:37:28 -0700 Subject: Backlash risks adding millions to cost of native residential school lawsuits (fwd) Message-ID: Backlash risks adding millions to cost of native residential school lawsuits By SUE BAILEY http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2003/08/20/164984-cp.html OTTAWA (CP) - Outraged native leaders are threatening to derail Ottawa's $1.7-billion plan to settle a crushing backlog of residential school lawsuits. The growing backlash could end up costing Ottawa millions of dollars it had hoped to save by keeping cases out of a sluggish court system. At current rates, it's estimated the claims would drag on for 50 years and run up legal bills of at least $2 billion - not including settlements. Fierce resistance from plaintiffs has delayed the process and forced Ottawa to consider changes. The federal government's plan to speed settlements, announced last December, was geared to resolve up to 18,000 cases out of court in seven years. The government would cover 70 per cent of proven damages for physical and sexual abuse, but only for those who sign away their future right to sue for language and cultural losses. That's "a sham," said a spokesman for the Assembly of First Nations' residential schools survivors group. It's also shameful, said Ted Quewezance. "The plan fails to address . . . many different kinds of harms suffered by children in the institutions. The government should be ashamed of itself." At a heated closed-door meeting recently in Ottawa, the assembly demanded changes. "If they don't fly, we'll tell our people not to touch it," Quewezance said of the faltering deal. Another option might be a class-action lawsuit, led by 19 law firms across Canada, that would seek damages for up to 90,000 former students, Quewezance said. The lawsuit, if certified this fall, would seek $12 billion from the government for physical, sexual and cultural damages. Ottawa's fast-tracking plan would put cases before 32 adjudicators, such as retired judges. Plaintiffs would have to collect 30 per cent of any payout from the Catholic, Anglican, United or Presbyterian churches that ran the schools for much of the last century. Ottawa would cover the rest. Critics say the deal was crafted with little native input. They have also assailed Ottawa's move to award damages using a points system that some have called a "meat chart." It offers small amounts for less serious assaults, up to $100,000 or more for the most brutal abuse. Government officials say the system merely reflects how damages are typically assessed in civil litigation. Ottawa is trying to handle "a very difficult and emotional issue" as quickly as possible, says Shawn Tupper, director general of the Office of Indian Residential Schools Resolution. "We're having a debate," he conceded of testy exchanges reported at last week's meeting with former students. Still, Tupper says adjudicators are being screened and hearings should be underway by December - if plaintiffs take that route. "This process is not designed to deal with 100 per cent of the claims," he said in an interview. "We're taking what we're hearing seriously and considering whether any movement can be made." Ottawa will spend $172-million over 10 years to help restore native languages damaged in residential schools, Tupper added. Many plaintiffs claim they were punished, sometimes beaten, for speaking their native tongue. Students lost fluency and were often reluctant to later teach their children the ancient dialects. No Canadian judge has ever awarded damages for so-called cultural losses, prompting Ottawa to fund language programs instead, Tupper said. More than 12,000 former students have sued Ottawa and the four churches that ran the government-owned schools, alleging physical, sexual and cultural abuse. It's believed that many more lawsuits will be filed. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 21 21:29:52 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2003 14:29:52 -0700 Subject: Institute works to stave off decline of traditional tongues (fwd) Message-ID: Web posted Thursday, August 21, 2003 Institute works to stave off decline of traditional tongues By ERIC FRY The Juneau Empire http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/082103/ala_082103ala004001.shtml JUNEAU (AP) ? Students in Donna May Roberts' class in Shim-al-gyack, the language of the Tsimshian Indians, point to the ground in unison, walk in place, rub their stomachs, make kissy sounds and generally do whatever she says. It looks like an aerobics class, but that's the way Roberts teaches language, and it's becoming an important element in the Native language courses at Sealaska Heritage Institute's Kusteeyi program. ''Oh, you guys look like Olympic runners,'' Roberts, formerly of Metlakatla and now from Portland, Ore., told her students one Tuesday evening. Kusteeyi ? held at University of Alaska Southeast campuses in Ketchikan in May and in Juneau for two weeks in August ? teaches Southeast Native languages mostly by immersing students in the traditional tongues. Juneau's Anita Moran, whose grandmother speaks Tlingit, is taking a beginning Tlingit class. ''We have the opportunity to communicate together in Tlingit,'' she said. ''We attend a lot of potlatches, where they speak in Tlingit. It would be great to understand it.'' Organizers and students at Kusteeyi hope to reinvigorate Tlingit, Haida and Shim-al-gyack at a time when fluent speakers are declining as elders die. There are an estimated 140 completely fluent speakers of Tlingit, six of Haida and six of Shim-al-gyack in Alaska, said Sealaska Heritage sociolinguist Roy Mitchell. The program in Juneau attracted about 50 students from around Southeast to classes that included beginning Tlingit and Shim-al-gyack, how to teach language immersion, Tlingit public speaking for dormant speakers and master-apprentice team training. ''It's like a person who is wounded who is starting to feel better now,'' Paul Marks of Juneau said after Wednesday morning's public-speaking class. ''We weren't talking before. It's like we were in a coma. Now we're waking up. It's because of the younger people who are excited about it and asking. If it wasn't for them, why would we want to continue on?'' Roberts' teaching method, a variation on what's called total physical response, works by repeating phrases and movements as the silent students imitate her movements. In just the first 15 minutes of her class Tuesday, she gave well over a hundred instructions. She built on them by repeating them with variations, such as ''point left,'' ''point right,'' ''point with one hand'' and ''point with two hands.'' There's no time for students to daydream, and the teacher can see immediately if a student doesn't understand an instruction. ''It is a lot of energy on the part of the teacher, and a lot of language,'' Mitchell said. ''Students need to be comprehending hundreds of times to sink into the subconscious mind.'' The idea is to teach a second language the way people learn their first language. Young children hear the sounds of their language and come to understand the meanings before they speak the words themselves. And they learn language from their parents in real-life situations. In Roberts' class, students also use workbooks illustrated with drawings of stick figures that enact movements. And then there's Mary Chapin Carpenter singing on the CD player about luck. That means it's time for Shim-al-gyack bingo, in which students put stones on stick-figure drawings that match the Native word for the action. In the master-apprentice class, co-taught by Mitchell and Jordan Lachler, students learn how to pass on the language in one-on-one settings. It can be one way to teach a new generation of Native-language teachers. Clara Peratrovich, a retired Tlingit-language teacher from Klawock, practiced the technique Tuesday with two other students and a family of stuffed-animal sea otters, one of whom sported a Tlingit scarf. Peratrovich, with words and by nudging the otters, instructed the students to move the otters around as she spoke in Tlingit about the animals' family life. ''There's no one in our community anymore that would step forward'' to teach Tlingit, Peratrovich said after class. ''My value for the language is really high. I feel we have to have somebody continue the language teaching, so it won't die off.'' Debbie Head, a cultural arts teacher in Craig, has been an apprentice to the master Peratrovich since September. ''She was as starving to share as I was starving to learn,'' Head said. But adult learners are not the absorbent sponges that children are, she said. Kusteeyi is modeling proven learning techniques, ''and they are making a big difference.'' In Nora Marks Dauenhauer's class for dormant Tlingit speakers ? those who understand the language but perhaps stopped speaking it ? students, mostly elderly, gave orations as beginning Tlingit speakers, mostly young people, listened. Afterward, Catrina Mitchell, who coordinates Kusteeyi and is learning Tlingit, thanked the elder speakers. ''We're on a personal journey learning our language,'' she said. ''One day, I'd like to stand before you and say more.'' Sitka's Paul Jackson, one of Dauenhauer's students, said the young people perhaps didn't understand everything they heard in the orations. But, he added, ''We have hooked them. I don't think we should let them go.'' From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 21 21:32:47 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 21 Aug 2003 14:32:47 -0700 Subject: Group taking 'Spirit Walk' to preserve tribe's heritage (fwd) Message-ID: Thursday, August 21, 2003 Group taking 'Spirit Walk' to preserve tribe's heritage By Scott Richardson Pantagraph staff http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/082103/new_20030821028.shtml EL PASO -- American Indian John LaFountaine is walking 1,700 miles from South Dakota to Washington, D.C., to stop America's "original culture" from fading away. Before arriving at the Freight House Exchange in El Paso on Wednesday afternoon, LaFountaine, 48, president of the board of the Seven Fires Foundation, said "Spirit Walk" supports the South Dakota-based Lakota Project and other groups working to preserve American Indian heritage. The walk, which began 870 miles to the west at the Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, is timed to coincide with the start of the bicentennial celebration of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, when there may be increased interest in American Indian issues the Oregon-based, non-profit foundation is involved in. Averaging about 24 miles a day and walking when temperatures some days were more than 100 degrees, LaFountaine and three companions expect to arrive in the nation's capital Sept. 26. There, Seven Fires Foundation representatives will lobby for passage of Senate Bill 575 that would allow federally-recognized tribes and institutions of higher learning to seek money for programs that preserve American Indian languages and cultures. Designation of that day as National Native American Day also is a goal. The group had seven members for the first leg of the journey. Upon reaching Peoria on Tuesday, two teenagers returned home for school and another left to go back to work. The remaining four will continue the walk today on U.S. 24 through Gridley and Chenoa and spend the night in Fairbury. Along the way, they are sharing American Indian culture through dance and story-telling. "We are sharing with them not only the Lakota culture, but what the native traditions have to offer. They are the original traditions of this land," said LaFountaine, adding, "The support we've received is heart-warming." LaFountaine is Annishinabeg, a tribe commonly known as Chippewa. He was a self-described "urban Indian" when he moved to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Porcupine, S.D. The Lakota accepted him, sharing their traditions and private ceremonies. The experience energized his own yearning to explore his tribal roots; LaFountaine now speaks some Lakota and Annishinabeg. The Spirit Walk is his way of saying, "Thanks." "I've spent 16 years learning from the Lakota," said LaFountaine, of Reno, Nev., and former curator and archivist for the Leer family of Learjets. "I felt in my heart I would like to give back to them in small measure." Today, less than 2 percent of the 100,000 Lakota living at Pine Ridge know the Lakota language, he said. Oglala Lakota College estimates fewer than 25 percent of the tribe can speak their language. Most who know it are tribal elders, LaFountaine said, and the college estimates they will comprise just 10 percent of the total Lakota population in the next generation. "The native language is dying out," agreed Tammy Van, another walker and executive director of the Seven Fires Foundation. "When the language is gone, the culture is gone." Lakota families often are financially strapped, and both parents work, leaving little time to pass on traditional ways, said LaFountaine, noting reservations see higher than usual rates of school drop-outs, infant mortality and drug abuse. "Through the assimilation process, much has been lost," said Van, whose heritage is German, Irish and Dutch. "I'd like to help make that right." Contact Scott Richardson at srichardson at pantagraph.com From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Fri Aug 22 21:42:17 2003 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 14:42:17 -0700 Subject: Digital Language question Message-ID: > excellent photo! Hey, do you know about computer technology for language > documentation? I am going to be purchasing, cooledits pro, but my budget > is limited to 2K for all of the hardware and software that I will need. > Can you help me out with leads to purchasing the mic, DAT?, etc.? > From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Sat Aug 23 00:27:11 2003 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 17:27:11 -0700 Subject: Language Help Message-ID: Dad's Lady Warrior What would that be translated into Din? From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sat Aug 23 03:28:05 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2003 20:28:05 -0700 Subject: Yukon Native Language Centre (link) Message-ID: Dear ILAT, I thought this site might be of interest. The Gwich'in language lessons are especially nice. http://www.yukoncollege.yk.ca/ynlc/index.html phil cash cash UofA, ILAT From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 24 16:44:45 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 09:44:45 -0700 Subject: Hawaiian newspapers will soon be on the Web (fwd) Message-ID: Posted on: Sunday, August 24, 2003 Hawaiian newspapers will soon be on the Web By Jan TenBruggencate Advertiser Staff Writer http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Aug/24/ln/ln20a.html A treasure trove of Hawaiian history sits in tens of thousands of pages from 125 different Hawaiian-language newspapers that were published from the early 1800s to the middle 1900s. That history, most of it microfilmed but never republished or translated, should begin to be available via the Internet as early as September. It will be a searchable database in the original Hawaiian. The Bishop Museum's Hawaiian-language newspapers project, Ho'olaupa'i, is using optical character recognition software to convert the microfilm news-print pages to digital format, which will be placed on a Web site. A staff of 10 Hawaiian scholars, guided by Kau'i Goodhue, is checking the digital text against the originals. The work builds on preliminary efforts by the University of Hawai'i's Hamilton Library and Alu Like, an education, vocational training and employment program for Native Hawaiians. Some of the Hawaiian-language papers were weeklies published only for a month or two. Others continued for decades, sometimes incorporating other newspapers along the way. One of these was "Ka Nupepa Kuokoa," the longest-lived Hawaiian-language paper, which was in print from 1861 until 1927. It and other papers carried social commentary, vigorous debates on public issues, ancient tales, discussions of land issues and much more. Historian and educator Samuel Manaiakalani Kamakau was a contributor to the paper. So were many Native Hawaiians who disagreed with some of his versions of Hawaiian history. "Kamakau and (historian David) Malo had contemporaries that didn't necessarily agree with them. The result is a debate," said Guy Kaulukukui, Bishop Museum's vice president for cultural studies. Hilo, Hawai'i-based cultural consultant Kepa Maly said the newspapers provide a much broader picture of what was going on in Hawai'i than history books do. "I think it's an amazing project, and very important to further understand the wide range of the cultural landscape. I don't want to be insensitive, but the primary historical texts that have been translated to date have been significantly connected to the Kamehameha family," Maly said. Other writers represented in the newspaper archives may represent alternative views to those of the ruling family, he said. The newspapers also have significant information about land use, property rights, ownership, boundaries ? much of which has never been properly studied in property disputes, he said. Another remarkable resource is a Hawaiian tradition of writing lyrical dirges called "kanikau," which can be poetic, descriptive and, in some cases, heartbreaking, Goodhue said. She recalls one in which a woman laments the death of her husband, who suffered from leprosy, in the arms of his new lover, namely the Hansen's disease colony of Kalaupapa on Moloka'i. The newspaper project's staff is coming across a number of Hawaiian words not found in the major Hawaiian dictionaries, and is scheduling meetings with Hawaiian elders and scholars to figure out what they mean. In some cases, the meanings can be determined from context. In others, it's not so easy. "In a society where there are all native speakers, they make up slang like we do today," Goodhue said. One such word is printed "haleao," which probably would be written "hale a'o" today. It likely translates "house of learning." Its synonym today would be "hale kula," or school. Another word is the descriptive term "palalauki." The project's staff says it may be related to the term for aging pandanus leaves, "pala lau hala." But "pala lau ki" would refer to something aged and yellowed like a ti leaf. Between the new words, the new ideas and the wealth of stories, Ho'olaupa'i will provide scholars and anyone interested in Hawai'i with an unmatched new resource. Even nonspeakers will be able to search for a name, a place or a concept, and on finding references, to either puzzle out a meaning or take specific text to a speaker of the language for translation. "This project allows access to a massive library of Hawaiian writings that have never been available to most people," Goodhue said. The digitization project will take years to complete, Goodhue said. It is now supported by private donations and grants from the U.S. Departments of Labor and Interior, but more money is needed. Kaulukukui said it will take about $500,000 a year for five years to accomplish the task. There are about 125,000 pages of newsprint, each of which equals seven to eight pages of text. That approaches 1 million pages of text. "The opportunity we have here is remarkable. It will provide us with historical perspectives that do not currently exist," Kaulukukui said. Some work already has been done to make the early Hawaiian-language papers available. At the Web site libweb.hawaii.edu/hnp/newspapers.htm, nonsearchable images taken from microfilm copies of newspapers are available. These were part of a 1997 Hamilton Library project. Further work on the newspapers is available at nupepa.olelo.hawaii.edu/cgi-bin/npepa. This site includes searchable and nonsearchable data, from a project operated by Alu Like's Native Hawaiian Library and Hawaiian Language Legacy Program. Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant at honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 24 16:50:01 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Sun, 24 Aug 2003 09:50:01 -0700 Subject: Mind your tongue (fwd) Message-ID: Mind your tongue http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology/News/0,,2-13-1443_1406287,00.html# Paris - "Vel ny partanyn snaue, Joe?," says the ghostly voice from the archives. "'Cha nel monney, cha nel monney,' dooyrt Joe. 'T'ad feer ghoan'." The voice belonged to Ned Maddrell, the very last native speaker of Manx, the Celtic language once spoken on the Isle of Man - the small island located between Britain and Ireland. Maddrell died in 1974, leaving behind recordings of his fishing anecdotes and daily chat (translation of this snippet: "Are the crabs crawling, Joe? 'Not much, not much,' said Joe. 'They're very scarce'."). Casual, almost banal as they seemed at the time, Mandrell's utterances are now precious beyond price. Carefully stored and pored over by phonetics experts, his words are the linguistic equivalent of a gene bank for dead species. More than 300 languages have already become extinct, and "thousands" more are hurtling down the same road, say Daniel Abrams and Steven Strogatz of New York's Cornell University. "Ninety percent of languages are expected to disappear with the current generation." It is a linguistic loss whose equivalent in biodiversity is the mass extinction 65 million years ago which wiped out innumerable species, including the dinosaurs. The most authoritative database on languages lists 6?809 languages that are spoken in the world today, of which 357 have fewer than 50 speakers. In the case of Abaga, a language spoken in Papua New Guinea's Eastern Highlands Province, just five people still speak it. That estimate was made in 1994, and Abaga may already have vanished. If language extinction is acknowledged as one of the greatest threats to human heritage, only now are scientific tools emerging that help to explain how a language erodes and dies, and what can be done to defend it. Evolutionary biologists are struck by similar patterns between threatened tongues and threatened biodiversity. A language, like species, can head for oblivion if it is threatened by a powerful invader; if it no longer has a large enough, or young enough, or economically viable population to speak it; and if its habitat is destroyed or displaced by war. Invasive languages are promoted by national governments as a unifying political force or for bureaucracy; or they are essential for work or economic activity, used in television, the radio or movies; or they are fashionable, especially among the young. In poor or remote communities, these newcomers work like an insidious virus, able to sicken the local language quickly and put it on its deathbed within two or three generations. "The present 'killers' of languages are English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Swahili, Chinese and Indonesia/Malay," according to a study written by Margit Waas for the US journal Applied Linguistics Forum. "About 45% of all the people in the world speak at least one of the five main languages: English, Spanish, Russian, Hindi and Mandarin Chinese. Approximately 100 languages are spoken by 95% of the world's people, and the remaining thousands by only five percent." Language death can be charted by numbers. Under this "de-acquisition" process, the entire community initially speaks the native tongue daily. As the invader takes root, the number of only-native speakers falls and the number of bilingual speakers rises. Then comes a tipping point at which the native speakers become a minority with a middle-aged demographic profile. As they age, the language becomes more and more isolated socially, less useful economically and less prestigious, and eventually dies with its last few speakers. Hauling a language away from the maw of extinction is rare, and the few successes have been in rich countries with the awareness and resources to combat the problem. Abrams and Strogatz, in a study published last Thursday in Nature, charted the numbers of speakers of Welsh; of Scottish Gaelic, in the remote region of Sutherland; and of Quechua, the most common surviving indigenous language in Latin America, as spoken in Peru. The decline in Welsh speakers will bottom out by 2020; Gaelic speakers in Sutherland are less than a tenth of what they were 120 years ago; and Quechua in Peru will be wiped out by 2030, they suggest. The key to Welsh's survivability lies in government help: street signs in Welsh, TV and radio programming, language courses for adults and the compulsory learning of Welsh for all children up to the age of 16. In other words, prestige is vital. "The example of Quebec French demonstrates that language decline can be slowed by strategies such as policy-making, education and advertising, in essence increasing an endangered language's status," say Abrams and Strogatz. - SAPA/AFP From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Mon Aug 25 15:44:50 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 08:44:50 -0700 Subject: Program immerses students in Cherokee (fwd) Message-ID: Program immerses students in Cherokee Tulsa World 8/23/2003 LOST CITY (AP) -- The kindergarten teacher speaks to her class in Cherokee, telling the children to pull out their mats for nap time. She calls out their names in Cherokee, telling "Yo-na," or Bear, to place his mat away from "A-wi," or Deer. Soft Cherokee music lulls them to sleep. Their parents were mocked for speaking Cherokee. Their grandparents punished. But Cherokee is the only language these children will speak in their public school classroom. Lost City is the first public school class to immerse students in the American Indian language in Oklahoma. Another public school class is being planned by the Eastern band of Cherokees in North Carolina at Swain County High School. Cherokee Nation Chief Chad Smith spoke to educators at a meeting last year and told them the language is dying. Fewer than 8,000 of the 100,000 Cherokees in Oklahoma can speak the language fluently, and most of those who can are older than 45. Smith said his father was punished for speaking Cherokee at Sequoyah High School in Tahlequah, the seat of Cherokee government. "If you spoke the language, your mouth was washed out with soap," he said. "It was an effort to destroy the language, and it was fairly successful." Assimilation policies once discouraged the use of the native language in schools, he said. Harry Oosahwee, the tribe's language projects supervisor, said he was mocked and ridiculed for speaking his first language in his public school. Annette Millard, the school superintendent, spoke to Smith at the meeting and was determined to do her part to preserve the language. She runs a school that sits on 40 acres off a winding country road outside the small town of Hulbert. Sixty-five of the 100 students are members of the Cherokee tribe. "It is important to them that they are able to learn about their culture and language and speak as much of it as possible," she said. "The language is going to be gone if we don't do something, and the best people to learn are kids in the developmental stage of kindergarten." She started learning the language along with her staff. The Cherokee Nation has paid the salaries of the teacher and an assistant in the hope that the younger generation will renew the culture of their ancestors by learning the disappearing tongue. Ten children are currently enrolled in the class. Next year, the immersion class will be held for first grade, and the students will continue with these classes as they move through the school. Chief Smith hopes the Cherokee Nation has acted in time. "The vessel that holds the culture," he said, "is the language." From fnkrs at UAF.EDU Mon Aug 25 18:39:45 2003 From: fnkrs at UAF.EDU (Hishinlai') Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 10:39:45 -0800 Subject: Program immerses students in Cherokee Message-ID: This is fantastic news! Wish this were the mentality of all school administrators, parents, and politicians. Hishinlai' >===== Original Message From Indigenous Languages and Technology ===== >Program immerses students in Cherokee > >Tulsa World >8/23/2003 > >LOST CITY (AP) -- The kindergarten teacher speaks to her class in >Cherokee, telling the children to pull out their mats for nap time. > >She calls out their names in Cherokee, telling "Yo-na," or Bear, to >place his mat away from "A-wi," or Deer. Soft Cherokee music lulls them >to sleep. > >Their parents were mocked for speaking Cherokee. Their grandparents >punished. But Cherokee is the only language these children will speak >in their public school classroom. > >Lost City is the first public school class to immerse students in the >American Indian language in Oklahoma. Another public school class is >being planned by the Eastern band of Cherokees in North Carolina at >Swain County High School. > >Cherokee Nation Chief Chad Smith spoke to educators at a meeting last >year and told them the language is dying. > >Fewer than 8,000 of the 100,000 Cherokees in Oklahoma can speak the >language fluently, and most of those who can are older than 45. > >Smith said his father was punished for speaking Cherokee at Sequoyah >High School in Tahlequah, the seat of Cherokee government. > >"If you spoke the language, your mouth was washed out with soap," he >said. "It was an effort to destroy the language, and it was fairly >successful." > >Assimilation policies once discouraged the use of the native language in >schools, he said. Harry Oosahwee, the tribe's language projects >supervisor, said he was mocked and ridiculed for speaking his first >language in his public school. > >Annette Millard, the school superintendent, spoke to Smith at the >meeting and was determined to do her part to preserve the language. > >She runs a school that sits on 40 acres off a winding country road >outside the small town of Hulbert. Sixty-five of the 100 students are >members of the Cherokee tribe. > >"It is important to them that they are able to learn about their culture >and language and speak as much of it as possible," she said. > >"The language is going to be gone if we don't do something, and the best >people to learn are kids in the developmental stage of kindergarten." > >She started learning the language along with her staff. > >The Cherokee Nation has paid the salaries of the teacher and an >assistant in the hope that the younger generation will renew the >culture of their ancestors by learning the disappearing tongue. > >Ten children are currently enrolled in the class. Next year, the >immersion class will be held for first grade, and the students will >continue with these classes as they move through the school. > >Chief Smith hopes the Cherokee Nation has acted in time. > >"The vessel that holds the culture," he said, "is the language." <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Hishinlai' "Kathy R. Sikorski", Gwich'in Instructor University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Native Language Center P. O. Box 757680 Fairbanks, AK 99775-7680 P (907) 474-7875 F (907) 474-7876 E fnkrs at uaf.edu ANLC-L at www.uaf.edu/anlc/ Hah! Nakhweet'ihthan t'ihch'yaa! From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Mon Aug 25 22:08:49 2003 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 15:08:49 -0700 Subject: Immersion (language) Message-ID: Public School Teaches Cherokee to Kindergarteners By Jenny Burns, Associated Press Writer Lost City, Okla. (AP) _ The kindergarten teacher speaks to her class in Cherokee, telling the children to pull out their mats for nap time. She calls our their names in Cherokee, telling "Yo-na," or Bear, to place his mat away from "A-wi," or Deer. Soft Cherokee music lulls them to sleep. Their parents were mocked for speaking Cherokee. Their grandparents punished. But Cherokee is the only language these children will speak in their public school classroom. Lost City is the first public school class to immerse students in the American Indian language in Oklahoma. Another public school class is being planned by the Eastern band of Cherokees in North Carolina at Swain County High School. Cherokee Nation Chief Chad Smith spoke to educators at a meeting last year and told them the language is dying. Fewer than 8,000 of the 100,000 Cherokees in Oklahoma can speak the language fluently and most of those who can are over 45. Smith's father was punished for speaking Cherokee in Sequoyah High School, located at the seat of Cherokee government in Tahlequah. "If you spoke the language, your mouth was washed out with soap," Smith said. "It was an effort to destroy the language and it was fairly successful." Assimilation policies once discouraged the use of the native language in schools, he said. Harry Oosahwee, the tribe's language projects supervisor, said he was mocked and ridiculed for speaking his first language in his public school. Annette Millard, the school superintendent, spoke to Smith at the meeting and was determined to do her part to preserve the language. She runs a school that sits on 40 acres off a winding country road outside the small town of Hulbert. Sixty-five of the 100 students are members of the Cherokee tribe. "It is important to them that they are able to learn about their culture and language and speak as much of it as possible," she said. "The language is going to be gone if we don't do something and the best people to learn are kids in the developmental stage of kindergarten." She offered a classroom for the immersion class and started learning the language along with her staff. The Cherokee Nation has paid the salaries of the teacher and an assistant in hopes that the younger generation will renew the culture of their ancestors by learning the disappearing tongue. "My grandma speaks Cherokee to old people," said kindergartner Matthew Keener, who goes by "Yo-na" at school. Those students not in the immersion class are exposed to Cherokee as well. The school has a weekly "Rise and Shine" assembly where all grades begin with the greeting, "o-si-yo," and discuss the word for the week. One recent week, the word was truthfulness, or "du-yu-go-dv." Millard calls students by their Cherokee names and remembers to encourage them by saying "o-sta" with a smile. All the students from the pre-kindergarten to eighth grade level know that means "good." Her office is adorned with Cherokee words and pronunciations posted on objects like the telephone and her desk chair. She bought software to print the Cherokee alphabet, which was codified into 85 symbols, each representing a syllable, by Sequoyah in 1821. Millard says she has learned to appreciate the gentle rhythm of the language and its earthy roots. She finds the word "cattle" harsh sounding in English. When she stands out in her cow pasture and calls them "wa-ga," she said, "it's like they'll almost turn and look at me." The Cherokee Nation would cease to exist without its language, Oosahwee said. "We have our medicine, our plant life, our universe and the language the Creator has given us," he said. "Our medicine doesn't understand other languages but Cherokee. All this is interconnected." Ten children are currently enrolled in the class. Their Cherokee language instruction will continue. Next year, the immersion class will be held for first grade, and the students will continue with these classes as they move through the school. The hope is that they will speak Cherokee at home to their parents. After three weeks of school, Lane Smith, or "A-wi," told his mother that he was going outside to play. Since he spoke in Cherokee, she wasn't quite sure what he was saying, but she is now starting to relearn the language she knew at age five. "My family has asked Lane what he has learned today and they are learning right along with him," she said. "I plan to have him keep going with the language." Chief Smith hopes the Cherokee Nation has acted in time. "The vessel that holds the culture," he said, "is the language." ___ On the Net: Cherokee Nation: http://www.cherokee.org/ From miakalish at REDPONY.US Tue Aug 26 02:53:56 2003 From: miakalish at REDPONY.US (MiaKalish@RedPony) Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 20:53:56 -0600 Subject: SOBIG virus on ILAT Message-ID: Hi, People. Someone on this list has a virus called SOBIG. It is the person/one of the people who is on frontiernet.net, in Arizona. The email address is: 170-215-37-43.bras01.kgm.az.frontiernet.net . This isn't hard to fix. You just need to go to the Microsoft site for SOBIG. I used to have the link but I don't have it any more. I have another suspicious email from plover.csun.edu [130.166.1.24], but I am less sure that this person is on this list. What happens is that the virus starts sending itself to everyone in your email address book. I am running PC-Cillin on all my computers; this is the 2nd really nasty virus attack in a month, and the 3rd this summer. It would sure be nice if people invested a little in a virus protection program so that they didn't infect their internet friends and acquaintances. PC-Cillin is available as a download, and is only about 40 bucks, less if you take the quiz. Mia ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mail Delivery Subsystem" To: Sent: Monday, August 25, 2003 5:47 PM Subject: Returned mail: User unknown > The original message was received at Mon, 25 Aug 2003 19:47:07 -0400 (EDT) > from 170-215-37-43.bras01.kgm.az.frontiernet.net [170.215.37.43] > > > *** ATTENTION *** > > Your e-mail is being returned to you because there was a problem with its > delivery. The address which was undeliverable is listed in the section > labeled: "----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors -----". > > The reason your mail is being returned to you is listed in the section > labeled: "----- Transcript of Session Follows -----". > > The line beginning with "<<<" describes the specific reason your e-mail could > not be delivered. The next line contains a second error message which is a > general translation for other e-mail servers. > > Please direct further questions regarding this message to your e-mail > administrator. > > --AOL Postmaster > > > > ----- The following addresses had permanent fatal errors ----- > > > ----- Transcript of session follows ----- > ... while talking to air-xi04.mail.aol.com.: > >>> RCPT To: > <<< 550 MAILBOX NOT FOUND > 550 ... User unknown > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > Received: from BOBS (170-215-37-43.bras01.kgm.az.frontiernet.net [170.215.37.43]) by rly-xi04.mx.aol.com (v95.1) with ESMTP id MAILRELAYINXI42-4da3f4a9fda53; Mon, 25 Aug 2003 19:46:42 -0400 > From: > To: > Subject: Re: Re: My details > Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2003 16:46:37 --0700 > X-MailScanner: Found to be clean > Importance: Normal > X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2600.0000 > X-MSMail-Priority: Normal > X-Priority: 3 (Normal) > MIME-Version: 1.0 > Content-Type: multipart/mixed; > boundary="_NextPart_000_06B06D55" > X-AOL-IP: 170.215.37.43 > X-AOL-SCOLL-SCORE: 0:XXX:XX > X-AOL-SCOLL-URL_COUNT: 0 > Message-ID: <200308251947.4da3f4a9fda53 at rly-xi04.mx.aol.com> > -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ATT00030.dat Type: application/octet-stream Size: 306 bytes Desc: not available URL: From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Tue Aug 26 15:18:30 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 08:18:30 -0700 Subject: Navajo/English books help students with language arts (fwd) Message-ID: Navajo/English books help students with language arts Pamela G. Dempsey Din? Bureau http://www.gallupindependent.com/08-23-03languagearts.html FLAGSTAFF ? Who wants to be a prairie dog? Bidii, (it means Greedy in Navajo), might be if he doesn't learn to hurry. This character, introduced in the book by the same title, is one of many from Salina Bookshelf, Inc., a Flagstaff-based publishing company of Navajo-English workbooks and children's books. Hatched in 1994, Salina wanted to bring Navajo-language and education together in a different way. They began by publishing, "Who Wants to be a Prairie Dog?", a 1940's-story originally used by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Boarding School system. "Our primary focus on developing literature to be used in schools was trying to address, not all issues facing language preservation, but some, in offering an alternative, offering something schools can use," said Eric Lockard, publisher of the company. Several of their newer titles such as "Little Prankster Girl" and "Red is Beautiful" continue with Salina's tradition of teaching Navajo culture and language with memorable characters, detailed art, and relevant story lines. This year, Salina introduced their first baby books which "teach Navajo by association." "We're expanding," Lockard said. "There's a real need for Navajo language material in schools." Authors, translators, and editors work on a project for at least a year before its sent into production. Authors such as Martha Blue and Roberta John spend time with their editor working on the literal meanings of the phrasing in both English and Navajo. "You have two authors conveying the same message in two different culture to find a happy medium," Lockard said. "They get together to work on a project, and make concessions in hope to make a better story." Salina's illustrators are as just as diverse. "We work with new and established artists," Lockard said. "We really like the diversity in illustrations." Their next ventures include an interactive CD-ROM to accompany their "Learn Along with Ashkii" series. So far, the project is half-way done and includes characters familiar to some of Salina's titles. Once completed, the user can choose to visit a hogan, a school, a deli, and a laundry to learn Navajo words for everyday use. Bahe Whitehorn, Jr., whose father, Bahe Whitehorn, Sr. worked as an artist for the company, is the graphic designer on the project and found the work, no matter how detailed, to be fun. "It's real fun, it's something I'm really interested in," he said. Salina also published tourism materials - "culture appropriate material most representing Navajo culture as defined by Navajos," Lockard said - and a Navajo Language Learning CD-ROM, which teaches how to tell time, count, read a calendar, and learn to say common Navajo words. Teachers can use them for tests. As successful, though, as Salina is in bringing interesting and culturally relevant teaching tools to the students who use them most, one event may top it all. "We're excited when books come back (from the printers)," Lockard said. "It's like Christmas." From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Tue Aug 26 16:15:10 2003 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 09:15:10 -0700 Subject: SOBIG virus on ILAT Message-ID: An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gforger at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Tue Aug 26 16:47:05 2003 From: gforger at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Garry Forger) Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 09:47:05 -0700 Subject: SOBIG virus on ILAT Message-ID: Dear ILTATers. The current virus worm that is going around aliases individuals emails. In other words, people are getting emails with the worm attached with my return email address as the sender, even though I do not have the virus and did not initiate any of the emails. This makes it very difficult to track down the infected computers that do have the worm virus. And yes, keeping away from Windows does help. Garry Forger Andre Cramblit wrote: > "MiaKalish at RedPony" wrote: > >> It would sure be nice if >> people invested a little in a virus protection program so that they >> didn't >> infect their internet friends and acquaintances. PC-Cillin is >> available as >> a download, and is only about 40 bucks, less if you take the quiz. >> >> > Easier yet-get a Macintosh > http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/ -- Garry J. Forger, MLS Technology Coordinator The University of Arizona Learning Technologies Center 1077 N. Highland Ave Tucson, AZ 85721-0073 gforger at u.arizona.edu http://www.ltc.arizona.edu/ Phone 520-626-7761 Fax 520-626-8220 From CRANEM at MAIL.ECU.EDU Tue Aug 26 19:01:59 2003 From: CRANEM at MAIL.ECU.EDU (Bizzaro, Resa Crane) Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 15:01:59 -0400 Subject: SOBIG virus on ILAT Message-ID: Hi, everyone. This is my first post to the list. At my university, we have a site license for Norton Anti-Virus. I can take a blank CD to our Computer Services Division and they give me a CD with NAV on it. I can install it on my office and home computers. It may be that your university (if you're in a university) has this service, as well, and it's certainly worth looking into. I know it's frustrating to "detox" our computers so often; maybe this suggestion will work for more than just me. Thanks to all of you for the information you make available on the list. Resa Resa Crane Bizzaro English Department East Carolina University Greenville, NC 27858 (252) 328-1395 - Office (252) 328-4889 - Fax -----Original Message----- From: Andre Cramblit [mailto:andrekar at NCIDC.ORG] Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2003 12:15 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: SOBIG virus on ILAT "MiaKalish at RedPony" wrote: It would sure be nice if people invested a little in a virus protection program so that they didn't infect their internet friends and acquaintances. PC-Cillin is available as a download, and is only about 40 bucks, less if you take the quiz. Easier yet-get a Macintosh http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pasxapu at DAKOTACOM.NET Tue Aug 26 20:06:51 2003 From: pasxapu at DAKOTACOM.NET (phil cash cash) Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 13:06:51 -0700 Subject: SOBIG virus on ILAT In-Reply-To: <3F4B8F09.5090300@email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: It seems the Sobig virus makes it appear that you are the originator of the virus. I received a number of notices from various places stating that my edu account was the sender of a Sobig virus. None of the messages that I had supposedly sent that day corresponded to any email recipient or date or time of the virus message nor did I ever have the virus in the first place (fingers crossed). And I've been using my Mac for the past 2 months! phil cash cash UofA On Tuesday, August 26, 2003, at 09:47 AM, Garry Forger wrote: > Dear ILTATers. > > The current virus worm that is going around aliases individuals emails. > In other words, people are getting emails with the worm attached with > my return email address as the sender, even though I do not have the > virus and did not initiate any of the emails. This makes it very > difficult to track down the infected computers that do have the worm > virus. > > And yes, keeping away from Windows does help. > Garry Forger > > Andre Cramblit wrote: > >> "MiaKalish at RedPony" wrote: >> >>> It would sure be nice if >>> people invested a little in a virus protection program so that they >>> didn't >>> infect their internet friends and acquaintances. PC-Cillin is >>> available as >>> a download, and is only about 40 bucks, less if you take the quiz. >>> >>> >> Easier yet-get a Macintosh >> http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/ > > > -- > Garry J. Forger, MLS > Technology Coordinator > The University of Arizona > Learning Technologies Center > 1077 N. Highland Ave > Tucson, AZ 85721-0073 > gforger at u.arizona.edu > http://www.ltc.arizona.edu/ > Phone 520-626-7761 > Fax 520-626-8220 > From miakalish at REDPONY.US Tue Aug 26 23:43:20 2003 From: miakalish at REDPONY.US (MiaKalish@RedPony) Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 17:43:20 -0600 Subject: SOBIG virus on ILAT Message-ID: How this was explained to me is that the virus infects a computer, reads the address book, and sends it back to each individual in the address book As-If he or she had sent it. think - I'm trying to remember - the infected computer is the TO address, not the FROM address. Mia ----- Original Message ----- From: "phil cash cash" To: Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2003 2:06 PM Subject: Re: SOBIG virus on ILAT > It seems the Sobig virus makes it appear that you are the originator of > the virus. I received a number of notices from various places stating > that my edu account was the sender of a Sobig virus. None of the > messages that I had supposedly sent that day corresponded to any email > recipient or date or time of the virus message nor did I ever have the > virus in the first place (fingers crossed). And I've been using my Mac > for the past 2 months! > > phil cash cash > UofA > > On Tuesday, August 26, 2003, at 09:47 AM, Garry Forger wrote: > > > Dear ILTATers. > > > > The current virus worm that is going around aliases individuals emails. > > In other words, people are getting emails with the worm attached with > > my return email address as the sender, even though I do not have the > > virus and did not initiate any of the emails. This makes it very > > difficult to track down the infected computers that do have the worm > > virus. > > > > And yes, keeping away from Windows does help. > > Garry Forger > > > > Andre Cramblit wrote: > > > >> "MiaKalish at RedPony" wrote: > >> > >>> It would sure be nice if > >>> people invested a little in a virus protection program so that they > >>> didn't > >>> infect their internet friends and acquaintances. PC-Cillin is > >>> available as > >>> a download, and is only about 40 bucks, less if you take the quiz. > >>> > >>> > >> Easier yet-get a Macintosh > >> http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore/ > > > > > > -- > > Garry J. Forger, MLS > > Technology Coordinator > > The University of Arizona > > Learning Technologies Center > > 1077 N. Highland Ave > > Tucson, AZ 85721-0073 > > gforger at u.arizona.edu > > http://www.ltc.arizona.edu/ > > Phone 520-626-7761 > > Fax 520-626-8220 > > > > From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Wed Aug 27 15:58:17 2003 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2003 08:58:17 -0700 Subject: Aboriginal Languages Message-ID: DO ABORIGINAL LANGUAGES DESERVE OFFICIAL STATUS? Aboriginal Peoples Television Network Fri Aug 29 > 8 pm et / 5 pt This week on the 'Best of Contact,' we look at whether Aboriginal languages receive the respect and support they deserve. With about 60 Aboriginal languages spoken in Canada today, many at risk of dying out forever, native groups want laws to protect and promote their revival. But Canada's Official Languages Act only recognizes French and English. Every year, Canada spends at least $450 million on French services and education (though another estimate says it's much higher at $1.7 billion). Should Aboriginal languages not get the same treatment? Does the government have an obligation to bring back what it once tried to destroy through residential schools? Or are the costs just too high? Tune in this Friday at 8 pm et (5 pt) as we ask 'Do Aboriginal Languages Deserve Official Status?' [orig. air date: Feb 21, 2003] Visit our discussion forum at http://www.aptn.ca/en/Community/index_html From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Wed Aug 27 16:28:44 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2003 09:28:44 -0700 Subject: Scholars Perform Autopsy on Ancient Writing Systems (fwd) Message-ID: Scholars Perform Autopsy on Ancient Writing Systems Cause of Death Related to Lack Of Accessibility http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40010-2003Aug24.html By Guy Gugliotta Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, August 25, 2003; Page A07 When a system of writing begins to die, people probably don't even notice at first. Maybe the culture that spawned it loses its vitality, and the script decays along with it. Maybe the scribes or priests decide that most ordinary people aren't able to learn it, so they don't teach it. Or a new, simpler system may show up -- an alphabet, perhaps -- that can be easily learned by aggressive upstarts who don't speak the old language and don't care to learn its fancy pictographic forms. Or perhaps invaders take over. They decide the old language is an inconvenience, the old culture is mumbo jumbo and the script that serves it is subversive. The scribes are shunned, discredited and, if they persist, obliterated. In the first study of its kind, three experts in the study of written language have described the common characteristics that caused three famous scripts -- ancient Egyptian, Middle Eastern cuneiform and pre-Columbian Mayan -- to disappear. "Thousands of languages have come and gone, and we've studied that process for years," said Brigham Young University archaeologist Stephen D. Houston, the study's Maya specialist. "But throughout history, maybe 100 writing systems have ever existed. We should know more about why they disappear." The collaboration among Houston, University of Cambridge Egyptologist John Baines and Assyriologist Jerrold S. Cooper of Johns Hopkins University began at a meeting that Houston hosted earlier this year to discuss the origins of writing. What resulted was "Last Writing," an essay on script death published recently in the British journal Comparative Studies in Society and History. Its basic conclusion: Writing systems die when those who use them restrict access to them. "The sociological and cultural dimension is crucial," Houston said. "Successful systems don't have these prohibitions. Once there's this perception that the writing is only for this function or that function, script death is almost a self-fulfilling prophecy." On the surface, the disappearances of the three ancient scripts appear to have little in common. Both Egyptian and cuneiform survived for 4,000 years, a millennium longer than the Latin alphabet that Westerners use today, and both died in the early centuries of the Christian era after long declines. Mayan, by contrast, lasted about 2,000 years and died relatively abruptly around 1600 because of active repression by Spanish conquerors. Both Mayan and Egyptian served only one language, while cuneiform, invented by ancient Sumerians around 3500 B.C., was adopted by many different Mesopotamian peoples who spoke Semitic and Indo-European languages and other tongues completely unrelated to Sumerian. Mayan and cuneiform took one basic form, while Egyptian was actually four related but different systems. Hieroglyphics, the lovely script that adorns the pyramids and monuments of the pharaohs, was the most elaborate. Mayan never had a real competitor, while cuneiform eventually succumbed to rough-and-ready local Semitic alphabets -- principally Aramaic -- that better served the region. Egyptian endured centuries of onslaught from the Greek and Latin of its invaders before finally giving way. Despite the differences, all three writing systems fell victim to some of the same mistakes: "There's discrimination against everyday use, so that while religion may help a script survive, it does not extend its reach," Baines said. "And when the people [or conquerors] begin to identify the religion and its script as something heretical or dangerous, there's nobody left to protect it." For ancient languages, the margin for survival was always narrow: "We're so used to universal literacy that we forget that the whole Mayan [literate] population may have been a third of the number of people who go to a college football game today," said Pennsylvania State University anthropologist David Webster, a Maya expert. "I don't think most of us focus on just how limited literacy was in a lot of these societies." For centuries Egyptian script thrived because it served a relatively homogeneous people who lived on the edge of the known world unchallenged by outside forces, Baines said. This changed with conquests first by Alexander the Great in the 4th century B.C. and later by the Romans. Greek became Egypt's official language during the Hellenistic period, and the Romans discriminated against indigenous nobles by taxing those who didn't speak it: "This was a body blow," said Cambridge's Baines. But the Romans, who saw themselves as the heirs of the pharaohs, invested heavily in temple building, which helped hieroglyphics survive and even thrive, he added. It wasn't until polytheism went into disrepute with the strengthening of Christianity that Egyptian script lost its anchor and finally died. In Mesopotamia, cuneiform benefited for about 2,000 years by being the only script in the region. Even as Sumerian civilization began to decline, the Semitic Akkadians who replaced them adopted their writing system around 2500 B.C. Other peoples followed. Cuneiform continued into the first millennium B.C. as the script for ritual, administration and commerce, but later tablets show notes in the margin written in the more recently developed Aramaic alphabet, an ominous sign. Besides that, said Johns Hopkins' Cooper, "the fact that nobody spoke the [Sumerian] language [by about 1400 B.C.] put the script in jeopardy." Finally, he added, "the texts depended on a certain kind of belief system that was changing, while the texts weren't." The script began to disappear, lingering in temples and then disappearing altogether after a last flowering among Chaldean astronomers who probably used it, Cooper said, because cuneiform's numerical system is based on 60, offering a much less cumbersome mathematical mechanism than anything else that existed at the time. The fate of Mayan script differed from cuneiform or Egyptian, because it appears to have suffered a largely self-inflicted wound. Long before the Spanish conquest, use of the elaborate glyphs that had flourished for 1,500 years was sharply restricted, Penn State's Webster said, probably because they "were so closely identified with rulers whose rule had been discredited" by wars and corruption. By the time the Spaniards set out to systematically destroy the remains of Mayan civilization, the script may have needed little more than a coup de grace. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Wed Aug 27 16:33:33 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2003 09:33:33 -0700 Subject: Language's Status Drives Its Survival (fwd) Message-ID: Language's Status Drives Its Survival By Bob Beale, ABC Science Online http://dsc.discovery.com/news/afp/20030818/language.html Aug. 21, 2003 ? Languages evolve and compete with each other much like plants and animals, but those driven to extinction are almost always tongues with a low social status, U.S. research shows. The social status of a language is the most accurate way of predicting whether it will survive, argue researchers in a paper appearing in the journal Nature. They also suggest that active intervention to boost the status of rare and endangered languages can save them. "Thousands of the world's languages are vanishing at an alarming rate, with 90 percent of them being expected to disappear with the current generation," warned Daniel Abrams and Steven Strogatz, both of Cornell University in New York. The pair have developed a simple mathematical model of language competition to explain how dialects such as Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Quechua ? the most common surviving indigenous language in the Americas ? have lost out to more dominant tongues. The model is based on data they collected over time on the number of speakers of endangered languages in 42 regions of Peru, Scotland, Wales, Bolivia, Ireland and Alsa?e-Lorraine. All have been in steep decline over the past century or so, and the model suggests that Scottish Gaelic and Quechua will be close to extinct by about 2030. Previous models of language dynamics have focused on the transmission and evolution of syntax, grammar or other structural properties of a language itself. Yet by comparing various influences that help to explain the steadily declining numbers of speakers of each language, Abrams and Strogatz singled out status as the single most significant factor that could predict its extinction threat. "Quechua, for example, still has many speakers in Huanuco, Peru," they note. "But its low status is driving a rapid shift to Spanish, which leads to an unfortunate situation in which a child cannot communicate with his or her grandparents." A language's fate generally depends on both its number of speakers and its perceived status, the latter usually reflecting the social or economic opportunities afforded to its speakers, they said. When two languages are in competition, the one that offers the greatest opportunities to its speakers will usually prevail. The researchers point out that bilingual societies do exist: "But the histories of countries where two languages coexist today generally involve split populations that lived without significant interaction, effectively in separate, monolingual societies. Only recently have these communities begun to mix, allowing language competition to begin." They urged active intervention to slow the global rate of language decline, pointing out that their model also predicts that higher status will keep a language alive. They also cite a real-life instance where this has happened: "The example of Qu??bec French demonstrates that language decline can be slowed by strategies such as policy-making, education and advertising, in essence increasing an endangered language's status." Similar measures may make a difference elsewhere, they argued. From sdp at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Wed Aug 27 21:44:16 2003 From: sdp at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Sue Penfield) Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2003 14:44:16 -0700 Subject: Fw: ILI in Seattle - August 2004! Message-ID: ----- Original Message ----- From: "Indigenous Language Institute" To: Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2003 8:50 PM Subject: ILI in Seattle - August 2004! > Greetings from Seattle! > > Attached is the first announcement for next summer's Multimedia Technology > Symposium entitled "ANCIENT VOICES, MODERN TOOLS: Language and > Tech-Knowledge" to be presented in collaboration by the Indigenous > Language Institute and the University of Washington. The conference will > take place in Seattle on the University of Washington campus from August > 20 through 23, 2004. > > The material to be presented at this conference is essential to all > individuals and groups who are working to preserve native languages. We > hope that you will start making plans now to join us next summer. > > The program is still in development stage and more information will be > made available on the ILI website (www.indigenous-language.org) and by > mail in due course. In the meantime, we are interested in hearing from > those who would be willing to demonstrate their language technologies as > part of a workshop presentation. > > Please share the attached brochure with your colleagues and friends and > forward it to all who might be interested in attending. And mark your > calendar to be in Seattle August 20 through 23, 2004! > > Best Regards, > > Sue Ellen Jacobs, University of Washington > Inee Yang Slaughter, Indigenous Language Institute > -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: AdvanceNoticeBrochureBW.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 345111 bytes Desc: not available URL: From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 28 16:53:08 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2003 09:53:08 -0700 Subject: Major Enhancements to the Unicode Standard (link) Message-ID: Dear ILAT, I thought this news article might be of interest. Just follow the link. Major Enhancements to the Unicode Standard http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=SVBIZINK3.story&STORY=/www/story/08-27-2003/0002007261&EDATE=WED+Aug+27+2003,+09:03+AM Phil UofA, ILAT From sdp at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 28 22:06:47 2003 From: sdp at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Sue Penfield) Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2003 15:06:47 -0700 Subject: Fw: ILI in Seattle - August 2004! Message-ID: Sean , Thanks for mentioning this...there is a website which I didn't notice when I forwarded the entire thing at http://www.indigneous-language.org ( the official site for ILI ) and updates on the workshop will be posted there. Susan ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sean M. Burke" To: ; Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2003 11:26 PM Subject: Re: Fw: ILI in Seattle - August 2004! > You know, if you want people to actually pass around your brochure file, > you shouldn't make it be a THIRD OF A MEGABYTE long. > It would also be more considerate if you put the brochure on a web page and > then you could pass around the URL to that web page, instead of passing > around the file itself. > > > > From: "Indigenous Language Institute" > > To: > > Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2003 8:50 PM > > Subject: ILI in Seattle - August 2004! > > > > Greetings from Seattle! > > > > Attached is the first announcement for next summer's Multimedia Technology > > Symposium entitled "ANCIENT VOICES, MODERN TOOLS: Language and > > Tech-Knowledge" to be presented in collaboration by the Indigenous > > Language Institute and the University of Washington. The conference will > > take place in Seattle on the University of Washington campus from August > > 20 through 23, 2004. > > > > The material to be presented at this conference is essential to all > > individuals and groups who are working to preserve native languages. We > > hope that you will start making plans now to join us next summer. > > > > The program is still in development stage and more information will be > > made available on the ILI website (www.indigenous-language.org) and by > > mail in due course. In the meantime, we are interested in hearing from > > those who would be willing to demonstrate their language technologies as > > part of a workshop presentation. > > > > Please share the attached brochure with your colleagues and friends and > > forward it to all who might be interested in attending. And mark your > > calendar to be in Seattle August 20 through 23, 2004! > > > > Best Regards, > > > > Sue Ellen Jacobs, University of Washington > > Inee Yang Slaughter, Indigenous Language Institute > > [Attachment: AdvanceNoticeBrochureBW.pdf (345,111 bytes)] > > -- > Sean M. Burke http://search.cpan.org/~sburke/ > > From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 29 12:48:48 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2003 05:48:48 -0700 Subject: Computer game boosts children's' language skills (fwd) Message-ID: Computer game boosts children's' language skills Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition. http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994093 A simple computer program that teaches children to distinguish between sounds can dramatically boost their listening skills. It can allow them to progress by the equivalent of two years in just a few weeks, the game's creator claims. The game, called Phonomena, was devised by David Moore of the University of Oxford, UK, as an aid for children with language problems, but he says his latest trials also show that it can help any child. Other experts, however, are reserving judgement until independent tests are carried out. Phonomena is designed to improve children's ability to distinguish between different phonemes, the basic sounds that form the building blocks of language. Up to a fifth of all children are thought to have problems hearing the differences between some sounds, says Moore, who heads the UK Medical Research Council's Institute of Hearing Research. In the game, children have to distinguish between pairs of phonemes such as the "i" sound from the word "bit" and the "e" from "bet". They are played one phoneme followed by two more examples, and asked which one matches the first sound. As the game progresses the phonemes are gradually "morphed" to make them more and more similar, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish between them. With 44 phonemes in English, there are potentially more than 1000 different pairs, but the game concentrates on just 22 pairs of the commonest and most similar-sounding phonemes. Listening ages In the latest trials, 18 children aged between eight and 10 played the game three times a week for four weeks. Their language abilities were compared before and after exposure to the game using a standard listening test. The team found a dramatic improvement in their language abilities, with listening ages up by an average 2.4 years compared with 12 children who did not play the game. In earlier trials on children with learning difficulties, the speech and language therapists who tested the game reported similar improvements. But Ted Wragg, an expert in education at the UK's University of Exeter, warns that such trials can produce misleading results. The improvements could be due to the efforts and attention of teachers and therapists, rather than the game itself. There is a history in education of people and companies making claims about learning products that do not stand up to scrutiny, he says. Moore says independent tests will be done. But he is convinced that computer games such as Phonomena that are designed to teach key sensory skills could make a big difference in education. Even normal computer games have been shown to improve visual skills, he points out. "In the future, every child's dream of homework consisting of hours spent playing computer games may well become a reality." Catching a ball It is a bit like teaching someone to catch a ball, Moore adds. "Sensory performance is no different from motor performance. As far as we know, the neural processes driving them both are the same." And just as playing catch improves hand-eye coordination in other tasks, Moore thinks the phoneme training boosts children's general language skills. The advantage of using computers, he says, is each game can be tailored to a child's abilities. An Oxford-based company called MindWeavers has been set up to commercialise the game. Similar computer-based language tools already exist, such as those developed by Scientific Learning of Oakland, California. But these are geared exclusively towards children with speech and language problems and involve intensive training. "We don't believe you need to do this draconian amount of training for it to do good," says Moore. He is also exploring the use of phoneme training as an aid to adults learning a foreign language. Duncan Graham-Rowe From hammond at U.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 29 15:06:46 2003 From: hammond at U.ARIZONA.EDU (Michael T Hammond) Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2003 08:06:46 -0700 Subject: Computer game boosts children's' language skills (fwd) In-Reply-To: <1062161328.169c0440b7eb6@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: phil et al Very interesting, and very good of you to bring it to everybody's attention. I am of course massively in support of bringing technology to bear on Native American language issues, but I have what are probably cranky concerns about the story below. (I know I'm lecturing to the choir here, but here goes anyway.) >From the perspective of Native American languages, I think we have to be really cautious of a world view that treats Native American language development and maintenance in any way like some sort of language disability. These languages are in trouble, not because there is anything "wrong" with the languages or the speakers, but because of the general cultural setting in this country. My second concern is as a linguist. The language below seems to imply that language learning is like learning to do anything else, and raw practice is what is needed, rather than a deeper understanding of how language actually works. mike h. On Fri, 29 Aug 2003, Phil Cash Cash wrote: > Computer game boosts children's' language skills > > Exclusive from New Scientist Print Edition. > http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994093 > > A simple computer program that teaches children to distinguish between > sounds can dramatically boost their listening skills. It can allow them > to progress by the equivalent of two years in just a few weeks, the > game's creator claims. > > The game, called Phonomena, was devised by David Moore of the University > of Oxford, UK, as an aid for children with language problems, but he > says his latest trials also show that it can help any child. Other > experts, however, are reserving judgement until independent tests are > carried out. > > Phonomena is designed to improve children's ability to distinguish > between different phonemes, the basic sounds that form the building > blocks of language. Up to a fifth of all children are thought to have > problems hearing the differences between some sounds, says Moore, who > heads the UK Medical Research Council's Institute of Hearing Research. > > In the game, children have to distinguish between pairs of phonemes such > as the "i" sound from the word "bit" and the "e" from "bet". They are > played one phoneme followed by two more examples, and asked which one > matches the first sound. As the game progresses the phonemes are > gradually "morphed" to make them more and more similar, making it > increasingly difficult to distinguish between them. > > With 44 phonemes in English, there are potentially more than 1000 > different pairs, but the game concentrates on just 22 pairs of the > commonest and most similar-sounding phonemes. > > Listening ages > > In the latest trials, 18 children aged between eight and 10 played the > game three times a week for four weeks. Their language abilities were > compared before and after exposure to the game using a standard > listening test. > > The team found a dramatic improvement in their language abilities, with > listening ages up by an average 2.4 years compared with 12 children who > did not play the game. In earlier trials on children with learning > difficulties, the speech and language therapists who tested the game > reported similar improvements. > > But Ted Wragg, an expert in education at the UK's University of Exeter, > warns that such trials can produce misleading results. The improvements > could be due to the efforts and attention of teachers and therapists, > rather than the game itself. There is a history in education of people > and companies making claims about learning products that do not stand > up to scrutiny, he says. > > Moore says independent tests will be done. But he is convinced that > computer games such as Phonomena that are designed to teach key sensory > skills could make a big difference in education. Even normal computer > games have been shown to improve visual skills, he points out. "In the > future, every child's dream of homework consisting of hours spent > playing computer games may well become a reality." > > Catching a ball > > It is a bit like teaching someone to catch a ball, Moore adds. "Sensory > performance is no different from motor performance. As far as we know, > the neural processes driving them both are the same." And just as > playing catch improves hand-eye coordination in other tasks, Moore > thinks the phoneme training boosts children's general language skills. > > The advantage of using computers, he says, is each game can be tailored > to a child's abilities. An Oxford-based company called MindWeavers has > been set up to commercialise the game. > > Similar computer-based language tools already exist, such as those > developed by Scientific Learning of Oakland, California. But these are > geared exclusively towards children with speech and language problems > and involve intensive training. > > "We don't believe you need to do this draconian amount of training for > it to do good," says Moore. He is also exploring the use of phoneme > training as an aid to adults learning a foreign language. > > Duncan Graham-Rowe > From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 29 18:36:51 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2003 11:36:51 -0700 Subject: License to Teach (fwd) Message-ID: Friday, August 29, 2003 License to Teach Jicarilla Apache Nation to certify people to teach Indian language under new Board of Education cert By DIANA HEIL | The New Mexican From left, Wilhelmina Phone, Max Phone and Maureen Olson of the Jicarilla Apache Nation are applauded by the audience and state Board of Education members Thursday for making history. The tribe is the first in New Mexico to use a new teaching certificate, which allows native speakers to become classroom teachers without a college degree. Thursday, the board approved a memorandum of understanding between the state and the Jicarilla Apache Tribe to launch a Native Language and Culture Program in Dulce Independent Schools. - Jane Phillips | The New Mexican Cleo Wells and Emelene Baltazar know the nuances of the Jicarilla Apache language. But until Jicarilla Apache President Claudia Vigil-Muniz signed an agreement with the New Mexico Board of Education recently, these two women couldn't enter the public elementary school in Dulce with the right to teach what they know. They don't possess college degrees in education. Thursday, the state Board of Education celebrated the Jicarilla Apache Nation as the first tribe in New Mexico to take advantage of a new teaching certificate that gives Wells and Baltazar license to teach. A 2002 state law allows tribes to determine how they will decide who is competent and proficient enough to teach Native languages in public schools. Thursday, the state Board of Education overwhelmingly approved the rule that sets the Certification in Native Language and Culture (K-12) in motion and gave a final nod to the memorandum of understanding with the Jicarilla Apache Nation. "It does my heart good because we're losing our tribal customs," Irvin Max Phone, one of five Jicarilla Apaches who developed the agreement, said before the state Board of Education on Thursday. Audience and board members gave the Jicarilla Apache Tribe a standing ovation. "We very humbly consider you to be heroes," said board President Adelmo Archuleta, who said that by preserving their language they are preserving the beauty of New Mexico. Already, kindergartners and first-graders in Dulce are benefiting. Wells and Baltazar are co-teachers with Maureen Olson, a teacher with a master's degree in education and an administrator's license. Olson, who narrates a Native language show on Dulce's KCIE-90.5 FM radio station and is working with linguists on a new Jicarilla language dictionary, headed the Jicarilla Language Team that spent a year developing the agreement with the state. Two weeks ago, the trio began its work with children. By talking to one another, students hear the rhythm of the language. "There's little kids who just repeat what you said. Others say, 'Oh, I know what you said!' " Olson said. Twice a week for 30 minutes the teachers bring formal lessons. But for another two days a week, for 45 minutes a day, they assist the regular classroom teacher and speak informally to children in Apache: "Where's your pencil?" "Where's your paper?" "Listen to the teacher." Olson, who ran a language program in the schools for a while, won support for the Native Language and Culture Program through word of mouth. If our kids don't understand Apache, what are they going to be? What if there is no language supporting the culture? "It just seems like the right people were interested. People began to realize that if we don't do something the language is going to be just like something we did long ago," Olson said. "We've had the backing of the Apache legislative council. The majority of them are fluent speakers." Some of the elders hope that when children speak Apache again, they'll gain traditional values such as respect for people, life and ceremonies; a hard-working ethic that starts early in the morning; and a sense of purpose within the extended family. And then there's the simple desire for communication. "I do want my grandchildren hopefully to be able to speak back to me in Apache," Olson said. "That's really the goal." Exchanges aren't the same in the English language. "It's just a different way of thinking," she said. Located in Rio Arriba County, the tribe counts more than 3,000 members. In 1990, Jicarilla Apache speakers numbered 812. "If the real experts of the language are not given the proper status in the classroom, then the children get the impression that their language doesn't have an important place," said In?e Yang Slaughter, executive director of the Indigenous Language Institute. The Santa Fe-based group knows language preservation is a race against time for most tribes and pueblos in New Mexico. In a few New Mexico communities, tribal members of all ages speak the Native language. But in a more common scenario, adults or just grandparents speak and use the language. The children do not. "This really is a wonderful vehicle to accelerate the process," Slaughter said of the certification in Native language and culture. "It also gives the speakers the proper status of teachers in the classroom." The Navajo Nation is working on an agreement with the state, too. But Roz Carroll of the state Department of Education said she's disappointed more tribes aren't pursuing it, given that the idea came from tribal members. From DMartine at CDE.CA.GOV Fri Aug 29 18:42:46 2003 From: DMartine at CDE.CA.GOV (Dorothy Martinez) Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2003 11:42:46 -0700 Subject: License to Teach (fwd) Message-ID: Please discontinue use of the e-mail address shown, and add e-mail to: dmark916 at aol.com Thank you. D. Martinez >>> cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU 08/29/03 11:36AM >>> Friday, August 29, 2003 License to Teach Jicarilla Apache Nation to certify people to teach Indian language under new Board of Education cert By DIANA HEIL | The New Mexican From left, Wilhelmina Phone, Max Phone and Maureen Olson of the Jicarilla Apache Nation are applauded by the audience and state Board of Education members Thursday for making history. The tribe is the first in New Mexico to use a new teaching certificate, which allows native speakers to become classroom teachers without a college degree. Thursday, the board approved a memorandum of understanding between the state and the Jicarilla Apache Tribe to launch a Native Language and Culture Program in Dulce Independent Schools. - Jane Phillips | The New Mexican Cleo Wells and Emelene Baltazar know the nuances of the Jicarilla Apache language. But until Jicarilla Apache President Claudia Vigil-Muniz signed an agreement with the New Mexico Board of Education recently, these two women couldn't enter the public elementary school in Dulce with the right to teach what they know. They don't possess college degrees in education. Thursday, the state Board of Education celebrated the Jicarilla Apache Nation as the first tribe in New Mexico to take advantage of a new teaching certificate that gives Wells and Baltazar license to teach. A 2002 state law allows tribes to determine how they will decide who is competent and proficient enough to teach Native languages in public schools. Thursday, the state Board of Education overwhelmingly approved the rule that sets the Certification in Native Language and Culture (K-12) in motion and gave a final nod to the memorandum of understanding with the Jicarilla Apache Nation. "It does my heart good because we're losing our tribal customs," Irvin Max Phone, one of five Jicarilla Apaches who developed the agreement, said before the state Board of Education on Thursday. Audience and board members gave the Jicarilla Apache Tribe a standing ovation. "We very humbly consider you to be heroes," said board President Adelmo Archuleta, who said that by preserving their language they are preserving the beauty of New Mexico. Already, kindergartners and first-graders in Dulce are benefiting. Wells and Baltazar are co-teachers with Maureen Olson, a teacher with a master's degree in education and an administrator's license. Olson, who narrates a Native language show on Dulce's KCIE-90.5 FM radio station and is working with linguists on a new Jicarilla language dictionary, headed the Jicarilla Language Team that spent a year developing the agreement with the state. Two weeks ago, the trio began its work with children. By talking to one another, students hear the rhythm of the language. "There's little kids who just repeat what you said. Others say, 'Oh, I know what you said!' " Olson said. Twice a week for 30 minutes the teachers bring formal lessons. But for another two days a week, for 45 minutes a day, they assist the regular classroom teacher and speak informally to children in Apache: "Where's your pencil?" "Where's your paper?" "Listen to the teacher." Olson, who ran a language program in the schools for a while, won support for the Native Language and Culture Program through word of mouth. If our kids don't understand Apache, what are they going to be? What if there is no language supporting the culture? "It just seems like the right people were interested. People began to realize that if we don't do something the language is going to be just like something we did long ago," Olson said. "We've had the backing of the Apache legislative council. The majority of them are fluent speakers." Some of the elders hope that when children speak Apache again, they'll gain traditional values such as respect for people, life and ceremonies; a hard-working ethic that starts early in the morning; and a sense of purpose within the extended family. And then there's the simple desire for communication. "I do want my grandchildren hopefully to be able to speak back to me in Apache," Olson said. "That's really the goal." Exchanges aren't the same in the English language. "It's just a different way of thinking," she said. Located in Rio Arriba County, the tribe counts more than 3,000 members. In 1990, Jicarilla Apache speakers numbered 812. "If the real experts of the language are not given the proper status in the classroom, then the children get the impression that their language doesn't have an important place," said In?e Yang Slaughter, executive director of the Indigenous Language Institute. The Santa Fe-based group knows language preservation is a race against time for most tribes and pueblos in New Mexico. In a few New Mexico communities, tribal members of all ages speak the Native language. But in a more common scenario, adults or just grandparents speak and use the language. The children do not. "This really is a wonderful vehicle to accelerate the process," Slaughter said of the certification in Native language and culture. "It also gives the speakers the proper status of teachers in the classroom." The Navajo Nation is working on an agreement with the state, too. But Roz Carroll of the state Department of Education said she's disappointed more tribes aren't pursuing it, given that the idea came from tribal members. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 31 17:27:28 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 10:27:28 -0700 Subject: Multimedia support for use and preservation of Indigenous languages (fwd) Message-ID: Multimedia support for use and preservation of Indigenous languages http://www.dcita.gov.au/Article/0,,0_4-2_4008-4_116619,00.html The Australian Government will fund an innovative multimedia initiative to support remote Indigenous communities in the use and preservation of their languages. The Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston, said the Government will invest $400,000 in the development of multimedia language education resources that will contribute to the preservation and use of five Indigenous languages across Australia. These resources will contribute to Indigenous language activities in a number of areas to make learning more attractive to young students through the use of information technology. A series of CD-ROMs and associated training - possibly including games, songs and resource books - will be developed over the next 12 months for delivery to communities by early 2005. The project is an important part of the Government's $8.3 million Telecommunications Action Plan for Remote Indigenous Communities (TAPRIC), which is also improving access to computers and the Internet for remote Indigenous communities. Multimedia production company Multilocus Interactive will develop the Indigenous language resources in partnership with community Language Centres in selected regions of Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory and New South Wales. The Language Centres are part of a network operating across Australia to provide an information and resource base for Indigenous community language programs, and will ensure that communities have a strong role in the project. Multilocus Interactive will also work closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services (ATSIS). Copyright and control of language materials used in developing the project will remain with the language community. Intellectual property arrangements will also allow communities to further develop their language products, providing the potential for future commercial opportunities. The multimedia language education resources project is part of a broader TAPRIC Online Content Development Program, which will complement other initiatives contained in the Australian Government's response to the Regional Telecommunications Inquiry (RTI), including the Higher Bandwidth Incentive Scheme (HBIS), the Coordinated Communications Infrastructure Fund (CCIF), and the IT training and support services funding for regional Australia. The framework and support the Australian Government is putting in place, through TAPRIC and its response to the RTI, is continuing to help remote Indigenous communities to meet their objectives for ongoing community and economic development. The Government announced its comprehensive response to the 39 recommendations of the independent RTI on 25 June 2003. The response includes allocating more than $180 million to a number of initiatives aimed at further improving existing telecommunications services, 'locking in' service improvements and 'future proofing' telecommunications services in regional, rural and remote Australia. These initiatives will ensure that improvements to services achieved in recent years are maintained into the future and that regional users share equitably in the benefits of future advances in technology. The Government is acting on the RTI recommendations as a matter of priority and its response will be delivered in full regardless of any change in the future ownership of Telstra. Media contact: Simon Troeth 02 6277 7480 or 0439 425 373 Website: www.richardalston.dcita.gov.au From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 31 17:33:42 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 10:33:42 -0700 Subject: First Voices and the Mac Help Preserve Aboriginal languages (fwd no date) Message-ID: First Voices and the Mac Help Preserve Aboriginal languages http://www.apple.com/ca/education/profiles/firstvoices/ ?Two tribal school teachers? reach out to the world English-speaking people can scarcely imagine losing their language, but many people around the world are facing this disturbing prospect. As transportation and telecommunication technologies make the world smaller, they also reinforce the dominance of a few modern language groups. Regional languages spoken by relatively small population groups, including Aboriginal peoples, risk extinction within a few generations as young people leave them behind. But what if you could use the same communications technology that threatens aboriginal languages to preserve and teach them? This possibility was not lost on Peter Brand, a 55 year-old Australian born teacher and advocate of Aboriginal culture. After a year of teaching Aboriginal children in his country?s outback and several years visiting Indigenous cultures in other parts of the world, Peter settled on Vancouver Island where he taught for the Saanich Indian School Board for 11 years. In 1999, Peter was teaching Grade One at LAU-WELNEW Tribal School in Brentwood Bay. A computer lab upgrade to 25 networked iMacs enabled the school to experiment with simple indigenous language teaching tools using iMovie. ?We had a Saanich language font created for the Mac, started shooting video of plants and wildlife, and subtitled the footage with Saanich words,? says Brand, who worked with John Elliott, son of David Elliott, developer of the Saanich writing system. Pretty cool little tool Brand spent the next spring break working with John Elliott and Ken Foster, technology coordinator for the local public school district. The project was an alphabet book for the Saanich language. Working in HyperStudio, they developed video, sound and text for each of the 40 Saanich alphabet characters. ?Then we found a pretty cool little tool,? recalls Brand, ?a piece of Mac shareware called Vocab. At that time Vocab was a text-only word study application that enabled users to create word lists and present the words in quizzes and tests.? Vocab became particularly useful at the tribal school after its developer, Angus Gratton, added a sound feature. Many of the students used Vocab to test themselves in the Saanich language. The ensuing months saw the development of Vocab LanguageLab, a multimedia authoring suite as a companion to the original Vocab application. ?By this time the kids were using iMovie to create rich media they could import into Vocab LanguageLab along with sounds, pictures and video. It became a complete kit for teaching indigenous languages.? As Brand explains: ?Many Aboriginal people are very visual learners. We found that our Apple equipment enabled students to do things quickly and easily with digital video. Our students began creating media-rich learning resources for their fellow students, written in their own unique orthography, or written language style.? Academically, Vocab LanguageLab helped to raise the children?s language proficiency by encouraging them to spend more time working on language related activities. The limiting factor, however, was the fact that only a small audience was being reached. So Brand and John Elliott began to conceive a means of migrating their work to the web. In March 2001, Simon Robinson, the head of the First Peoples? Cultural Foundation, walked into their computer lab. He said he had heard good things, and asked for a demonstration. Brand and Elliott gave him the full show, including their vision to make the multimedia language tools web-accessible. Final tweaking of the web applications Shortly after that, Robinson invited Brand to co-ordinate the official FirstVoices project. ?The project has taken on a life of its own,? Brand elaborates. ?Significant investment has been made to bring it to its current form. We?re going through a final tweaking of the web application after beta-testing this year, and we expect it to be in full operation by early 2003.? What exactly is FirstVoices? It?s an easy-to-use, secure, cost-effective web-based tool that enables any language group to develop its own authentic and authoritative archiving and language reference resource from within its own community. Text, sound and video can be uploaded to the FirstVoices online database to establish rich language resources. ?It?s extremely gratifying to witness the fruition of something you believe in passionately,? says Brand, who lauds Apple for its enthusiastic support in Canada, the US and Australia. ?I never imagined that two tribal school teachers plugging away at something could ultimately reach out to the world in this way. Now that FirstVoices is supported by a team of committed language revitalization advocates, it can develop into a very important resource for Aboriginal languages.? Brand encourages people to check out the site, now in late-stage beta, at www.firstvoices.com. For more information about Apple technology in the classroom visit the Apple Canada web site at www.apple.com/ca/education From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 31 17:50:30 2003 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (Phil Cash Cash) Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 10:50:30 -0700 Subject: First Voices and the Mac Help Preserve Aboriginal languages (fwd no date) In-Reply-To: <1062351222.744894f39204d@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: Dear ILAT, You can access the Vocab LanguageLab 1.0.2 software mentioned in the news article at the following link. It appears you can dowload a demo version. http://www.cabsoft.com/vll.html Phil Cash Cash UofA, ILAT > ----- Message from cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU --------- > Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 10:33:42 -0700 > From: Phil Cash Cash > Reply-To: Indigenous Languages and Technology > Subject: First Voices and the Mac Help Preserve Aboriginal languages (fwd no date) > To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU > > First Voices and the Mac Help Preserve Aboriginal languages > http://www.apple.com/ca/education/profiles/firstvoices/ > > ?Two tribal school teachers? reach out to the world > > English-speaking people can scarcely imagine losing their language, > but > many people around the world are facing this disturbing prospect. As > transportation and telecommunication technologies make the world > smaller, they also reinforce the dominance of a few modern language > groups. Regional languages spoken by relatively small population > groups, including Aboriginal peoples, risk extinction within a few > generations as young people leave them behind. > > But what if you could use the same communications technology that > threatens aboriginal languages to preserve and teach them? This > possibility was not lost on Peter Brand, a 55 year-old Australian > born > teacher and advocate of Aboriginal culture. After a year of teaching > Aboriginal children in his country?s outback and several years > visiting > Indigenous cultures in other parts of the world, Peter settled on > Vancouver Island where he taught for the Saanich Indian School Board > for 11 years. > > In 1999, Peter was teaching Grade One at LAU-WELNEW Tribal School in > Brentwood Bay. A computer lab upgrade to 25 networked iMacs enabled > the > school to experiment with simple indigenous language teaching tools > using iMovie. ?We had a Saanich language font created for the Mac, > started shooting video of plants and wildlife, and subtitled the > footage with Saanich words,? says Brand, who worked with John > Elliott, > son of David Elliott, developer of the Saanich writing system. > > Pretty cool little tool > > Brand spent the next spring break working with John Elliott and Ken > Foster, technology coordinator for the local public school district. > The project was an alphabet book for the Saanich language. Working in > HyperStudio, they developed video, sound and text for each of the 40 > Saanich alphabet characters. ?Then we found a pretty cool little > tool,? > recalls Brand, ?a piece of Mac shareware called Vocab. At that time > Vocab was a text-only word study application that enabled users to > create word lists and present the words in quizzes and tests.? > > Vocab became particularly useful at the tribal school after its > developer, Angus Gratton, added a sound feature. Many of the students > used Vocab to test themselves in the Saanich language. The ensuing > months saw the development of Vocab LanguageLab, a multimedia > authoring > suite as a companion to the original Vocab application. ?By this time > the kids were using iMovie to create rich media they could import > into > Vocab LanguageLab along with sounds, pictures and video. It became a > complete kit for teaching indigenous languages.? > > As Brand explains: ?Many Aboriginal people are very visual learners. > We > found that our Apple equipment enabled students to do things quickly > and easily with digital video. Our students began creating media-rich > learning resources for their fellow students, written in their own > unique orthography, or written language style.? Academically, Vocab > LanguageLab helped to raise the children?s language proficiency by > encouraging them to spend more time working on language related > activities. > > The limiting factor, however, was the fact that only a small audience > was being reached. So Brand and John Elliott began to conceive a > means > of migrating their work to the web. > > In March 2001, Simon Robinson, the head of the First Peoples? > Cultural > Foundation, walked into their computer lab. He said he had heard good > things, and asked for a demonstration. Brand and Elliott gave him the > full show, including their vision to make the multimedia language > tools > web-accessible. > > Final tweaking of the web applications > > Shortly after that, Robinson invited Brand to co-ordinate the > official > FirstVoices project. ?The project has taken on a life of its own,? > Brand elaborates. ?Significant investment has been made to bring it > to > its current form. We?re going through a final tweaking of the web > application after beta-testing this year, and we expect it to be in > full operation by early 2003.? > > What exactly is FirstVoices? It?s an easy-to-use, secure, > cost-effective > web-based tool that enables any language group to develop its own > authentic and authoritative archiving and language reference resource > from within its own community. Text, sound and video can be uploaded > to > the FirstVoices online database to establish rich language resources. > > ?It?s extremely gratifying to witness the fruition of something you > believe in passionately,? says Brand, who lauds Apple for its > enthusiastic support in Canada, the US and Australia. ?I never > imagined > that two tribal school teachers plugging away at something could > ultimately reach out to the world in this way. Now that FirstVoices > is > supported by a team of committed language revitalization advocates, > it > can develop into a very important resource for Aboriginal languages.? > > Brand encourages people to check out the site, now in late-stage > beta, > at www.firstvoices.com. > > For more information about Apple technology in the classroom visit > the > Apple Canada web site at www.apple.com/ca/education > > > ----- End message from cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU -----