Cree language retention spells pride (fwd)

[phil cash cash]

Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Cree language retention spells pride
http://www.wawatay.on.ca/

Letter to the editor,

I’m writing to commend Joyce Hunter for her informative article “Money 
is Not Enough to Preserve Languages,” which was published in the March 
24 issue of your paper. In the article Hunter reported on the alarming 
number of speakers of Aboriginal languages across Canada who are 
choosing to communicate in one of Canada’s two “official languages,” 
rather than in their Aboriginal languages (a situation known as 
“language shift.”) She noted that if this trend continues many of 
Canada’s Aboriginal languages could become extinct within just one 
generation. There is one small correction I would like to make to this 
article. At one point I am paraphrased as saying that “there are some 
socioeconomic indicators which suggest that teaching Aboriginal 
children an Aboriginal language will not get those children a job.” 
That is not what I intended to say. What I intended to say is that 
among some Canadians (both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal) I have 
encountered the attitude that teaching Aboriginal children Aboriginal 
languages will not get those children a job. I happen to think that 
such an attitude is wrong and I know of no socioeconomic indicators 
that lend credence to it. It is my opinion that speaking two (or even 
more) languages enhances the ability of Aboriginal (and non-Aboriginal) 
people to get well-paying jobs. In a companion article in the same 
issue of Wawatay News, Hunter reported on a research project in which I 
am involved in Thompson, Manitoba. The project is ongoing and involves 
documenting factors which contribute to mastering Cree and English in 
homes in which both languages are spoken. An 11-page general survey of 
61 Aboriginal parents revealed that language shift is affecting all 
generations. The survey also reveals that parents who grew up speaking 
Cree when they were children now tend to speak Cree only to their 
parents and grandparents and speak English and a mixture of Cree and 
English known as “Creenglish” to their friends, siblings, and children. 
In interviews with our Elders advisory group and a focus group of 11 
parents, we found that one reason for this language shift may be a 
sense of shame stemming from residential school experiences and the 
former federal-government policy of “assimilation.” Parents in our 
study valued Cree highly and saw bilingual Cree-English programs to be 
important for the retrieval and renewal of the Cree language. When our 
project began we thought, based on anecdotal evidence from teachers, 
that we might find a few families with preschool or school-aged 
children experiencing extreme difficulties mastering both Cree and 
English. Cases such as this – sometimes called “semilingualism” – have 
been documented in minority language situations in other parts of the 
world and seem to be related to challenges sometimes faced in mastering 
two languages in a bilingual environment. No cases of semilingualism 
were documented in our study. The 61 families participating in our 
general survey were highly educated (80 per cent have finished high 
school and 58 per cent have either completed or are completing 
post-secondary education) and seem to represent an emerging Aboriginal 
middle class in Thompson. The high value they place on Cree, and the 
efforts they are now making to instill pride in their children about 
using it, are one of the best ways of reversing “language shift” and 
ensuring a bright future for the Cree language in northern Manitoba.

George Fulford, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of 
Winnipeg
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