From alexispalmer at MAIL.UTEXAS.EDU Tue Aug 1 20:18:45 2006 From: alexispalmer at MAIL.UTEXAS.EDU (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Alexis_Palmer?=) Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2006 13:18:45 -0700 Subject: Announcement: deadline extension, TLSX Message-ID: Extended deadline: 15 August 2006 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TLSX: Texas Linguistics Society 10 Computational Linguistics for Less-Studied Languages November 3–5, 2006 University of Texas at Austin ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Description The past decade has seen great developments at the intersection of computational linguistics and language documentation, particularly in the focus areas of speech and video recording and transcription, best practices for data collection and archiving, and ontology development. TLSX aims to highlight the application of techniques from computational linguistics to the management and analysis of language data as well as to less-studied languages or less-studied varieties of well-studied languages. The goal of TLSX is to further the state of computational linguistics for less-studied languages by bringing together researchers working at this frontier and providing a forum for the presentation of original research. We anticipate work both from documentary and descriptive linguists interested in improving technologies for linguistic analysis and from computational linguists interested in theoretical issues such as the application of data-driven natural language processing (NLP) techniques to languages for which there exists relatively little digitally-available data. To that end, we invite submissions in the areas of computational analysis and management of linguistic data from less-studied languages. We also welcome submissions relating to the development of computational tools to facilitate such analysis. Possible topics include (but are not limited to): * machine learning in scarce data situations * multilingual grammar and lexicon development * cross-linguistic applicability of NLP methods * active learning * transfer learning * bootstrapping semi-automated annotation * challenges posed by particular languages or phenomena to current NLP methods Invited Speakers * Jason Baldridge, University of Texas at Austin * Emily Bender, University of Washington * Steven Bird, University of Melbourne * Katrin Erk, University of Texas at Austin * Mark Liberman, University of Pennsylvania * Raymond Mooney, University of Texas at Austin Submissions Submitted papers must be no longer than 10 pages and are expected to follow the CSLI format for Collected Volumes: http://cslipublications.stanford.edu/site/authors.html LaTeX2e package http://cslipublications.stanford.edu/site/cslipubscollection.tar.gz MS Word template and style guide http://cslipublications.stanford.edu/site/style_edited_vol_part2.doc Submissions due: August 15, 2006 (Extended) Notification: September 1, 2006 Meeting URL: http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~tls/2006tls E-mail contact: tls at uts.cc.utexas.edu Organizing Committee Stephen Hilderbrand, Heeyoung Lyu, Alexis Palmer, Elias Ponvert (all of UT Austin) From MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US Tue Aug 1 23:38:10 2006 From: MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US (Mia Kalish) Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2006 17:38:10 -0600 Subject: Modeling language death Message-ID: This is an excellent article. People might like to read it. It is short, 1 page, but full of implication. http://tam.cornell.edu/Strogatz%20language_death.pdf People are always impressed by that which can be "measured" or "modeled" . . . math is distant but impressive. I am using it as a grounding thesis for immersion learning materials. With a model, it's no longer a question of interpretation, belief, or position. 'Course, my dissertation is all about math anyway, so it's a nice way to go. Hope all are well. Raining here. Lots of floods. . . not where I live, but other places. Best, Mia -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From susan.penfield at GMAIL.COM Wed Aug 2 12:19:28 2006 From: susan.penfield at GMAIL.COM (Susan Penfield) Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2006 05:19:28 -0700 Subject: Modeling language death In-Reply-To: <001601c6b5c3$909a7690$6701a8c0@LFPMIA> Message-ID: Thanks for this, Mia Math is not my thing but even I could understand and appreciate this! Interesting to see how different disciplines can come to the same conclusions,but represent and discuss them in different ways. Adds the credibility of a really 'hard' science to the description of language death. Best, Susan On 8/1/06, Mia Kalish wrote: > > This is an excellent article. People might like to read it. > > > > It is short, 1 page, but full of implication. > > > > http://tam.cornell.edu/Strogatz%20language_death.pdf > > > > People are always impressed by that which can be "measured" or "modeled" > . . . math is distant but impressive. > > I am using it as a grounding thesis for immersion learning materials. With > a model, it's no longer a question of interpretation, belief, or position. > > 'Course, my dissertation is all about math anyway, so it's a nice way to > go. > > > > Hope all are well. Raining here. Lots of floods. . . not where I live, but > other places. > > > > Best, > > Mia > > > > > > > -- Susan D. Penfield, Ph.D. Department of English(Primary) Associate Director, Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy (CERCLL) American Indian Language Devel.Institute Department of Linguistics Second Language Acquistion &Teaching Ph.D. Program Dept. of Language,Reading and Culture The Southwest Center (Research) Phone for messages: (520) 621-1836 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US Wed Aug 2 13:05:29 2006 From: MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US (Mia Kalish) Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2006 07:05:29 -0600 Subject: Modeling language death In-Reply-To: <39a679e20608020519w2b188775yc7beab83faa6cf22@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: I love the model; at least it’s a start. However, I don’t fully support their premise regarding bilinguality (x=0.5). In Computer Science, many, many languages co-exist. This is also true (or used to be true) in many non-American countries, where sometimes 4+ languages coexisted, for the different groups of people, for commerce, for law, that sort of thing. So I would like to see them apply the same model to the rise and fall of computer languages over the last 60-70 years . . . maybe I’ll write to them and tell them that. Well, I’m writing the results section of my dissertation . . . a bit ahead of actually building the movies so I can see all the assumptions and constraints and design for them. I am truly doing this in the philosophy of the Diné cycle of knowing :-) Best, Mia _____ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Susan Penfield Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 6:19 AM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Modeling language death Thanks for this, Mia Math is not my thing but even I could understand and appreciate this! Interesting to see how different disciplines can come to the same conclusions,but represent and discuss them in different ways. Adds the credibility of a really 'hard' science to the description of language death. Best, Susan On 8/1/06, Mia Kalish wrote: This is an excellent article. People might like to read it. It is short, 1 page, but full of implication. http://tam.cornell.edu/Strogatz%20language_death.pdf People are always impressed by that which can be "measured" or "modeled" . . . math is distant but impressive. I am using it as a grounding thesis for immersion learning materials. With a model, it's no longer a question of interpretation, belief, or position. 'Course, my dissertation is all about math anyway, so it's a nice way to go. Hope all are well. Raining here. Lots of floods. . . not where I live, but other places. Best, Mia -- Susan D. Penfield, Ph.D. Department of English(Primary) Associate Director, Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy (CERCLL) American Indian Language Devel.Institute Department of Linguistics Second Language Acquistion &Teaching Ph.D. Program Dept. of Language,Reading and Culture The Southwest Center (Research) Phone for messages: (520) 621-1836 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US Wed Aug 2 21:01:45 2006 From: MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US (Mia Kalish) Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2006 15:01:45 -0600 Subject: Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Message-ID: Hi, Everyone, This is a reminder that Sue and I need to know if you will be submitting digital media for the Language Revitalization Digital Poster at LSA in Anaheim in January. We don't have to have the actual submission, with your abstracts or descriptions, but we do need to know so that we can submit our formal poster description to the LSA by September 1st. If people could write and tell me if they are going to send something, and if you have a description, it would be wonderful if you would send that along, also. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions. Thanks, Mia -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From onursenarslan at YAHOO.COM Thu Aug 3 01:49:01 2006 From: onursenarslan at YAHOO.COM (Onur Senarslan) Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2006 18:49:01 -0700 Subject: Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January In-Reply-To: <003101c6b676$e1391ad0$6701a8c0@LFPMIA> Message-ID: Hi Mia, I have 4 language CDs which I would like to submit: Beginning Tohono O'odham CD I-II Beginning Southern Paiute (Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah) Beginning Southern Paiute (Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians) Currently I am teaching overseas. I am coming back to the States at the end of August. All the best, Onur Senarslan Mia Kalish wrote: Hi, Everyone, This is a reminder that Sue and I need to know if you will be submitting digital media for the Language Revitalization Digital Poster at LSA in Anaheim in January. We don’t have to have the actual submission, with your abstracts or descriptions, but we do need to know so that we can submit our formal poster description to the LSA by September 1st. If people could write and tell me if they are going to send something, and if you have a description, it would be wonderful if you would send that along, also. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions. Thanks, Mia Onur Senarslan, Linguistic Anthropologist onursenarslan at yahoo.com http://www.geocities.com/onursenarslan --------------------------------- How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger’s low PC-to-Phone call rates. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US Thu Aug 3 14:09:25 2006 From: MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US (Mia Kalish) Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2006 08:09:25 -0600 Subject: Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January In-Reply-To: <20060803014901.72862.qmail@web36814.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Excellent! Thank you very much, Onur. Will you be sending them to me when you return? Mia _____ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Onur Senarslan Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 7:49 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Hi Mia, I have 4 language CDs which I would like to submit: Beginning Tohono O'odham CD I-II Beginning Southern Paiute (Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah) Beginning Southern Paiute (Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians) Currently I am teaching overseas. I am coming back to the States at the end of August. All the best, Onur Senarslan Mia Kalish wrote: Hi, Everyone, This is a reminder that Sue and I need to know if you will be submitting digital media for the Language Revitalization Digital Poster at LSA in Anaheim in January. We don't have to have the actual submission, with your abstracts or descriptions, but we do need to know so that we can submit our formal poster description to the LSA by September 1st. If people could write and tell me if they are going to send something, and if you have a description, it would be wonderful if you would send that along, also. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions. Thanks, Mia Onur Senarslan, Linguistic Anthropologist onursenarslan at yahoo.com http://www.geocities.com/onursenarslan _____ How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jtucker at STARBAND.NET Thu Aug 3 14:27:53 2006 From: jtucker at STARBAND.NET (Jan Tucker) Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2006 10:27:53 -0400 Subject: Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January In-Reply-To: <000f01c6b706$731faba0$6701a8c0@LFPMIA> Message-ID: Hi Mia, aren't we collaborating on something to present? Email me off list, I'll have time to devote to this work for three whole weeks! jan -----Original Message----- From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU]On Behalf Of Mia Kalish Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 10:09 AM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Excellent! Thank you very much, Onur. Will you be sending them to me when you return? Mia ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Onur Senarslan Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 7:49 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Hi Mia, I have 4 language CDs which I would like to submit: Beginning Tohono O'odham CD I-II Beginning Southern Paiute (Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah) Beginning Southern Paiute (Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians) Currently I am teaching overseas. I am coming back to the States at the end of August. All the best, Onur Senarslan Mia Kalish wrote: Hi, Everyone, This is a reminder that Sue and I need to know if you will be submitting digital media for the Language Revitalization Digital Poster at LSA in Anaheim in January. We don't have to have the actual submission, with your abstracts or descriptions, but we do need to know so that we can submit our formal poster description to the LSA by September 1st. If people could write and tell me if they are going to send something, and if you have a description, it would be wonderful if you would send that along, also. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions. Thanks, Mia Onur Senarslan, Linguistic Anthropologist onursenarslan at yahoo.com http://www.geocities.com/onursenarslan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cspaulding at ROSETTASTONE.COM Thu Aug 3 19:40:21 2006 From: cspaulding at ROSETTASTONE.COM (Spaulding, Craig) Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2006 15:40:21 -0400 Subject: Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January In-Reply-To: A<000f01c6b706$731faba0$6701a8c0@LFPMIA> Message-ID: Mia, A couple of questions: * What length movie/presentation are you looking for? * What is the deadline for the getting the actual presentation to you, and * Is there any cost involved? Thanks, Craig Spaulding Project Manager Endangered Language Program Fairfield Language Technologies 135 West Market Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801 800-788-0822 ext. 3308 FAX: 540-437-2829 www.RosettaStone.com ________________________________ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Mia Kalish Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 10:09 AM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Excellent! Thank you very much, Onur. Will you be sending them to me when you return? Mia ________________________________ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Onur Senarslan Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 7:49 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Hi Mia, I have 4 language CDs which I would like to submit: Beginning Tohono O'odham CD I-II Beginning Southern Paiute (Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah) Beginning Southern Paiute (Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians) Currently I am teaching overseas. I am coming back to the States at the end of August. All the best, Onur Senarslan Mia Kalish wrote: Hi, Everyone, This is a reminder that Sue and I need to know if you will be submitting digital media for the Language Revitalization Digital Poster at LSA in Anaheim in January. We don't have to have the actual submission, with your abstracts or descriptions, but we do need to know so that we can submit our formal poster description to the LSA by September 1st. If people could write and tell me if they are going to send something, and if you have a description, it would be wonderful if you would send that along, also. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions. Thanks, Mia Onur Senarslan, Linguistic Anthropologist onursenarslan at yahoo.com http://www.geocities.com/onursenarslan ________________________________ How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US Thu Aug 3 23:06:50 2006 From: MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US (Mia Kalish) Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2006 17:06:50 -0600 Subject: Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hi, Craig, Length is up to you. I have seen some of the materials on tv, and it would be nice to have something a bit longer than 1 page. :-) We have some short skits (2-3 minutes) and some really large demonstrations. I have some 1-hour movies, and some half hour movies. So it really depends on the message you are trying to get across. I am structuring the presentation framework to fit the materials that come in, rather than the other way around. No, there is no cost involved. If you send me the stuff over the Internet, its only your time. If you snail mail them to me, it's the cost of postage. Didn't you just finish a huge project with the Iroquois? If the Tribe would agree, some of that would be fantastic. Just a suggestion, I don't want to be rude. Best, Mia _____ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Spaulding, Craig Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 1:40 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Mia, A couple of questions: * What length movie/presentation are you looking for? * What is the deadline for the getting the actual presentation to you, and * Is there any cost involved? Thanks, Craig Spaulding Project Manager Endangered Language Program Fairfield Language Technologies 135 West Market Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801 800-788-0822 ext. 3308 FAX: 540-437-2829 www.RosettaStone.com _____ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Mia Kalish Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 10:09 AM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Excellent! Thank you very much, Onur. Will you be sending them to me when you return? Mia _____ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Onur Senarslan Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 7:49 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Hi Mia, I have 4 language CDs which I would like to submit: Beginning Tohono O'odham CD I-II Beginning Southern Paiute (Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah) Beginning Southern Paiute (Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians) Currently I am teaching overseas. I am coming back to the States at the end of August. All the best, Onur Senarslan Mia Kalish wrote: Hi, Everyone, This is a reminder that Sue and I need to know if you will be submitting digital media for the Language Revitalization Digital Poster at LSA in Anaheim in January. We don't have to have the actual submission, with your abstracts or descriptions, but we do need to know so that we can submit our formal poster description to the LSA by September 1st. If people could write and tell me if they are going to send something, and if you have a description, it would be wonderful if you would send that along, also. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions. Thanks, Mia Onur Senarslan, Linguistic Anthropologist onursenarslan at yahoo.com http://www.geocities.com/onursenarslan _____ How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dzo at BISHARAT.NET Fri Aug 4 14:10:58 2006 From: dzo at BISHARAT.NET (d_z_o) Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2006 14:10:58 -0000 Subject: African governments "wish ... small languages [to] die" ? Message-ID: This evaluation and other remarks by Nigerian linguist Ben Elugbe about language planning in Africa may be of interest. This passage comes from a paper presented 10 years ago (reference at end), so it would be interesting to know the author's current take on the situation. (Cf. also part of a recent interview with Ugandan Pres. Museveni at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/message/622 ) Don Osborn ... The development of African languages is not uniform across the continent. Some languages have been fortunate, others have not. Some parts of the same language have been fortunate - others have not. Even so, it has been the case that large languages (as defined within a given country) have received attention. By contrast, small (often called "minority") languages have been less fortunate. It is probably the wish of African governments in multilingual countries that the small languages should die. Fortunately, because these languages have speakers and because their speakers do not always have literacy in a viable alternative, the rate of extinction is surprisingly low. Hence the problem of language simply will not disappear. There are convincing arguments for avoiding the development of African languages in the multilingual states. First of all, multilanguage policies are considered expensive (which they are) and disuniting (which has never been proved). It is also true that investment in language is not quantifiable in real statistics - unlike investment in oil production, in wheat production, or in dairy farming, for example. Yet there are advantages in encouraging the development of African languages - large and small. These include the fact that the speakers of such a language develop a sense of political care and belonging. The speakers are automatically carried into the modern age because new ideas, modern ideas, can be presented in the language they understand best. (Note that this point implies that language development goes beyond the provision of a writing system and readers or primers; it includes the expansion of the vocabulary of the language to cope with new ideas.) Education is a major beneficiary as children would be able to learn - at least for a while - in their mother tongues. There is thus a major gain for national development. Governments have to look beyond the immediate to see the gains of policies charitable towards African languages. Of course, the problem needs planning, a trait not too often associated with governments in this part of the world. A country should have an accurate figure of the number of languages within its borders and the size of each as defined by speakers and territory. If it does not (language is an elastic term), it should have a good idea of the linguistic situation in every part of its territory. Questions to be answered would include the number of languages; the extent of each language; the diversity among the languages; the number of speakers; etc. ... Elugbe, Ben. 1998. "Cross-border and Major Languages of Africa." In K. Legère, ed. Cross-border languages : reports and studies, Regional Workshop on Cross-Border Languages, National Institute for Educational Development (NIED), Okahandja, 23-27 September 1996. Windhoek : Gamsberg Macmillan. (page 24) From pasxapu at DAKOTACOM.NET Sun Aug 6 18:19:30 2006 From: pasxapu at DAKOTACOM.NET (philcashcash) Date: Sun, 6 Aug 2006 11:19:30 -0700 Subject: NOAA scientists name Alaskan fish with Aleut words (fwd) Message-ID: NOAA scientists name Alaskan fish with Aleut words http://www.sitnews.us/0806news/080406/080406_unangas.html August 04, 2006 Friday AM NOAA Fisheries scientists have chosen Aleut words to officially name four fish species they found in the Aleutian Islands that were new to science. A snailfish, allocareproctus-unangas, newly described and documented by NOAA scientists, has been officially named in honor of the people of the Aleutian Islands. 'Unangas' is a word for the Aleuts of Atka Island, a major island near the center of the new species' known range. Photo courtesy NOAA Scientists Dr. James Orr, Duane Stevenson, and Morgan Busby of NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center collaborated with Aleut language teacher Moses Dirks from the Unalaska School District and with NOAA Fisheries anthropologist Jennifer Sepez on naming the species. Dirks, a native speaker and linguist, worked with local elders to see if there were already any Aleut names for this kind of fish, then helped suggest names or offer translations of descriptive terms suggested by NOAA's scientists. "Moses Dirks has worked tirelessly to preserve, document, and teach Unangam Tunuu," said Dr. Sepez. "We were honored to work with him." Unangam Tunuu is the Aleut name for the Aleut language. Dr. Orr, one of the ichthyologists involved, said, "We used these names to recognize the people who were here before we scientists arrived. We hoped to honor the Aleut culture, in a small way, by preserving these words within the scientific names." Three of the newly named species are snailfishes (genus Allocareproctus), smooth and shiny with no scales, in colors from peach to pink to red and ranging in size from about three to seven inches long. Scientists found them in waters of the Aleutian Islands between 250 and 2,130 feet down. A fourth newly named fish species-an eelpout (genus Lycodes)-also appears scale-less but has very small scales and looks more like an eel. It is closer to a foot long. NOAA researchers conducting annual scientific bottom trawl surveys in the central Aleutian Islands found the new type of eelpout. Two specimens had remnants of sea urchins in their stomachs. The native people of the Aleutian Islands have extensive knowledge and understanding of the marine environment. Fish and marine mammals feed their populations, animate their stories, and sustain their culture. But the newly discovered species are all relatively small fish from very deep water -- not the usual fishing target of an Alaska Native fisherman. Orr, on the other hand, has spent the last ten years examining marine life from the Aleutian depths. The namers titled one of the fish-whose complete name is 'Allocareproctus tanix'--using the Aleut word for forehead, 'tanix', referring to the fact that is has no whiskers on its smooth, pale 'forehead', unlike the other species which have many whiskers on their heads. 'Allocareproctus ungak' uses the Alutiiq word for whiskers, 'ungak' in reference to the whisker-like papillae on the fish's head. 'Allocareproctus unangas' was named in honor of the people of the Aleutian Islands. 'Unangas' is a word for the Aleuts of Atka Island, a major island near the center of the known distribution of the newly named species. Scientists found specimens of the new eelpout species between Samalga Pass and Seguam Pass on different expeditions from 1994 through 2004, and again this summer. They named the species 'Lycodes akuugun'. The word 'akuugun' is the Aleut name for the native inhabitants of the Islands of Four Mountains, the region in which the species was discovered. "Every two to three years we survey the Aleutian Islands to provide fisheries and ecosystem data to manage the marine resources," explained Orr. "Finding four new species in Alaskan waters indicates just how much we have yet to learn about our marine environment. And we know of several new species still to be named." At least one of these undescribed species is a snailfish from a different genus that will also bear an Aleut species name. The species of snailfishes turned out to be quite common throughout the Aleutians, but because the genus had been known from only a handful of specimens from the western Pacific off Japan and the Kuril Islands, what was thought to be the single member of the genus and these new species had been overlooked. "We were sailing at different times on four chartered fishing vessels out of Dutch Harbor when we found Lycodes akuugun specimens", said Orr-"the Dominator, the Vesteraalen, the Gladiator and the Sea Storm. Thanks to the efforts of other scientists aboard the vessels, as well, the specimens were returned to our laboratory where Duane [Stevenson] and I were able to recognize them as representing a previously unknown species." Source of News: NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) www.fakr.noaa.gov -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 080406_unangas.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1825 bytes Desc: not available URL: From Carolyn.Hepburn at SAULTCOLLEGE.CA Tue Aug 8 13:03:36 2006 From: Carolyn.Hepburn at SAULTCOLLEGE.CA (Carolyn Hepburn) Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2006 09:03:36 -0400 Subject: Modern tool is utilized in the rebuilding of languages Message-ID: Fyi. Thanks Carolyn Modern tool is utilized in the rebuilding of languages August 02, 2006 by: Konnie LeMay / Indian Country Today KAHNAWAKE, Quebec - The creators of a popular immersion language-learning software program called Rosetta Stone are marketing their services under an endangered language program geared toward revitalizing languages. Under the program, indigenous communities contract with Fairfield Language Technologies Inc. of Harrisonburg, Va., to develop language learning software. The communities provide the language expertise and images to use. The voices on the programs are those of fluent local speakers. Currently, four programs are under development: for the Kahnawake Mohawk community near Montreal, (a recently completed program), the NANA Regional Corporation in Alaska and its Inupiat shareholders, the Labrador Inuit Association and the Seminole Tribe in Miccosukee, Fla. ''The way that we teach languages through our software has been very successful,'' said Marion Bittinger of Fairfield Language Technologies. Communities contacted the company for help, and the Endangered Language Program was born. Rather than simply a grammar- or writing-based teaching tool, the Rosetta Stone system harkens to how children first learn to speak: associating new words with images of situations or objects. The program uses thousands of images and interactive lessons to prompt students to understand spoken and written words and phrases. A demonstration of how the immersion concept works can be found at www.rosettastone.com. The name Rosetta Stone was inspired by the stone tablet found in the northern Egyptian city formerly called Rosetta. The tablet, inscribed with three writing systems, including hieroglyphics, unlocked the meaning of those ancient Egyptian inscriptions. Unlike some teaching methods, Rosetta Stone does not translate from one language to another, so English, for example, is not used to teach Kanien'keha, the language of the Kanien'kehaka (Mohawk, or ''People of the Flint''). Thus Kanien'keha words don't lose possible aspects of their meaning in the learning process. ''The language that you're learning stands on its own feet,'' Bittinger said. This particular Rosetta Stone software, released this past spring, was the first completed under the Endangered Language Program. North America once had about 300 indigenous languages, according to the company. Today, with only about 25 of those languages spoken fluently by children and others already lost, an additional 150 languages may disappear with the current generation of elders. The loss of many languages can be traced to the polices of both the United States and Canada to eliminate languages for First Nations children forced into boarding or residential schools. Once the programs are developed and Rosetta Stone assists with training in the use of the software, the language program is sold and distributed by the community. The visual images in the computer programs are of people and places from the communities themselves. This is a particularly pleasing element of the system, said Kaherakwas Donna Goodleaf, executive director of the Kanien'kehaka Onkwawen:na Raotitiohkwa Language and Cultural Centre and manager of the Rosetta Stone program for the Kahnawake community. Incorporating pictures and images from the community make it more culturally relevant, Goodleaf said. ''What is helpful is that you're using images, you're using pictures of our own people.'' Of the about 8,000 people from the Kahnawake community, some 10 percent are fluent speakers of Kanien'keha. ''Language is such a direct link to who we are as a people - language plays a very vital role. It informs our world view of who we are and connects us to our land and all the history that comes with it,'' Goodleaf said. ''To ensure that we continue to survive as distinct indigenous nations, the Kanien'kehaka Onkwawen:na Raotitiohkwa is taking an aggressive approach in developing and promoting new language immersion programs for our community.'' Rosetta Stone is just one of the language tools the community has chosen. In 1999, at the encouragement of local elders, the community council passed a language law that requires use of Kanien'keha in all educational, work and business and community settings. The cultural center produces two local cable network shows aired in the language and 90 percent of the community has this cable network, Goodleaf said. In fact, the children's puppet show program, ''Tota Tanon Ohkwa:ri,'' has been so popular that the cultural center is putting it on DVDs for the community and schools to use and for other Mohawk communities to access. For the fifth year, the cultural center is about to offer a nine-month adult language-immersion program, Ratiwennahni:rats. Former students who are parents were encouraged to set up their own parent language nest group. The cultural center is setting up a computer lab so community members can access a language-learning experience designed to meet individual or group needs. ''This is where the Rosetta Stone plays in,'' she added. Hope for the future of this voice of the people runs high for Goodleaf, who sees a strong shift in language preservation and usage in the community thanks to the efforts of parents, schools, leadership and businesses. ''In 20 years, we'll have the majority of our community members communicating in our language, whereby Kahnahwakero:non will be speaking, reading and writing in our language.'' Those efforts are succeeding and shined through at the cultural center's annual language variety-night show in which schools from the Kahnawake and other Kanien'kehaka communities do skits or entertainment in Kanien'keha. It was so beautiful and hopeful that evening to hear and see preschool children in the audience talking to one another in Kanien'keha, Goodleaf remembered. The joy was especially felt by community elders, she said. ''They were so happy to see these children walking around and talking to each other in our language.'' Carolyn Hepburn Director, Native Education and Training Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology 443 Northern Avenue Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 5L3 Phone: (705) 759-2554 ext. 2499 Fax: (705) 759-0175 Web: www.saultcollege.ca/NativeEducation -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jtucker at STARBAND.NET Tue Aug 8 22:23:46 2006 From: jtucker at STARBAND.NET (Jan Tucker) Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2006 18:23:46 -0400 Subject: Minnesota Humanities Commission Native Language workshop In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Great story, as usual, I can just picture it all, the woods and the children, and you and your wife performing for the children. You earned that walk in the woods it sounds like, and why can't you do it all? Another good story... Jan -----Original Message----- From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU]On Behalf Of Richard Smith Sent: Monday, July 10, 2006 3:19 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Minnesota Humanitites Commission Native Language workshop Richard LaFortune, Great to hear about the workshop You are working precisely in the area of my interest Getting our languages into great books for kids reaching towards our unknown future generations I've honestly been discouraged by the lack of adult passion among my tribal members to put out the effort this language work requires And I wonder at times if it really is "too late" It seriously makes me want to disappear, retreating into the woods where I'm content quiet and can sing my own prayersongs and dip into the cold creek And be free from the absurd crazy noisy mansworld that makes no sense. Am I wasting my breath on these resuscitation efforts? Ripping away pieces of my life on that which is already dead and gone? But then I stop... I picture kids bright faces in the school here in Wyandotte Okl. Sitting in their circles waiting impatiently for my wife and I to visit For the time of winter stories and the puppets I see them now Singing out an old Wyandot song I taught them, And the new fun songs I love to create for them And wow...listen! they're speaking the language,sounding words with such great pronunciation and inflection Having no hang-ups with the nasals or glottal stops...no problem! The waterdrum comes out And I thump it testing the skin a little girl nods smiling, "It sounds happy today!" So... I stay What else can I do? Richard Zane Smith artist /non-linguist/Wyandot On 7/10/06 7:45 AM, "Richard LaFortune" wrote: > We have a very good crowd (more than 80) of people > here today in St. Paul for this historic, day-long > workshop. I first began working with the commission > about 9-10 years ago when I launched the Grotto > Foundation Native language research initiative (now a > $5.6M fifteen year long program). > > As state-wide legislative co-chair for the Dakota > Ojibwe Language Revitalization Alliance I approached > MHC again a little over a year ago & suggested that we > explore a Native language children's literature > initiative -- this workshop presents the first step > in what we hope will generate several dozen beautiful, > hardcover Native language children's books in Dakota & > Ojibwe. I created a tenative budget for about $2.25M > over a 2-3 period so that children's books, regional > dialect dictionaries & some master-apprentice work can > be used as the starting point for long-term > humanties/cultural conservation-based work with this > state institution. If anyone on the listserve has > questions about how we put this together in Minnesota, > I'm on the organizing committee & I am happy to be a > resource --or of course you can contact the commission > administration as well. > > peace! > Anguksuar (Richard LaFortune) > co-Chair, Dakota Ojibwe Language Revitalization > Alliance > 612.267.1682 > > > > Dakota and Ojibwe Language and Literacy Workshop > Monday, July 10, 2006 > 9:00 a.m. ­ 4:00 p.m. > Humanities Education Center, St. Paul > > The Minnesota Humanities Commission is partnering with > Dakota and Ojibwe language supporters to offer a > workshop that honors these languages and cultures. The > emphasis of this workshop will be on materials for use > in early childhood (ages 0-8) language programs. Dr. > Anton Treuer, Assistant Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji > State University, will open the workshop with a > session on the importance of language revitalization. > Breakout sessions will highlight various immersion > program models; how to work together with elders in > language programs; and how to make books for use with > young children and their families. Exhibitors will > display and sell children¹s books and other Dakota and > Ojibwe language materials for use with young children > and their families. This workshop is open to all > educators who have an interest in preserving Native > American languages. Registration for this seminar is > now closed. > > Fee: $25, which includes lunch and a cassette > recording of From the Sky: Stories in Song from Native > North America. > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com From hsouter at GMAIL.COM Wed Aug 9 12:29:27 2006 From: hsouter at GMAIL.COM (Heather Souter) Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 07:29:27 -0500 Subject: Minnesota Humanitites Commission Native Language workshop In-Reply-To: <20060710144534.63347.qmail@web31108.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Taanshi, Richard, I am interested to learn more about your initiatives. I am a Michif and live in Northern Manitoba. I have had an interest in language revitalization for some time and was involved in a Master-Apprentice project for a while as well. I have recently left my job and will be devoting my time to learning more Michif, gathering medicines with an elder, and preparing to go to grad school. I have been accepted into KU starting January 2007 (with a full-tuition waiver, thank the Creator!) and will be working with Akira Yamamoto and Arienne Dwyer. Actually, I believe I met a couple of years ago you and was very impressed (almost overwhelmed!) by the work you had done. You continue to more forward, and so I would like to learn from your experience. To be honest with you, I had hoped to be further along in my language learning and revitalization efforts by now. Life in my small mixed (English, Objibwe, Michif and Cree) community of speakers is a struggle. We are constantly challenged by our mixed status (First Nation treaty-holders, "non-status" Indians, and Metis/Michif nation members (aboriginal but non-treaty holders) and the related status of our languages. However, be that as it may, I have recommitted myself to my language/culture. And, since funding seems to be a constant problem, I am eager to learn more about other successes in this area. This is especially important as the false economy of welfare is central to almost everyone's life here. It would be great to be able to offer something to elders and others who want to get involved but need a few more resources to motivate them.... BTW, how far do you live from the Canadian border? I live about 4-5 hours from Winnipeg.... Eekushi maaka, Heather Souter On 7/10/06, Richard LaFortune wrote: > We have a very good crowd (more than 80) of people > here today in St. Paul for this historic, day-long > workshop. I first began working with the commission > about 9-10 years ago when I launched the Grotto > Foundation Native language research initiative (now a > $5.6M fifteen year long program). > > As state-wide legislative co-chair for the Dakota > Ojibwe Language Revitalization Alliance I approached > MHC again a little over a year ago & suggested that we > explore a Native language children's literature > initiative -- this workshop presents the first step > in what we hope will generate several dozen beautiful, > hardcover Native language children's books in Dakota & > Ojibwe. I created a tentative budget for about $2.25M > over a 2-3 period so that children's books, regional > dialect dictionaries & some master-apprentice work can > be used as the starting point for long-term > humanties/cultural conservation-based work with this > state institution. If anyone on the listserve has > questions about how we put this together in Minnesota, > I'm on the organizing committee & I am happy to be a > resource --or of course you can contact the commission > administration as well. > > peace! > Anguksuar (Richard LaFortune) > co-Chair, Dakota Ojibwe Language Revitalization > Alliance > 612.267.1682 > > > > Dakota and Ojibwe Language and Literacy Workshop > Monday, July 10, 2006 > 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. > Humanities Education Center, St. Paul > > The Minnesota Humanities Commission is partnering with > Dakota and Ojibwe language supporters to offer a > workshop that honors these languages and cultures. The > emphasis of this workshop will be on materials for use > in early childhood (ages 0-8) language programs. Dr. > Anton Treuer, Assistant Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji > State University, will open the workshop with a > session on the importance of language revitalization. > Breakout sessions will highlight various immersion > program models; how to work together with elders in > language programs; and how to make books for use with > young children and their families. Exhibitors will > display and sell children's books and other Dakota and > Ojibwe language materials for use with young children > and their families. This workshop is open to all > educators who have an interest in preserving Native > American languages. Registration for this seminar is > now closed. > > Fee: $25, which includes lunch and a cassette > recording of From the Sky: Stories in Song from Native > North America. > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 10 04:19:21 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 21:19:21 -0700 Subject: Tribal teens use film to tell the stories of who they are (fwd) Message-ID: Published: Tuesday, August 8, 2006 Tribal teens use film to tell the stories of who they are By Krista J. Kapralos Herald Writer http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/08/08/100loc_b1film001.cfm EVERETT - The spotlight was on Aaron Jones, 13, and he shifted from one foot to another. "Um, thanks," he said, and thrust the hand-held microphone back toward the podium onstage at the Historic Everett Theatre. He and his brother, Derek Jones, 17, collected their armfuls of awards and hurried toward a small keyboard at stage left. Derek sat down and began playing a musical diversion during intermission at the first-ever Tulalip Film Festival awards ceremony. For many American Indians, attention from the world outside the reservation boundaries can be fearsome. Mainstream video cameras capture poverty, suicide or corruption. When Indians turn their own cameras on themselves, the picture is very different. The 20 films submitted to the Tulalip Film Festival, which ended Friday, refused to gloss over the challenges on reservations, but they didn't abandon their characters there. In one film, young Indians escape to Montana's backcountry for a leadership camp. In another, women discuss how they look and feel different than non-Indians. Puppets share the tribal legend of "Deer and Changer" in both English and Lushootseed, the traditional language of the Tulalip Tribes. A boy's father turns to alcohol to cope with the death of a friend. One by one, stereotypes of tribal culture are challenged. "By charging the youth with the skills necessary to tell their own stories and to put those images out in the media in our own way, the broader public will see native persons the way we see ourselves, with all the cultural complexities," American Indian filmmaker Tracy Rector said. Rector is director of Longhouse Media/Native Lens, a Seattle-based nonprofit that trains American Indian teenagers around the state in digital film. Her organization submitted three of the festival's 20 films. The Tulalip Film Festival was born out of a conference that suggested that distance learning students use digital media to submit projects and connect with their professors. Daniel Jones, Tulalip site manager for Northwest Indian College, discovered that students could learn filmmaking skills with the same technology. Jones received a $15,000 grant from the Tulalip Tribes to help fund a week's worth of filmmaking classes for 25 students. Students also took a drum-making class. The drums were featured in several of the films they created. Both of Jones' sons, Tulalip tribal members Aaron and Derek Jones, participated in the class. "I just picked up a camera in March and started filming," Derek said. "I continued that with this class." Sam Longoria, who has worked on Oscar-nominated movies during a long career in Hollywood, volunteered to help train the students. Longoria, who has a home in Lake Stevens, said he wanted to help because his first feature film was shot on the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation south of Seattle. Stephen Jiminez, an instructor at Northwest Indian College in Bellingham, also taught the students. On Friday, several of the students gathered at the Historic Everett Theatre on Colby Avenue to see their work on the big screen. There were technical hiccups and muffled dialogue, but also a deep sense of pride. Their lives, for so long mundane, joyful and sometimes painful collections of daily tasks, were suddenly in the spotlight. "Often times communities don't want to air their dirty laundry, but when it comes from the youth, the youth are honest by saying, 'This is my story, this is who I am,'" Rector said. "Once they're able to express that and acknowledge who they are, both good and bad, they're able to move on." From Rrlapier at AOL.COM Thu Aug 10 15:34:01 2006 From: Rrlapier at AOL.COM (Rrlapier at AOL.COM) Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:34:01 EDT Subject: Innaihtsiiyi (Peace) History Conference Message-ID: News Release August 2006 Piegan Institute Browning, Montana Innaihtsiiyi (Peace) History Conference In a time when war in the Middle East is profoundly affecting American society, it seems relevant to ask how peace and warfare have affected earlier societies. Innaihtsiiyi (Peace) History Conference will explore the effects of warfare on Blackfeet society in the 18th and 19th centuries. Historians have long described Blackfeet society as especially "war-like." What does is mean? What is true or not true about the description? What role did peace play within Blackfeet society? The Piegan Institute will hold a one-day history conference Innaihtsiiyi (Peace) which will examine differing concepts of peace (and war), Blackfeet relationships with their neighbors, the role of peace negotiators, and the dynamics of history on the Northern Great Plains.  The conference is free and open to the public and will be held on Friday, August 18, 2006 at the Nizipuhwahsin School  from 10am to 4pm. Presenters will include: Dr. Theodore Binnema, Professor of History, University of Northern British Colombia, and author of Common and Contested Ground: A Human and Environmental History of the Northwest Plains, will examine  the significance of peace and warfare in Blackfeet history in the 18th and early 19th century and the role of warfare on Blackfeet society. Narcisse Blood, Kainai Studies Department at Red Crow College, Alberta and Dr. Cynthia Chambers will screen a 30 minute video which attempts to capture Blackfoot stories, especially those about the land, and those that originate from the land, have not adequately conveyed the perspective of Blackfeet elders. Dr. Hugh Dempsey, Chief Curator Emeritus, Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta, and author of The Amazing Death of Calf Shirt and other Blackfoot Stories: Three Hundred Years of Blackfoot History, will examine the motivations for treaties made between the Blackfoot and other tribes, such as the Cree and Kootenai, and why some treaties succeeded and others failed, and their implications. Dr. James Dempsey, Professor of Native Studies, University of Alberta, and author of Warriors of the King, will examine images of peace and war in Blackfoot pictographs. His visual presentation will examine these pictorial representations of history and the unique concepts of war and peace found within them.  Nicholas Vrooman, Adjunct Instructor of Native American Studies at the University of Montana will examine the life of Maski Pitonew or Broken Arm, a Cree Indian. Broken Arm's traditional role as a peace negotiator coincided when Native ideas of peace struggled to accommodate external and internal conflict.  Piegan Institute is a private not-for-profit organization with programs dedicated to researching, promoting and preserving Blackfeet history and language. This conference is co-sponsored by the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West and the Native American Studies Department at the University of Montana. For more information on the conference or directions to Nizipuhwahsin please call Rosalyn LaPier at 406-338-7740 or rrlapier at pieganinstitute.org. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 10 18:10:49 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:10:49 -0700 Subject: 2 Congresswomen insist on speaking Quechua in Parliament (fwd) Message-ID: 10 August, 2006 [ 09:12 ] 2 Congresswomen insist on speaking Quechua in Parliament http://www.livinginperu.com/news/2277 Two nationalistic congresswomen representing the department of Cusco, Maria Sumire and Hilaria Supa, announced in a press conference yesterday to speak only in their indigenous Quechua language during plenary sessions of Peru's Congress. They requested a certified interpreter present at all sessions and sufficient installation of technical equipment. Sumire and Supa, members of the oppositional 'Union por el Peru' alliance, caused problems while taking their congressional oath on July 26 after deciding to do it in native Quechua. For a moment the situation at the press conference became somewhat embarrassing. Both delivered their message in their indigenous language while attending journalists understood nothing. After looking at the confused faces of his colleagues one journalist got up and said "Don't worry, I will translate for you”. "We do not want to be excluded. This is an ongoing abuse, marginalization and discrimination of our people”, Sumire alleged. Sumire and Supa base their request on Article 48 of Peru's Constitution which states: “Peru's official language is Castellano. In areas predominantly inhabited by indigenous citizens they are Quechua, native Aymaran and other languages, according to the law”. “We are going to defend our cultural identity and the rights of our communities”, Sumire stated. Supa added that “they think that Lima is the only city. The rest of the country also needs quality investment”. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 10 19:49:39 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 12:49:39 -0700 Subject: Brief ILAT Update Message-ID: Dear ILAT Subscribers, Welcome new subscribers! The subscriber numbers have increased as of late. Thank you to all our new and current subscribers, especially to various people providing news worthy items to the listserv with regard to language and technology topics. Indigenous Languages and Technology discussion list is an open forum for community language specialists, linguists, scholars, and students to discuss issues relating to the uses of technology in language revitalization efforts. Subscribers: 208 * Country Subscribers * ------- ----------- * Australia 6 * Bolivia 1 * Canada 3 * Fiji 1 * Finland 1 * Great Britain 3 * Italy 1 * Mexico 1 * New Zealand 1 * USA 182 The list mg (hehe...me) is presently "in the field" here on the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington. General news postings should pick-up soon. Have a good day. qo'c pammawa (later), Phil Cash Cash (Cayuse/Nez Perce) ILAT list mg, University of Arizona http://www.u.arizona.edu/~cashcash/ILAT.html From phonosemantics at EARTHLINK.NET Thu Aug 10 21:49:10 2006 From: phonosemantics at EARTHLINK.NET (jess tauber) Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 17:49:10 -0400 Subject: Venezuela to become Linguist-Land?? Message-ID: According to a new posting to the LINGUIST discussion list (http://www.linguistlist.org/issues/17/17-2277.html#2) the government of Venezuela may be willing to fund a project (if the proposal is accepted) to train 250,000 people in linguistics. All I can say is that if it goes through, hot diggity damn! Maybe some of that oil money will be used to help preserve endangered languages? Just imagine the possibilities. Eat your heart out Bill Gates.... Jess Tauber phonosemantics at earthlink.net From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 11 21:06:00 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 14:06:00 -0700 Subject: Extinction of Languages Puts Plants and Animals at Risk (fwd) Message-ID: Extinction of Languages Puts Plants and Animals at Risk By Corey Binns Special to LiveScience posted: 11 August 2006 02:01 pm ET http://www.livescience.com/othernews/060811_language_diversity.html The ears of linguists, anthropologists, and conservationists perked up with the recent announcement that the federal government will continue to support the digital documentation of languages on the brink of extinction. More than half of the world's 7,000 languages are endangered[1]; many face extinction in the next century. Interestingly, the projects funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) could save more than just a few mother tongues. It might also protect plants and animals[2]. TALK ABOUT DIVERSITY! When the nonprofit organization Terralingua mapped the distribution of languages against a map of the world's biodiversity[3], it found that the places with the highest concentration of plants and animals[4], such as the Amazon Basin and the island of New Guinea, were also where people spoke the most languages. As well as serving as indicators of biodiversity, languages also act as good signs of cultural diversity and a group's understanding of surrounding environments, because people store communal knowledge in their language. "Wherever humans exist, they have established a strong relationship with the land, and with the biodiversity that exists there," said anthropologist and Terralingua President Luisa Maffi. "They have developed a deep knowledge of the plants and animals, the local ecology, as well as a knowledge about how to use and manage the resources to ensure continued sustenance of biodiversity." Languages hold valuable knowledge about how to preserve biodiversity. Native languages have many names for plants that describe how and where they grow, as well as their medicinal uses. But the meanings often do not survive translation from one language to another. "If you've learned something about a plant from a speaker of an indigenous language, but you don't use the language, it's harder to pass on that knowledge," said linguist Pamela Munro of UCLA. DESTABILIZING A FOREST As one example, members of the Native American group called the Sekani practiced controlled burning of the forests of British Columbia to regenerate the forest and keep the understory clear for game animals. Their methods also kept the mountain pine beetle pest at bay. A small pox epidemic decimated the indigenous people and the timber industry took over the management of the forests, putting a stop to the controlled burns. Since the 1990's, without the regular burnings, the beetle's outbreak has destroyed more than 7 million acres of forest. "The forests have been made unusable because the native populations have not been allowed to continue those practices," Maffi said. "Ultimately their communities will have to disperse, which will lead to a loss of cultural and linguistic diversity." ANCIENT RESPECT FOR FISH In Thailand, new protective measures are observing an age-old respect for one of the world's largest freshwater fish by following ancient fishing practices. The Mekong giant catfish[5], called the "king of fish" in Cambodian, can grow to more than 10 feet in length and has a regal history. Cave paintings in Thailand dating back 3,500 years illustrate the Mekong giant catfish's long-lived importance. Traditional fishermen in the northeast of Thailand have historically believed that they should not catch the fish. If they do, they hold a religious ceremony to ward off bad luck, burning an image of the fish. This summer, in celebration of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, fishermen in Thailand and Laos took an oath to abide by these ancestral fishing taboos to avoid fishing the critically endangered beast. The fish is also legally protected in Cambodia. By following tradition, the fishermen may save the catfish from being the first extinct casualty in the Mekong River, a diverse habitat that is home to more than 1,200 species. SAVING THE SALMON Similarly, in Washington State, time-honored lessons are being heard. Generations of the Tulalip and Yakima tribes and other Native American groups have relied on Pacific salmon[6] as a key resource; they also value the fish very highly and harvest with forethought. "They treat salmon with respect so that the fish return every year," said ethnobiologist Eugene Hunn of the University of Washington. The tribes hold annual salmon ceremonies to honor the fish. The first catch of the season is celebrated with singing, dancing, and the passing of salmon tales from generation to generation. Yet commercial fishing has led to drastic reductions in salmon populations—some species face endangerment. Since a 1974 decision upheld the Indian's rights to harvest fish, the tribes and the Washington Department of Fisheries have collaborated to maintain a healthy population of Pacific salmon that will return to spawn in the Columbia River and east of the Cascade Mountains. "Salmon is sacred to them not just as a matter of maximizing profit," Hunn told LiveScience. "To preserve a resource for the people of your community for the future without end imposes a different attitude toward the fish. Now, these attitudes have become more widely recognized." Links: ------ [1] http://www.livescience.com/blogs/2006/07/10/half-of-all-languages-headed-for-extinction/ [2] http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/top10_species_success.html [3] http://www.livescience.com/environment/041117_species_threatened.html [4] http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060306_extinct_list.html [5] http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/ap_050615_catfish.html [6] http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/050414_salmon.html From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 11 21:27:07 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 14:27:07 -0700 Subject: That Isn't Baby Talk You Hear (fwd fyi) Message-ID: fyi, An interesting article on American child speech appeared in the Wall Street Journal today, one suggesting that children tend to speak a form of universal grammar prior to acquiring English. ~~~ That Isn't Baby Talk You Hear By Sharon Begley Wall Street Journal, Aug. 11, 2006 From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 11 21:42:21 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 14:42:21 -0700 Subject: Student risked life running from residential school abusers (fwd) Message-ID: Student risked life running from residential school abusers ALAN CORBIERE August 5, 2006 Saturday [no link available. Available thru LexisNexis] At the Indian residential schools it was forbidden to speak a native language in the classrooms, school yard, sleeping quarters and basically anywhere within earshot of the teachers. Students caught speaking Ojibwa at the Spanish Indian Residential School were quickly and smartly punished with a strap. This is reportedly the case at Reserve Day Schools as well. However, there is one critical difference between being punished at a day school than at a residential school - the day school students got to go home at the end of the day to be consoled by a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or sibling. This consoling was unavailable to residential school students. When their situation became unbearable, some residential school students ran away. The following is a story told by Raymond Armstrong of M'Chigeeng First Nation. For two years Raymond attended Spanish Residential School for boys. Raymond moved back to the reserve and was kept back by his grandfather. The following is an edited, bilingual story of a young student who ran away from Spanish. Debaajmod: Raymond Armstrong Anishinaabebiigejig: Alan and Ted Corbiere Nahaa ga-dbaajmatooninim "Wiisagenh", nahiing megwaa gii- skoonwiyaang oodi Spanish. I will tell you about "Wiisagenh," while we were going to school at Spanish. Aapji ngii-nigaagoomi oodi gii-yaawaang. While we were there, we were treated very badly. Mii-sh maaaba gaa-bi-nji-maajaad maaba oodi, pane, maybe two-three times a year. That is why this one always left there (Wiisagenh), maybe two-three times a year. Maanpii gii-bi-zhaa, maanpii maanda gii-bi-biindigebiiyaag oodi-sh gaaming. He came here, this here bay (West Bay on Manitoulin) that comes in from the North Shore. Mii-sh maaba gaa-bi-zhaad zhiwi, nahaa Wiisagenh, kina maanda gii-gbading. And that is where Wiisagenh came, when all of this was frozen over (the bay). Gii- gkendaan go wipii waa-bi-maajaad oodi. He knew then that it was time to leave there. Jiibaakwegamgoong-sh ko ngii-nji-nokii. I used to work in the kitchen. Mii-sh go wiindamaagoowaang oodi shkiniigshag wiindamaagoog, Aah, wii-maajaa miinwaa "Wiisagenh" kidoog. And that's where the young boys would tell me, Oh, Wiisagenh is going to leave again," they said. Aash mii sa genii wi, ndazhchigeyaan nahii, nwii-gimoodin bkwezhigan, maa bezhigwaatig. And so I too, I sought to do something, to steal some bread, maybe a loaf of bread. Ngii-miinigoog shkiniigshag nahii, "pillowcase", wii-tooyaanh wi miijim gaa-gimoodiiyaan, piniig, miinwaa wiiyaas, giizhaamendeg wiiyaas. The guys gave me a pillowcase to put the food in, the food that I have stolen, potatoes and meat, cooked meat. Ko debnimaan, mii-sh go wi ngojing ngii-ni-kidoon fridgeing. And when I used to get a steak I used to go hide it some place in the fridge. Mii maanda gaa-daapnamaanh maage nswi maage niiwin, mii-sh maanda biinamaanh niwi pkweshmoniiginoon maaba Wiisagenh waa-bi-maajiidood, wii-bi-nwopod. When I picked up three or four (steaks) then I would put them in the pillowcase for this Wiisagenh, to take with him to eat for lunch. Maanpii-sh ko gnamaa ngoji gii-bi-nbaadigenag niwi mnishenying one of the islands here. And maybe they'd spend the night over here on an island. There's about two or three islands there between Spanish and West Bay and Sheshegwaning. Aapji-sh go wipii gii-gzod December, aapji gii-gnaajwi maaba mkom. And at that certain time of the month, December, the ice was nice. Nawaach maaba gii-yowaan Wiisagenh, naa, zhooshkwaadaaganan mechwe-dkobzojig. And this Wiisagenh used to have skates, the ones you tie on by hand (no boots to them). Mii niwi gaa-bmoomaajin miinwaa niwi wiijkiwenyan, that's what he and his friend used to carry on their backs, wii-zhi- zhooshkwaadewag oodi maamnik, mii-sh miinwaa bmosewaad ngoji shpaagonagaag and they were going to skate over there part ways, then they will walk where there is deep snow. Mii wi gii-nigaajigaaza maaba oodi. That's that, he was treated poorly over there. Gii-yekzi bmi-paakskindibe-ind, pshazhegaazo pshkwegin giishpin debnigaazod nishnaabemod. He was tired of being slapped on the head and getting strapped with the leather strap, if he was caught speaking Ojibwa. Gaa go maamdaa gegoo wii-nishnaabemtaadiyaang, shkwaa-skoonwiyaang kogaagoyaang niiwing naa wa zhiwi go naa, nahii zhaabdisewaad zhiwi name-ninwag. By no means were we to speak Ojibwa to each other, after school, if we all gather round together, that's where those brothers would always walk back and forth. Miinwaa go zhiwi aanind gaa-skoonwijig shkiniigshag gii-dbamaagaazod giwi wii-baataayaad giwi. And even some of the boys that were in school, they were paid to tell on them (the ones speaking Ojibwa). Aapji go gchi- nendamaawan gondag mekdekonyeg niwi. The priests really liked those guys. Mii-sh maaba ko gii-bi-maajaad. So then that is when Wiisagenh used to leave. Mii-sh maaba pane gaa-dbaadang Wiisagenh, gaa-zhi-nigaachigaazod oodi skoongamgoong. This is what Wiisagenh always talked about, how poorly he was treated at that school. Aaniish mnik oodi gaa-bi-mshkowaakjiwaad giwi shkiniigshag, bi- maajaawaad ngoji negoodewaad megwe-mtigoonski wii-nbaawad? How many of those boys froze along the way when they left and crawled in the brush to sleep? Gii-nigaazwidigenag oodi, bi-dkamiiwaad, gnamaa gaye wnishnawaad. They must have suffered over there as they were crossing or if they were lost. Aaniish mnik oodi gaa-bi-nji-gjibwewaad shkiniigshag gii-bi- dkamiiwaad zhonda mkomiing? How many boys ran away from there by crossing there on the ice? Aaniish mnik gaa-bkobiisewaad? How many fell in the water? Wiisagenh is remembered by many people in M'Chigeeng as having run away from Residential School in the winter time by crossing the ice. Fortunately, he did not freeze to death on one of those islands. Wiisagenh's situation must have become intolerable and he felt he had to leave the school and come home to M'Chigeeng. Copyright 2006 North Bay Nugget All Rights Reserved North Bay Nugget (Ontario) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Sat Aug 12 23:26:42 2006 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 16:26:42 -0700 Subject: That Isn't Baby Talk You Hear (fwd fyi) In-Reply-To: <20060811142707.ntfp4gscs4w4scog@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: Speaking of Baby Talk there are 13 fluent speakers of the Karuk language 12 of them are over 70 and one is my 2.5 year olf greta nephew. he is teh first child in 60 years to be raised only speaking the language thanks to his parents, both language teachers. he also has a 6 month old brother who doesnt speak so well yet but will also be fluent On Aug 11, 2006, at 2:27 PM, phil cash cash wrote: fyi, An interesting article on American child speech appeared in the Wall Street Journal today, one suggesting that children tend to speak a form of universal grammar prior to acquiring English. ~~~ That Isn't Baby Talk You Hear By Sharon Begley Wall Street Journal, Aug. 11, 2006 From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Sun Aug 13 01:08:38 2006 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 18:08:38 -0700 Subject: Familar Story Message-ID: Reply-To: Native American Alumni Association of Dartmouth Student risked life running from residential school abusers ALAN CORBIERE August 5, 2006 Saturday At the Indian residential schools it was forbidden to speak a native language in the classrooms, school yard, sleeping quarters and basically anywhere within earshot of the teachers. Students caught speaking Ojibwa at the Spanish Indian Residential School were quickly and smartly punished with a strap. This is reportedly the case at Reserve Day Schools as well. However, there is one critical difference between being punished at a day school than at a residential school - the day school students got to go home at the end of the day to be consoled by a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or sibling. This consoling was unavailable to residential school students. When their situation became unbearable, some residential school students ran away. The following is a story told by Raymond Armstrong of M'Chigeeng First Nation. For two years Raymond attended Spanish Residential School for boys. Raymond moved back to the reserve and was kept back by his grandfather. The following is an edited, bilingual story of a young student who ran away from Spanish. Debaajmod: Raymond Armstrong Anishinaabebiigejig: Alan and Ted Corbiere Nahaa ga-dbaajmatooninim "Wiisagenh", nahiing megwaa gii- skoonwiyaang oodi Spanish. I will tell you about "Wiisagenh," while we were going to school at Spanish. Aapji ngii-nigaagoomi oodi gii-yaawaang. While we were there, we were treated very badly. Mii-sh maaaba gaa-bi-nji-maajaad maaba oodi, pane, maybe two-three times a year. That is why this one always left there (Wiisagenh), maybe two-three times a year. Maanpii gii-bi-zhaa, maanpii maanda gii-bi-biindigebiiyaag oodi-sh gaaming. He came here, this here bay (West Bay on Manitoulin) that comes in from the North Shore. Mii-sh maaba gaa-bi-zhaad zhiwi, nahaa Wiisagenh, kina maanda gii- gbading. And that is where Wiisagenh came, when all of this was frozen over (the bay). Gii- gkendaan go wipii waa-bi-maajaad oodi. He knew then that it was time to leave there. Jiibaakwegamgoong-sh ko ngii-nji-nokii. I used to work in the kitchen. Mii-sh go wiindamaagoowaang oodi shkiniigshag wiindamaagoog, Aah, wii- maajaa miinwaa "Wiisagenh" kidoog. And that's where the young boys would tell me, Oh, Wiisagenh is going to leave again," they said. Aash mii sa genii wi, ndazhchigeyaan nahii, nwii-gimoodin bkwezhigan, maa bezhigwaatig. And so I too, I sought to do something, to steal some bread, maybe a loaf of bread. Ngii-miinigoog shkiniigshag nahii, "pillowcase", wii-tooyaanh wi miijim gaa-gimoodiiyaan, piniig, miinwaa wiiyaas, giizhaamendeg wiiyaas. The guys gave me a pillowcase to put the food in, the food that I have stolen, potatoes and meat, cooked meat. Ko debnimaan, mii-sh go wi ngojing ngii-ni-kidoon fridgeing. And when I used to get a steak I used to go hide it some place in the fridge. Mii maanda gaa-daapnamaanh maage nswi maage niiwin, mii-sh maanda biinamaanh niwi pkweshmoniiginoon maaba Wiisagenh waa-bi-maajiidood, wii-bi-nwopod. When I picked up three or four (steaks) then I would put them in the pillowcase for this Wiisagenh, to take with him to eat for lunch. Maanpii-sh ko gnamaa ngoji gii-bi-nbaadigenag niwi mnishenying one of the islands here. And maybe they'd spend the night over here on an island. There's about two or three islands there between Spanish and West Bay and Sheshegwaning. Aapji-sh go wipii gii-gzod December, aapji gii-gnaajwi maaba mkom. And at that certain time of the month, December, the ice was nice. Nawaach maaba gii-yowaan Wiisagenh, naa, zhooshkwaadaaganan mechwe- dkobzojig. And this Wiisagenh used to have skates, the ones you tie on by hand (no boots to them). Mii niwi gaa-bmoomaajin miinwaa niwi wiijkiwenyan, that's what he and his friend used to carry on their backs, wii-zhi- zhooshkwaadewag oodi maamnik, mii-sh miinwaa bmosewaad ngoji shpaagonagaag and they were going to skate over there part ways, then they will walk where there is deep snow. Mii wi gii-nigaajigaaza maaba oodi. That's that, he was treated poorly over there. Gii-yekzi bmi-paakskindibe-ind, pshazhegaazo pshkwegin giishpin debnigaazod nishnaabemod. He was tired of being slapped on the head and getting strapped with the leather strap, if he was caught speaking Ojibwa. Gaa go maamdaa gegoo wii-nishnaabemtaadiyaang, shkwaa-skoonwiyaang kogaagoyaang niiwing naa wa zhiwi go naa, nahii zhaabdisewaad zhiwi name-ninwag. By no means were we to speak Ojibwa to each other, after school, if we all gather round together, that's where those brothers would always walk back and forth. Miinwaa go zhiwi aanind gaa-skoonwijig shkiniigshag gii-dbamaagaazod giwi wii-baataayaad giwi. And even some of the boys that were in school, they were paid to tell on them (the ones speaking Ojibwa). Aapji go gchi- nendamaawan gondag mekdekonyeg niwi. The priests really liked those guys. Mii-sh maaba ko gii-bi-maajaad. So then that is when Wiisagenh used to leave. Mii-sh maaba pane gaa-dbaadang Wiisagenh, gaa-zhi-nigaachigaazod oodi skoongamgoong. This is what Wiisagenh always talked about, how poorly he was treated at that school. Aaniish mnik oodi gaa-bi-mshkowaakjiwaad giwi shkiniigshag, bi- maajaawaad ngoji negoodewaad megwe-mtigoonski wii-nbaawad? How many of those boys froze along the way when they left and crawled in the brush to sleep? Gii-nigaazwidigenag oodi, bi-dkamiiwaad, gnamaa gaye wnishnawaad. They must have suffered over there as they were crossing or if they were lost. Aaniish mnik oodi gaa-bi-nji-gjibwewaad shkiniigshag gii-bi- dkamiiwaad zhonda mkomiing? How many boys ran away from there by crossing there on the ice? Aaniish mnik gaa-bkobiisewaad? How many fell in the water? Wiisagenh is remembered by many people in M'Chigeeng as having run away from Residential School in the winter time by crossing the ice. Fortunately, he did not freeze to death on one of those islands. Wiisagenh's situation must have become intolerable and he felt he had to leave the school and come home to M'Chigeeng. Copyright 2006 North Bay Nugget All Rights Reserved North Bay Nugget (Ontario) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Sun Aug 13 15:45:37 2006 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2006 08:45:37 -0700 Subject: Speaking 1 Language Message-ID: Talk of the Nation Guests: Steven Bird * Associate Professor, Linguistics * Associate Director and Senior Researcher, Linguistics Data Consortium, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Jerold Edmondson * Professor, Linguistics, University of Texas, Arlington, Arlington, Texas Lawrence Kaplan * Director, Alaska Native Language Center * Professor, Linguistics, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Faibanks, Alaska Some linguists predict that by the end of this century half of the languages now spoken in the world will be extinct. In this hour, we'll look at the world's endangered and dying languages. How is a culture shaped by its language? Does it really matter if we all speak the same language one day? To listen to the discussion: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1139510 From dzo at BISHARAT.NET Sun Aug 13 17:50:12 2006 From: dzo at BISHARAT.NET (d_z_o) Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2006 17:50:12 -0000 Subject: Buffett, Gates, & the future of linguistic diversity Message-ID: Belated thanks to Phil, Mia, Susan, and Charles for their feedback re my posting last month on the topic of this (double-)mega foundation and what it might do for minority languages and linguistic diversity (esp. where the use of tech might be involved). I began to compose a follow up but am only now getting back to it. One reason is an article I note in today's NY Times entitled "Bill Gates's Charity Races to Spend Buffett Billions" http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/13/us/13gates.html . The title is scary. Or at least it does to me, having learned early on about international development where people get promoted (or at least used to) on the basis of how much money they move, small projects don't get much attention, and terms like "burn rate" are part of the discourse about funding. In the case of Gates/Buffett, the context of spending may be a little different, but any time the priority is on spending, it's almost inevitable that some good things get funded, some bad things get funded, and some good things get overlooked. Language - revitalization, localization, documentation, education - will likely be among the areas overlooked. Unless...? Last month there was some discussion in this thread of the wisdom of looking to the Gates Fndn for support fot language & technology initiatives. There is a tendency to conflate Bill Gates + ICT + MS and at least for the first two parts I was guilty of that too. But I do think that a charitable foundation is not or should not be beholden to any particular company (the third part, MS in this instance), even when related in the sense of being the original source of wealth that created it. So that, for example, a Ford Foundation grant that involved a vehicle purchase wouldn't have to go to the Ford Motor Company. Likewise we've even seen a little bit of evolution in the approach of national agencies that finance international development projects, away from insisting that everything possible (regardless of adaptedness or cost) that is needed for a project be purchased in the funding country. So, hopefully if the Gates/Buffett monies could in some small but significant way be allocated to projects for community language work, and if those projects involve ICT, this would (should) not automatically mean use of a particular package of software solutions. (i.e., Gates Fndn $ does not necessarily mean MS applications) At the same time, ICT these days is the message (per Marshall McLuhan) in a lot of ways. It made Gates' fortune (though not Buffett's). It offers new approaches to solving problems, including finding ways to preserve languages, revitalize them, expand their use for other needs (education, social & economic development), and employ them to help people learn ICT (bringing things full circle). It is fundamental to the rapidly evolving economy. Etc. So, with a lot of money intended for philanthropy in one corner, a lot of questions and needs re language (survival of endangered tongues, use & development of vernaculars for more effective communication & development) in another corner, and ICT as a potent tool, it is natural to look for connections (canals?). Why shouldn't Gates Foundation - "turbocharged" it seems by major additional monies and requirements for their disbursement - consider multilingual ICT, and via that, broader support for language-related initiatives? The fact that the Gates Foundation already funded technology awareness programs (per Phil's e-mail) is an obvious lead. Or seems to be. Susan's caveat re the actual aims of the Foundation in those programs and what it has *not* done (i.e., language revitalization, etc.) are important to know. How can one build on and expand from such a tenuous connection? Mia mentioned that Bill Gates in a recent interview said that "he is interested in talking to people who are working on technical solutions for learning/education." Well this nexus of issues re language is right there, waiting. It may be of interest to add that Gates in a speech last month in Cape Town spoke of technology as "a solution" to development issues in Africa. At the same conference the issue of localization of ICT in African languages came up. It's easy to get the impression that we are close to some serious program breakthroughs wrt multilingual ICT and localization for various purposes, but it's precisely at such a time that focused effort is needed to create something tangible (what specific programs to what specific ends with what specific resources when where & how?). Whether this translates into potential programs (or a leadership role??) for the Gates Fndn in this regard is a question. Whether that is what we'd want (if we look past the money) is another question (per Charles and Mia). But what's at issue here, IMO, is more than another source of funds for documenting endangered languages (which has an important place). Or even for a wider range of specific language-related projects. It's arguably more a matter of long-term vision and planning, and how significant resources at a high level (along with targetted grants for specific kinds of grassroots activities) can improve the environment for linguistic diversity. This has many facets. For instance: 1. Language policy, planning, management. 2. Opportunities for speakers of minority languages. (Various, that relate to their mastery of the languages.) 3. Development of materials and tools for education in minority languages (that is more than mere translation from European languages) 4. Training of teachers for work in minority language / bilingual classrooms. 5. Cutting edge ICT for various uses with/in minority languages. (Things that market incentives alone will never generate investment for.) 6. Linkages among diverse minority language projects around the world (co-learning, exchanging experience). The fact that this will necessitate resort to more widely spoken languages does not introduce anything new. Maybe I'm just dreaming (in addition to rambling on here), but since significant funds are being made available for worthy causes by this particular Foundation, isn't there a way to get language on their agenda? Don Osborn Bisharat.net PanAfrican Localisation project From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Tue Aug 15 16:49:20 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 09:49:20 -0700 Subject: Arizona man devoted 15 years to keeping Zuni language alive (fwd) Message-ID: Arizona man devoted 15 years to keeping Zuni language alive By CHRISTINE L. ROMERO | Associated Press August 14, 2006 http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/47877.html PHOENIX (AP) - The boxes had been tucked away in storage for about 20 years when the government found Curtis Cook on the Internet. In the boxes sat years of Cook's life and work, documents that Cook created with the help of seven Zuni elders. They were the origin of the written Zuni language. Now, the Library of Congress wanted them. Creating a Zuni alphabet was a mission that Cook took on alone, right after he finished some graduate linguistic studies in the mid-1960s. His first goal had been to create a Zuni version of the Bible, but he quickly realized the language didn't have a written form. So, he dedicated 15 years to the Zuni people, who live predominantly in New Mexico and in Arizona, east of Flagstaff. Without Cook's efforts, it's likely that the Zuni language would have perished as the elders passed away and young Zunis forgot the tongue. Forgetting the language would have forever cut a tie between the generations of Zunis. "I became concerned that many of their old stories and the richness of their history would be lost to posterity as the elders, who were the storytellers, began to die off," Cook said. The elders were all older than 100 when Cook began his work. The Library of Congress' intention is to preserve the work and eventually make the traditional Zuni stories more widely available. Cook's work has allowed the Zunis to teach their written language to children from kindergarten through high school on the reservation. The Zuni words are even on street signs, which Cook proudly notes are spelled correctly. By the end of this year, "The Curtis Cook Collection" is expected to be inducted into the Library of Congress' American Folklife Center. During his time on the reservation, Cook also approached the Zuni Tribal Council and suggested that some of the tribe's stories should be recorded and preserved. The council agreed and eventually about 300 reel-to-reel tapes were created with Zuni oral histories, folk tales and religious teachers. "The Curtis Cook Collection" will include those tapes, transcriptions, learning guides and some Zuni publications. Cook, 67, is the associate state director of community outreach for AARP Arizona. Previously, he was director of the National Indian Council on Aging. When Cook talks about his time with the Zuni, known as "a friendly people," his eyes light up and seem to dance with respect and excitement. In telling traditional Zuni stories, he infuses rhythmic Zuni words with English ones. To the English-speaking ear, the Zuni language seems breathy and includes many pauses that translate into meaning. On the reservation, Cook's constant chattering and repetition of Zuni words and phrases earned him the names "the Mockingbird" and, later, "the Locust" among the Zuni Pueblo, now numbering 10,000 people. Language experts say there likely still are pockets of the world where some languages exist only orally. Cook's intent was to create a Zuni version of the Bible. Other oral traditions have morphed into written languages in a similar missionary fashion, experts say. For many, the preservation of language in a written form allows them to stay connected with their history and roots. "Oral tradition keeps certain kinds of intergenerational contacts," said Guha Shankar, folklife specialist with the American Folklife Center. "It keeps memories alive." Without a written documentation, the Zuni oral tradition could have been lost, Shankar said. Cook's work piqued the Library of Congress' interest because he collaborated directly with native speakers in the pueblo, Shankar said. Cook meticulously made language records, including transcribing traditional stories passed down through the generations. He used the International Phonetic Alphabet, a commonly accepted series of symbols among linguists, to capture the Zuni language. "I was concerned that all of their history would be lost forever," Cook said. "My belief is when people get their language in writing it launches a whole new era. We take notes so we can remember." From charles.riley at YALE.EDU Wed Aug 16 17:35:15 2006 From: charles.riley at YALE.EDU (Charles RIley) Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 13:35:15 -0400 Subject: Buffett, Gates, & the future of linguistic diversity In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Greets to all; Hi from a cybercafe in Bamenda, Cameroon! Don, you raise some great points and it does seem like there's a useful role for Gates et al. to play. The message I sent earlier was mostly meant to be facetious, maybe a little out of frustration and/or mischief though too. I'd still have concerns about individual language initiatives perhaps becoming micromanaged, or linguistic diversity itself becoming stifled in the efforts to preserve it, but overall I don't see a problem with the project you've proposed. Especially points 3 and 6, and when it comes to infrastructure of any kind -- network, hardware, and linguistic necessities such as dictionaries, dialectologies, etc. Charles Quoting d_z_o : > Belated thanks to Phil, Mia, Susan, and Charles for their feedback re > my posting last month on the topic of this (double-)mega foundation > and what it might do for minority languages and linguistic diversity > (esp. where the use of tech might be involved). > > I began to compose a follow up but am only now getting back to it. One > reason is an article I note in today's NY Times entitled "Bill Gates's > Charity Races to Spend Buffett Billions" > http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/13/us/13gates.html . The title is > scary. Or at least it does to me, having learned early on about > international development where people get promoted (or at least used > to) on the basis of how much money they move, small projects don't get > much attention, and terms like "burn rate" are part of the discourse > about funding. In the case of Gates/Buffett, the context of spending > may be a little different, but any time the priority is on spending, > it's almost inevitable that some good things get funded, some bad > things get funded, and some good things get overlooked. Language - > revitalization, localization, documentation, education - will likely > be among the areas overlooked. Unless...? > > Last month there was some discussion in this thread of the wisdom of > looking to the Gates Fndn for support fot language & technology > initiatives. There is a tendency to conflate Bill Gates + ICT + MS and > at least for the first two parts I was guilty of that too. But I do > think that a charitable foundation is not or should not be beholden to > any particular company (the third part, MS in this instance), even > when related in the sense of being the original source of wealth that > created it. So that, for example, a Ford Foundation grant that > involved a vehicle purchase wouldn't have to go to the Ford Motor > Company. Likewise we've even seen a little bit of evolution in the > approach of national agencies that finance international development > projects, away from insisting that everything possible (regardless of > adaptedness or cost) that is needed for a project be purchased in the > funding country. So, hopefully if the Gates/Buffett monies could in > some small but significant way be allocated to projects for community > language work, and if those projects involve ICT, this would (should) > not automatically mean use of a particular package of software > solutions. (i.e., Gates Fndn $ does not necessarily mean MS applications) > > At the same time, ICT these days is the message (per Marshall McLuhan) > in a lot of ways. It made Gates' fortune (though not Buffett's). It > offers new approaches to solving problems, including finding ways to > preserve languages, revitalize them, expand their use for other needs > (education, social & economic development), and employ them to help > people learn ICT (bringing things full circle). It is fundamental to > the rapidly evolving economy. Etc. > > So, with a lot of money intended for philanthropy in one corner, a lot > of questions and needs re language (survival of endangered tongues, > use & development of vernaculars for more effective communication & > development) in another corner, and ICT as a potent tool, it is > natural to look for connections (canals?). Why shouldn't Gates > Foundation - "turbocharged" it seems by major additional monies and > requirements for their disbursement - consider multilingual ICT, and > via that, broader support for language-related initiatives? > > The fact that the Gates Foundation already funded technology awareness > programs (per Phil's e-mail) is an obvious lead. Or seems to be. > Susan's caveat re the actual aims of the Foundation in those programs > and what it has *not* done (i.e., language revitalization, etc.) are > important to know. How can one build on and expand from such a tenuous > connection? > > Mia mentioned that Bill Gates in a recent interview said that "he is > interested in talking to people who are working on technical solutions > for learning/education." Well this nexus of issues re language is > right there, waiting. It may be of interest to add that Gates in a > speech last month in Cape Town spoke of technology as "a solution" to > development issues in Africa. At the same conference the issue of > localization of ICT in African languages came up. > > It's easy to get the impression that we are close to some serious > program breakthroughs wrt multilingual ICT and localization for > various purposes, but it's precisely at such a time that focused > effort is needed to create something tangible (what specific programs > to what specific ends with what specific resources when where & how?). > Whether this translates into potential programs (or a leadership > role??) for the Gates Fndn in this regard is a question. > > Whether that is what we'd want (if we look past the money) is another > question (per Charles and Mia). But what's at issue here, IMO, is more > than another source of funds for documenting endangered languages > (which has an important place). Or even for a wider range of specific > language-related projects. > > It's arguably more a matter of long-term vision and planning, and how > significant resources at a high level (along with targetted grants for > specific kinds of grassroots activities) can improve the environment > for linguistic diversity. This has many facets. For instance: > > 1. Language policy, planning, management. > 2. Opportunities for speakers of minority languages. (Various, that > relate to their mastery of the languages.) > 3. Development of materials and tools for education in minority > languages (that is more than mere translation from European languages) > 4. Training of teachers for work in minority language / bilingual > classrooms. > 5. Cutting edge ICT for various uses with/in minority languages. > (Things that market incentives alone will never generate investment for.) > 6. Linkages among diverse minority language projects around the world > (co-learning, exchanging experience). The fact that this will > necessitate resort to more widely spoken languages does not introduce > anything new. > > Maybe I'm just dreaming (in addition to rambling on here), but since > significant funds are being made available for worthy causes by this > particular Foundation, isn't there a way to get language on their agenda? > > Don Osborn > Bisharat.net > PanAfrican Localisation project > From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 17 21:42:07 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:42:07 -0700 Subject: Cherokee language initiative a welcome development (fwd) Message-ID: CITIZEN-TIMES.com Cherokee language initiative a welcome development http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060817/OPINION01/60816055/1194 As a steamy summer rolls on, the first hints of a change in seasons are beginning to appear. The temperature has backed off a few degrees, kids are heading back to school and harvests are coming in from fields and gardens across the region. Autumn is always welcomed because of relief from the heat but even more because it brings with it a renewal of many traditions. Football fans fire up their love for their favorite squads, connections to alma maters are rekindled and autumnal rites of all sorts are observed. We can’t understate the importance of the traditions that tie us to the land, to institutions and to one another. They’re important. Some are more important than others. Some go beyond tradition and cut straight to the core, to the very identity of a people. That’s why we are excited about a new initiative on the Qualla Boundary creating language immersion schools to preserve and revive the Cherokee language. It’s a language that belongs in these mountains, a language that has survived attempts to snuff it out completely. But it is still a language on the edge. The necessary steps to nurse it back to health are being taken. Speaker population aging Currently about 7 in 10 people who speak Cherokee fluently are past the age of 50. Renissa Walker, Kituwah Preservation and Education Program manager, noted that in a little over a year, “we have probably lost over 30 fluent speakers. When you put a speaker in the ground, it’s not as though another is going to spring up in his place. So we have to be that seed of the language because that speaker has not been replaced.’’ With more than 13,000 enrolled members, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee has only around 400 people in the area who speak the language. Resurrecting and preserving a language is a big challenge, but it’s one that is being tackled with a comprehensive plan. • The Cherokee Preservation Foundation recently directed nearly $460,000 in support for the language initiative. The first steps are staffing and designing the Cherokee Language Academy. • Around $200,000 of the funds secured by the Foundation are targeted for the hiring of a fluent Cherokee speaker as a language and community coordinator, and for a linguist as a language program developer, at Western Carolina University. In turn, a Kituwah Teaching Fellows Program is being developed. • Immersion schooling will be aided by the Kituwah program. Already under way, the Eastern Band’s immersion program currently has more than a dozen children up to age 5 involved in a new immersion schooling initiative. In the program the language isn’t set aside and studied, but spoken and used in a variety of school subjects. The program is targeted to expand through sixth grade beginning in 2009. WCU graduate student Ben Frey, an Eastern Band member, is designing a Cherokee language class. ‘Saving a language’ WCU’s director of Cherokee studies, Jane Eastman, said, “Immersing children in a language is the way to save a language. Native languages are so important. If we can do something to help revitalize the Cherokee language, it would be an honor to be part of the process of saving a language.’’ Much is happening in this endeavor. Last week a Cherokee Language Revitalization Symposium, coordinated by the Tsalagi Aniwoni Committee and co-sponsored by WCU, was held to bring the community up to date of language revitalization efforts. Also at WCU, the United Cherokee Nations Anthem, adopted by the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes but never professionally recorded, was preserved for the first time in Project Songbird. Many good things are happening. However, the clock is running. A small group of people have to pass down the language, and a new group must learn and acquire the skills to hand it off to another generation. It will not be an easy feat. But thanks to the initiative of the Eastern Band and the efforts of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation and WCU, the feat is being undertaken. As Renissa Walker said, “Without the language, many traditions and history would be lost.’’ As autumn nears, we remember that tradition runs deep in these mountains. We hope this effort honors and preserves the traditions that have marked the passing of time here for thousands of years with the language that describes that passage best. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Copyright 2006 Asheville Citizen-Times. All rights reserved. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 17 21:46:54 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:46:54 -0700 Subject: New page turns for Alutiiq language (fwd) Message-ID: New page turns for Alutiiq language Article published on Wednesday, Aug 16th, 2006 By JENNIFER McCARTY Special to the Mirror http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/?pid=19&id=3517 The Native language of Kodiak is now an open book, thanks to a new publication introduced Tuesday at the Old Powerhouse Restaurant. The “Kodiak Alutiiq Language Conversational Phrasebook,” by April Laktonen Counceller of the Alutiiq Museum was written as part of a master’s thesis. University of Alaska Fairbanks linguist Jeff Leer edited the book. A full house of supporters, including members of the Alaska Historical Commission and Lt. Gov. Loren Leman attended the book’s premier. Six Alutiiq Elders: Nick Alokli, Mary Haakanson, Dennis Knagin, Florence Pestrikoff, Phyllis Peterson and Sophie Katelnikoff Shepherd contributed their time and knowledge to the project. They are among the few remaining fluent speakers of Alutiiq and most of them were on hand at the event to sign books and to answer questions. The event drew about 100 attendees and featured performances by the Alutiiq Dancers and a serenade by St. Innocent’s Academy musicians. Laktonen Counceller explained the Alutiiq language is now in dire straits. With only 35 fluent speakers left, she said that even if all of the Native language apprentices learn the language and become fluent, their knowledge and speaking ability would only slow the already rapid decline by just a few years. The decline is noted in the Native language Eyak, that only has one speaker left. Laktonen Counceller mentioned several projects the Alutiiq Museum has created — like an Alutiiq language daycare/early language program and providing children’s books to local preschools and primary grades — that might help to revitalize the language. The public can contribute to the preservation effort. Anyone can join the Alutiiq Language Club, which meets every Wednesday at the Alutiiq Museum at noon. Eyak Elder, Mary Smith, is the last remaining speaker of the Eyak language. “It’s sad to be the last speaker of your language. Please, turn back to your own and learn your language so you won’t be alone like me. “Go to the young people. Let go of the hate in your hearts. Love and respect yourselves first. Elders, please give them courage and they will never be alone,” she said. “Help our people to understand their identity.” From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 18 17:23:14 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 10:23:14 -0700 Subject: Call for Registration: FEL X Mysore - VITAL VOICES: Endangered Languages & Multilingualism Message-ID: fwd from [linganth] ~~~ The Foundation for Endangered Languages: Tenth Conference in association with the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore, India. 25-27 October 2006. Registration is now open, through downloadable forms which can be found at http://[1]www.ogmios.org[2] and at http://www.ciil.org/Main/Announcement/Abstracts/Registration.htm[3] For most, there is 10% DISCOUNT for registration (with payment) BY 10 SEPTEMBER. Details of the programme, including abstracts of accepted papers, and the deal offered to attendees, including visits to linguistic sites at CIIL, and local excursions, can found at http://www.ciil.org/Main/Announcement/Abstracts[4] The Foundation for Endangered Languages, in association with the Central Institute of Indian Languages, will hold its annual 2006 conference in India, home of more than a thousand languages and dialects, and a consciously multilingual policy stance by the Government of India. Although many of these languages enjoy political and economic patronage, others are struggling to survive. Among these strugglers are the languages of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where communities are not only tiny, but also some of the most anciently independent tribes on the planet. The viability of many such small languages is threatened. This year's conference concerns the effects of multilingualism on smaller languages. A crucial question for this conference is how far poorly-conceived language planning policies may actually contribute to environmental imbalance and instability, dangers that are often very little understood. As we understand the effort to revitalize languages, this is no more than the support they need to develop in the face of new demands, including the increased bi- and multi-lingualism coming from globalization, urbanization and language contact. ‘VITAL VOICES’ refers to the growing awareness that the survival and development of endangered languages are necessary for humanity’s future, however endangered they may look amidst the statistics generated for policy in our globalized economy. The programme will include a keynote lecture by Professor Lachman Khubchandani: LANGUAGES THREATENED IN A PLURAL FRAMEWORK: Dialectics of Speech Variation and Globalization Different sessions, with some 30 talks over three days, will focus on: Outlining the Danger Development and Changes Effects of Contact Roles for Religion Literacy Choices & Documentation Extreme Endangerment Majority-Minority Relationships Emerging Complexity Cooperation with Neighbour Languages Community Response for Language Support THE CONFERENCE VENUE The CENTRAL INSTITUTE OF INDIAN LANGUAGES, Mysore, (CIIL) was set up by the Government of India in July 1969. It is a large institute with seven regional centers spread all over India, and is engaged in research and training in Indian languages other than English and Hindi. It helps to evolve and implement India’s language policy and coordinate the development of Indian languages. MYSORE is a city in the Southern Indian[5] state of Karnataka[6]. The former capital of the princely state of Mysore, ruled by the Wodeyar dynasty since the 14th century, it is now the administrative seat of Mysore District[7], the second largest in Karnataka, 135 km[8] from Bangalore[9], the state capital. The city is known for its palaces and many other attractions. One of these is the Brindavan Gardens laid out beside the Krishnarajasagar dam (19km), particularly beautiful at night. There are also the Royal Palace, the Chamundi Hills, Srirangapatnam Temple, Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary, Oriental Research Institute, and Museums of Folklore, and of Art and Archeology. The conference dates (25-27 October) will allow participants, if they wish, to witness Diwali (the festival of lights) on 23 October before coming to Mysore. A language-related excursion is planned for 28-29 October after the conference. TRANSPORT BUS: Mysore has inter-city and sub-urban public bus transportation. RAIL: Mysore is connected to Bangalore[10] to the northeast via Mandya[11], and to Hassan[12] to the northwest, to Chamarajanagar[13] via Nanjangud[14] to the southeast. AIR: The nearest accessible airport is at Bangalore[15]. -- Foundation for Endangered Languages Registered Charity: England and Wales 1070616 172 Bailbrook Lane, Bath BA1 7AA, England +44-1225-852865 nostler at chibcha.demon.co.uk[16] http://www.ogmios.org[17] Links: ------ [1] http:/// [2] http://www.ogmios.org/ [3] http://www.ciil.org/Main/Announcement/Abstracts/Registration.htm [4] http://www.ciil.org/Main/Announcement/Abstracts [5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India [6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnataka [7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysore_District [8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilometre [9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore [10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore [11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandya [12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan [13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamarajanagar [14] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjangud [15] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore [16] mailto:nostler at chibcha.demon.co.uk [17] http://www.ogmios.org/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From AEROWE at AOL.COM Fri Aug 18 17:54:29 2006 From: AEROWE at AOL.COM (Ann Rowe) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 13:54:29 EDT Subject: Call for Registration: FEL X Mysore - VITAL VOICES: Endangered Lan... Message-ID: Hello, everyone. May I ask something? If anyone on the listserv is planning to attend, might they be willing to report on the conference for the rest of us? These are among the most important issues for language survival and revitalization. It is a far simpler matter to preserve and language and teach it to people than it is to conserve the language within its own culture. What I see happening is that, while we recognize the loss of languages as a real threat, we are not coming up with good ideas about how to conserve the language in situ, within the culture. Part of the problem is, of course, that for many languages, their cultures have already been absorbed, or as some call it "colonized." How then is the conservation to be done? Who is going to be included in the culture - all of the speakers of the culture's language or only those speakers who have a blood relationship to the culture? Will cultures lose certain advantages or perhaps disadvantages depending upon point of view (political, economic, whatever) depending upon which "community" of speakers they choose? My sense is that we are being pushed toward less diversity and more globalized, homogenous culture. We need to figure out if that is what we want before it is all we have.... Thank you, Ann -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 18 18:07:58 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 11:07:58 -0700 Subject: “Communications Technologies and the Impacts on Indigenous Languages and Cultural Identity in the Americas” (fwd) Message-ID: ANNUAL CONFERENCE “Communications Technologies and the Impacts on Indigenous Languages and Cultural Identity in the Americas” February 14-16, 2007 University of Florida Gainesville, Florida http://www.latam.ufl.edu/news/Newsconf%2007.html DESCRIPTION The mission of this conference is to examine from multidisciplinary perspectives how communications technologies have affected indigenous language and cultural identity in the Americas, with a focus on cultural continuity in a changing world. Since the middle of the 20th Century, indigenous communities throughout the Americas have gained considerable demographic, political and cultural presence in their respective national arenas. From the Zapatista movements in Mexico, the civil war, peace accords and Rigoberta Menchu’s Nobel Prize in Guatemala, to the toppling of presidents in Ecuador and Bolivia and Evo Morales’s presidency, organized indigenous communities have become cultural and political references to understanding national and continental possibilities and problems. Such increasing invigoration of indigenous communities has depended, to a large extent, on the conscious revitalization of their native languages, their traditional cultures, and the skillful and widespread use of communications technologies (from sound recordings and video taping to electronic mail and the Internet). This conference will focus on the impact and potential of global technologies of communication on Indigenous languages, cultures and identities in the Americas. We hope that this approach will bring together a variety of participants from diverse disciplines and cultures. FORMAT In addition to plenary addresses and individual papers, the 56th Conference will host up to nine roundtables designed to encourage interaction between conference participants working in and outside of academia. CALL FOR PAPERS: Submissions are invited for papers on original, unpublished research on any area related to the conference topics, including but not limited to the following: Impacts of communications technologies on indigenous languages (linguistics, language pedagogy, e-learning, instructional design), cultures (oral traditions, native knowledge, spirituality, traditional clothing, arts) and identity (political movements, concepts of identity and history). We will accept proposals for alternative-format presentations. Presentations may be given in English or Spanish. Translations of the presentations will be made available to conference participants. SUBMISSIONS: Please submit your proposal electronically in Word format by September 30th, 2006. Please include the following information: * Paper title. * Name, affiliation, mailing address, phone and fax numbers, email address. * 150-200 word abstract. Please submit abstracts as a single email attachment and not in the body of the email to elowe at ufl.edu[1] Acknowledgement of receipt of the abstract will be sent by e-mail as soon as possible. Notice of acceptance or rejection will be sent by October 31, 2006, along with pre-registration materials. For further information, please contact: ELIZABETH LOWE, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 319 GRINTER HALL GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA 32605 ELOWE at UFL.EDU[2] TEL 352-392-0375 FAX 352-392-7682   Links: ------ [1] mailto:elowe at ufl.edu [2] MAILTO:ELOWE at UFL.EDU -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 18 18:16:43 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 11:16:43 -0700 Subject: ED-MEDIA 2007 (fwd link) Message-ID: ED-MEDIA--World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia/call.htm CALL FOR PARTICIPATION SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE: DECEMBER 19 June 25-29, 2007 Vancouver, BC Canada[1] [topics] 7. Indigenous Peoples & Technology:  This topic provides information on the issues and applications related to indigenous peoples and technology. Submissions are invited on the following non-exclusive list of topics * The Internet's effects on linguistic diversity * Promoting indigenous language development via discussion & chat  * Multimedia support of language & culture * Exploring language with digital resources * Cultural attitudes and technology acceptance * Modifying computers to meet minority language requirements * Oral tradition meets voice dictation * Voice over IP, net meetings and collaborative thinking * Asynchronous, reflective discourse * On-line dictionaries and language development Links: ------ [1] http://www.aace.org/conf/Cities/Vancouver/default.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cspaulding at ROSETTASTONE.COM Fri Aug 18 18:31:51 2006 From: cspaulding at ROSETTASTONE.COM (Spaulding, Craig) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 14:31:51 -0400 Subject: ED-MEDIA 2007 (fwd link) In-Reply-To: A<20060818111643.ab3vj7hcocskogc4@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: I think that FLT should send two people and their spouses to this conference! ;-) ________________________________ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of phil cash cash Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 2:17 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: [ILAT] ED-MEDIA 2007 (fwd link) ED-MEDIA--World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia/call.htm Call for Participation Submissions Deadline: December 19 June 25-29, 2007 Vancouver, BC Canada [topics] 7. Indigenous Peoples & Technology: This topic provides information on the issues and applications related to indigenous peoples and technology. Submissions are invited on the following non-exclusive list of topics * The Internet's effects on linguistic diversity * Promoting indigenous language development via discussion & chat * Multimedia support of language & culture * Exploring language with digital resources * Cultural attitudes and technology acceptance * Modifying computers to meet minority language requirements * Oral tradition meets voice dictation * Voice over IP, net meetings and collaborative thinking * Asynchronous, reflective discourse * On-line dictionaries and language development -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mbittinger at ROSETTASTONE.COM Fri Aug 18 18:50:52 2006 From: mbittinger at ROSETTASTONE.COM (Marion Bittinger) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 14:50:52 -0400 Subject: ED-MEDIA 2007 (fwd link) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: very funny! Would you send Dorothy to the conference presentations??? On 8/18/06 2:31 PM, "Spaulding, Craig" wrote: > I think that FLT should send two people and their spouses to this conference! > ;-) > > > > From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] > On Behalf Of phil cash cash > Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 2:17 PM > To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU > Subject: [ILAT] ED-MEDIA 2007 (fwd link) > > ED-MEDIA--World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & > Telecommunications > http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia/call.htm > > > Call for Participation > Submissions Deadline: December 19 > June 25-29, 2007 > Vancouver, BC Canada > > [topics] > 7. Indigenous Peoples & Technology: > This topic provides information on the issues and applications related to > indigenous peoples and technology. Submissions are invited on the following > non-exclusive list of topics > * > * > * > * The Internet's effects on linguistic diversity > * > * > * > * > * Promoting indigenous language development via discussion & chat > * > * > * > * > * Multimedia support of language & culture > * > * > * > * > * Exploring language with digital resources > * > * > * > * > * Cultural attitudes and technology acceptance > * > * > * > * > * Modifying computers to meet minority language requirements > * > * > * > * > * Oral tradition meets voice dictation > * > * > * > * > * Voice over IP, net meetings and collaborative thinking > * > * > * > * > * Asynchronous, reflective discourse > * > * > * > * On-line dictionaries and language development > -- Marion Bittinger Senior Project Manager Endangered Language Program Language Production Department Fairfield Language Technologies 135 West Market Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (800) 788-0822 (540) 432-6166 ext. 3331 fax (540) 437-2829 www.RosettaStone.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 18 19:17:40 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 12:17:40 -0700 Subject: Kids find the words (fwd) Message-ID: The Herald - Everett, Wash. - www.HeraldNet.com Published: Friday, August 18, 2006 Kids find the words Tulalip children learn an ancient language that all but vanished. By Krista J. Kapralos Herald Writer http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/08/18/100loc_a1language001.cfm TULALIP - Some of the students in the Lushootseed Language Class at the Tulalip Indian Reservation are as young as 5 years old, but their teachers have given them an important mission. "I let my students know that their families don't know Lushootseed," teacher Rebecca Posey said. "They should go home and try to teach their families. If that continues, then we'll get our language back." This week, about 50 young tribal members are attending Lushootseed Language Camp. They are learning with game show-style quizzes, with computer programs developed by the Tulalip Tribes, and by practicing a play that uses English and Lushootseed phrases. They will perform the play this morning at the Tulalip Amphitheatre. Only a decade ago, Lushootseed, an ancient language used by Coast Salish American Indian tribes along the northern coast of Washington, was a mystery to most Tulalip tribal members. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, tribal children were forbidden to speak their native language when they were sent to boarding schools, a federal experiment designed to absorb Indians into mainstream culture. Knowledge of tribal languages dwindled until the words were only distant memories. In the 1950s, linguist Leon Metcalf traveled to American Indian reservations in northwest Washington to record tribal elders speaking their native language. Metcalf recorded whatever they remembered of Lushootseed and also offered to deliver recorded messages to their friends on other reservations, said Toby Langen, a linguist who works for the Tulalip Tribes' Language Department. "That way, he got a lot of conversational Lushootseed," Langen said. In the 1960s, linguist Thom Hess picked up where Metcalf left off. Hess compiled Lushootseed grammar, which was published by the Tulalip Tribes in 1995, Langen said. "That's the basis of what we have." Hess devised an alphabet for Lushootseed, which had never been a written language. Now the Tulalip Tribes own rights to a computer font for that alphabet. There is much more work left to do, Langen said. She would like to conduct a widespread project that gathers extended families to learn together. Once families begin using Lushootseed in their homes, the hope is that the language will come to life. The tribes' Language Department doesn't have enough staff to do that themselves, Langen said. But it's a dream. "That's the goal," she said. "People here want to see that in their lifetimes." According to research conducted by Northern Arizona University, only 20 tribal languages of the 300 or more once spoken in North America are fully vital, and used by tribal members of all ages. Even those languages, including Navajo and Crow, are at risk of dying because younger generations have lost interest in them. "Our main focus is to keep all these kids interested," Lushootseed teacher Natosha Gobin said as children at the language camp swarmed a makeshift stage to practice their lines. At Posey's table, children shouted out answers to questions she asked in Lushootseed. "Salmon!" "Springtime!" "Orca!" "In Lushootseed," Posey insisted. "Remember, this is our language." The children closed their eyes or looked at the ceiling, thinking, then said the words in Lushootseed. They remembered. Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@ heraldnet.com. Copyright ©1996-2006. The Daily Herald Co. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. From annier at SFU.CA Fri Aug 18 19:50:38 2006 From: annier at SFU.CA (annie ross) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 12:50:38 -0700 Subject: Kids find the words (fwd) Message-ID: An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: not available URL: From cspaulding at ROSETTASTONE.COM Fri Aug 18 20:30:46 2006 From: cspaulding at ROSETTASTONE.COM (Spaulding, Craig) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 16:30:46 -0400 Subject: ED-MEDIA 2007 (fwd link) In-Reply-To: A Message-ID: Please forgive this little interchange with my colleague. I hit reply" instead of "forward". It was not meant to go to the whole list. It was wishful thinking that we could both attend the conference in beautiful British Columbia and enjoy the area and outdoors as well! Craig ________________________________ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Marion Bittinger Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 2:51 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] ED-MEDIA 2007 (fwd link) very funny! Would you send Dorothy to the conference presentations??? On 8/18/06 2:31 PM, "Spaulding, Craig" wrote: I think that FLT should send two people and their spouses to this conference! ;-) ________________________________ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of phil cash cash Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 2:17 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: [ILAT] ED-MEDIA 2007 (fwd link) ED-MEDIA--World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia/call.htm Call for Participation Submissions Deadline: December 19 June 25-29, 2007 Vancouver, BC Canada [topics] 7. Indigenous Peoples & Technology: This topic provides information on the issues and applications related to indigenous peoples and technology. Submissions are invited on the following non-exclusive list of topics * * * * The Internet's effects on linguistic diversity * * * * * Promoting indigenous language development via discussion & chat * * * * * Multimedia support of language & culture * * * * * Exploring language with digital resources * * * * * Cultural attitudes and technology acceptance * * * * * Modifying computers to meet minority language requirements * * * * * Oral tradition meets voice dictation * * * * * Voice over IP, net meetings and collaborative thinking * * * * * Asynchronous, reflective discourse * * * * On-line dictionaries and language development -- Marion Bittinger Senior Project Manager Endangered Language Program Language Production Department Fairfield Language Technologies 135 West Market Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (800) 788-0822 (540) 432-6166 ext. 3331 fax (540) 437-2829 www.RosettaStone.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Sun Aug 20 05:31:03 2006 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 22:31:03 -0700 Subject: Ancient Tongue (language) Message-ID:  The Herald - Everett, Wash. - www.HeraldNet.com Published: Friday, August 18, 2006 Kids find the words Tulalip children learn an ancient language that all but vanished. By Krista J. Kapralos Herald Writer  TULALIP - Some of the students in the Lushootseed Language Class at the Tulalip Indian Reservation are as young as 5 years old, but their teachers have given them an important mission. "I let my students know that their families don't know Lushootseed," teacher Rebecca Posey said. "They should go home and try to teach their families. If that continues, then we'll get our language back." This week, about 50 young tribal members are attending Lushootseed Language Camp. They are learning with game show-style quizzes, with computer programs developed by the Tulalip Tribes, and by practicing a play that uses English and Lushootseed phrases. They will perform the play this morning at the Tulalip Amphitheatre. Only a decade ago, Lushootseed, an ancient language used by Coast Salish American Indian tribes along the northern coast of Washington, was a mystery to most Tulalip tribal members. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, tribal children were forbidden to speak their native language when they were sent to boarding schools, a federal experiment designed to absorb Indians into mainstream culture. Knowledge of tribal languages dwindled until the words were only distant memories. In the 1950s, linguist Leon Metcalf traveled to American Indian reservations in northwest Washington to record tribal elders speaking their native language. Metcalf recorded whatever they remembered of Lushootseed and also offered to deliver recorded messages to their friends on other reservations, said Toby Langen, a linguist who works for the Tulalip Tribes' Language Department. "That way, he got a lot of conversational Lushootseed," Langen said. In the 1960s, linguist Thom Hess picked up where Metcalf left off. Hess compiled Lushootseed grammar, which was published by the Tulalip Tribes in 1995, Langen said. "That's the basis of what we have." Hess devised an alphabet for Lushootseed, which had never been a written language. Now the Tulalip Tribes own rights to a computer font for that alphabet. There is much more work left to do, Langen said. She would like to conduct a widespread project that gathers extended families to learn together. Once families begin using Lushootseed in their homes, the hope is that the language will come to life. The tribes' Language Department doesn't have enough staff to do that themselves, Langen said. But it's a dream. "That's the goal," she said. "People here want to see that in their lifetimes." According to research conducted by Northern Arizona University, only 20 tribal languages of the 300 or more once spoken in North America are fully vital, and used by tribal members of all ages. Even those languages, including Navajo and Crow, are at risk of dying because younger generations have lost interest in them. "Our main focus is to keep all these kids interested," Lushootseed teacher Natosha Gobin said as children at the language camp swarmed a makeshift stage to practice their lines. At Posey's table, children shouted out answers to questions she asked in Lushootseed. "Salmon!" "Springtime!" "Orca!" "In Lushootseed," Posey insisted. "Remember, this is our language." The children closed their eyes or looked at the ceiling, thinking, then said the words in Lushootseed. They remembered. Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@ heraldnet.com. Copyright ©1996-2006. The Daily Herald Co. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: red_logo.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1923 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: spacer.gif Type: image/gif Size: 42 bytes Desc: not available URL: From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Mon Aug 21 16:40:58 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 09:40:58 -0700 Subject: Wiradjuri Language resource launch (fwd) Message-ID: Wiradjuri Language resource launch Monday, 14 August 2006 http://parkes.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=general&story_id=501808&category=General&m=8&y=2006 Parkes Shire library has acquired a number of books and CDs which form a Wiradjuri Language resource. The collection consists of a Wiradjuri Dictionary and kits on learning Wiradjuri and Wiradjuri language songs for children of all ages. It is hoped that this collection will provide out of school resources to assist both students and adults who might wish to explore or learn the Wiradjuri language. Last Wednesday, the Wiradjuri Language resource was launched in front of a crowd of approximately 100 people. Guests included Deputy Mayor Cr Ken Keith, Cr Barbara Newton and elders and members of the local Wiradjuri community. Stan Grant (snr) one of the authors of the books was to be a special guest but he was unable to attend because of illness so Dr John Rudder co-author accepted the invitation to attend. The launch was part of NAIDOC celebrations and was co-hosted by Parkes Shire Library, Parkes Multi-Purpose Aboriginal Corporation and Yoorana-Gunya Family Violence Healing Centre Aboriginal Corporation (Forbes). Guests were welcomed by the sound of the didgeridoo played by Ron Wardrop and were given the opportunity to place their handprint on canvas as a record of attendance at the launch. Gary Clarke from the Parkes Multi Purpose Aboriginal Corporation then gave the "Welcome to Country" assisted by Taylor Williams from Forbes North School who welcomed the guests in Wiradjuri. Deputy Mayor Cr Ken Keith responded on behalf of the Parkes community and spoke about the State Government's commitment to assist Aboriginal communities in revitalising their languages. He went on to quote from the Board of Studies Aboriginal Languages K-10 Syllabus document that "Aboriginal languages are fundamental to strengthening the identity of Aboriginal people and their connections to country. Recognition of the interdependence of language, identity and land underpins the syllabus. `The syllabus recognises that these are the original languages of NSW and are not available as the languages of communities anywhere else in the world". Noni Greenwood from Yoorana-Gunya Family Violence Healing Centre Aboriginal Corporation and Michele Herbert Assistant Principal from Forbes North Public School and co-ordinator of the Wiradjuri Language Program gave a talk on the importance of the language program and implementing it in the schools. Cr Keith and Noni Greenwood then cut the ribbon to launch the resource. Special guest Dr John Rudder spoke about the history of the project; the difficulty of finding word lists and the compilation of a working alphabet which was a true Wiradjuri alphabet. He went on to talk about speaking Wiradjuri - how some sounds in Wiradjuri do not have corresponding sounds in English and some sounds in English do not have corresponding sounds in Wiradjuri. Guests were entertained by the Wogambilla dancers from Peak Hill Central School, who performed traditional Aboriginal dances and the students from Forbes North Wiradjuri Language Program who performed a number of songs in the Wiradjuri Language. The afternoon concluded with afternoon tea with many guests staying on to chat with Dr John Rudder about his work. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Wed Aug 23 01:27:54 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 18:27:54 -0700 Subject: Akaka announces $1,784,150 in federal funds to go toward Native Hawaiian education programs (fwd) Message-ID: Akaka announces $1,784,150 in federal funds to go toward Native Hawaiian education programs >From Sen. Akaka's office 8/22/2006 12:52:12 PM http://www.molokaitimes.com/articles/6822125212.asp Honolulu, HI - Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) today is pleased to announce the U.S. Department of Education has awarded funds to the Waianae District Comprehensive Health and Hospital Board, the Pacific American Foundation, and College Connections. Senator Akaka said, “I applaud the Department of Education for recognizing the importance of Native Hawaiian programs that provide the necessary incentive and support to develop initiatives that use language and culture as learning tools.” College Connections in Honolulu is being provided $197,543 for its Native Hawaiian Scholars Program, which is a statewide project aimed to prepare Hawaiian teens to complete high school and succeed in college by combining academic support with cultural enrichment. The Pacific American Foundation, also based in Honolulu, is being awarded $496,443 for its Native Hawaiian at-risk youth and leadership program. The Foundation is also receiving $520,504 for its Malama Kaho`olawe: Native Hawaiian Culture-and Place-Based Curriculum Addressing Math and Science project. The Waianae District Comprehensive Health and Hospital Board, Ho`olokahi, was selected to receive $569,660 in funding for the development and expansion of its non-traditional educational programs at the Waianae Health Academy. "I congratulate those who make these programs possible and wish them continued success in shaping our keiki to seek greater opportunities in life for the betterment of their families and communities.” Senator Akaka, a constant advocate of incorporating cultural values in education, has introduced several bills this session in a continued effort to highlight these educational interests. They include, S. 2674, the Native American Languages Act Amendments Act of 2006; S. 1521, the Teacher Acculturation Act of 2005; S. 1089, the National Foreign Language Coordination Act of 2005; and S. 2450, the Homeland Security Education Act. For more information regarding these bills, please visit http://akaka.senate.gov. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Wed Aug 23 01:33:20 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 18:33:20 -0700 Subject: KU Linguist Documents Dying Mayan Language (fwd) Message-ID: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 KU Linguist Documents Dying Mayan Language Posted Monday, August 21, 2006 :: infoZine Staff With $315,000 federal grant Lawrence, Kan. - infoZine - Ch'utyaty. Uj-ch'ujña'. Chan. These words for sun, moon and sky may sound unusual to native English speakers, but for children living in Tila, Mexico, the Chol language is first nature. The language is at least 1,000 years older than English, but it is dying along with an estimated 3,500 other human languages. To begin efforts to document those languages, Clifton Pye, professor of linguistics at the University of Kansas, has received a $314,999 grant from the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Documenting Endangered Languages project will allow Pye to use video and sound technology to record Chol and two other languages spoken by children in Mayan communities in Guatemala: Mam, in San Ildefonso Ixtahuacan, and Q'anjob'al, in Santa Eulalia. "The documentation of children learning these endangered languages will preserve a unique product of human intellectual achievement as well as support a deeper understanding of how children acquire language," Pye said while on expedition in Guatemala. Pye said those communities are undergoing rapid political and economic changes. Those modern influences are leading to the extinction of their language. "At present, many men between 17 and 40 years of age have migrated to the United States from towns and villages throughout Mexico and Guatemala," said Pye. "The last decade has brought a greater intrusion of Spanish into remote Mayan communities in the form of satellite and cable television programming." Pye said the research presents challenges for him and his group of researchers, often in danger of bandits and major storms. "We persist in this endeavor because each investigator recognizes the inherent scientific importance of documenting language development for the first time in their communities," he said. The National Science Foundation and National Endowment for the Humanities gave more than $5 million in awards in 12 fellowships and 22 institutional grants to document more than 50 languages. Article link: http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/17230/ From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 24 17:19:55 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 10:19:55 -0700 Subject: Technology helps to preserve Indian languages (fwd) Message-ID: Technology helps to preserve Indian languages http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=5319101 WHITE EAGLE, Okla. Technology is allowing Suzanne White Eagle to hear her native tongue -- the Ponca language -- spoken back to her. White Eagle, a 71-year-old Ponca tribal citizen, and 80-year-old Henry A. Lieb Junior are among a handful of people who speak the Ponca language. The native speakers recordrf their language today with the help of the Phraselator P-2. It's a handheld device capable of recording and playing back thousands of phrases, words, songs and stories. Tribes in Oklahoma whose languages have been recorded are the Choctaw Nation, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, Comanche Nation, Ponca Tribe and the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribe of Oklahoma. About a dozen tribes have already recorded their speakers and have purchased the Phraselator. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. From nflrc at HAWAII.EDU Fri Aug 25 21:51:55 2006 From: nflrc at HAWAII.EDU (National Foreign Language Resource Center) Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 11:51:55 -1000 Subject: 2nd Call for Proposals: 2007 Pragmatics & Language Learning Conference (in Hawaii) Message-ID: Our apologies for any cross-postings . . . The National Foreign Language Resource Center, in conjunction with the National Resource Center - East Asia (NRCEA) and the Department of Second Language Studies (SLS), at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa are pleased to announce the . . . 17TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PRAGMATICS & LANGUAGE LEARNING Hawai'i Imin International Conference Center Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA March 26-28, 2007 http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/prodev/pll/ The conference will address a broad range of topics in pragmatics, discourse, interaction, and sociolinguistics in their relation to second and foreign language learning, education, and use, approached from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives. PLENARY SPEAKERS: * Junko Mori, University of Wisconsin-Madison * Steven Talmy, University of British Columbia INVITED COLLOQUIA: * Study Abroad Experiences from a Language Socialization Perspective (Convener: Haruko Cook, University of Hawai'i) * Negotiating the Self in Another Language: Discourse Approaches to Language Learning as Cross-cultural Adaptation (Convener: Christina Higgins, University of Hawai'i) INVITED WORKSHOPS: * Using Questionnaires in Research on Pragmatics (Facilitator: Kenneth Rose, City University Hong Kong) * Pragmatics in Computer-mediated Communication CALL FOR PROPOSALS (DEADLINE - SEPTEMBER 30, 2006): Proposals for presentation are welcome on topics such as * L2 talk and text * Developmental L2 pragmatics * Pragmatics in language education * Pragmatics in language assessment * Pragmatics in computer-mediated communication * Theory and methodology in pragmatics Proposals may be submitted for PAPERS (20 minutes for presentation, 10 minutes for discussion) and POSTERS. Abstracts for all presentation formats undergo blind peer review. ONLINE ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS: DEADLINE - SEPTEMBER 30, 2006 For more information about the conference or to submit a proposal online, visit our website at: http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/prodev/pll/ ************************************************************************* N National Foreign Language Resource Center F University of Hawai'i L 1859 East-West Road, #106 R Honolulu HI 96822 C voice: (808) 956-9424, fax: (808) 956-5983 email: nflrc at hawaii.edu VISIT OUR WEBSITE! http://www.nflrc.hawaii.edu ************************************************************************* From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Sun Aug 27 14:51:23 2006 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 07:51:23 -0700 Subject: Endangered languages of our ancestors can flourish again Message-ID: Endangered languages of our ancestors can flourish again By Richard B. Williams Endangered languages of our ancestors can flourish again - By Richard B. Williams Indian Country faces a historically unparalleled affront to our cultural survival. Of the 300 Native languages spoken at the time of European contact, it is estimated only 20 of these languages will still be viable in 2050. View Full Story Indian Country faces a historically unparalleled affront to our cultural survival. Of the 300 Native languages spoken at the time of European contact, it is estimated only 20 of these languages will still be viable in 2050. The rest will be irrevocably lost, and with them will go the traditional knowledge that has sustained our people since time immemorial. The impact will not be limited to Indian Country alone. The loss of cultural, spiritual, medicinal and historical indigenous knowledge has ramifications for all. If we continue to ignore these truths, this loss will come to pass just as certainly as the sun continues to rise and set in the sky. Yet, just as an eclipse shows us that sometimes the inevitable patterns of nature can be altered, so do we have the ability to change our future when it comes to saving our languages. But we cannot wait. Fortunately, we are blessed to have the solution to language recovery in our hands. Offered to us by our indigenous brothers and sisters from around the globe, the language-immersion education programs developed by the Maori of New Zealand and Native Hawaiians have shown us that we can reverse the rapid loss of our languages. From them, we know that it is possible for our languages to flourish again. Not that long ago, the Maori and Native Hawaiians faced exactly the same scenario that we now face. Fluent speakers had dwindled to only a mere handful of elders. Children not only struggled to grasp their cultural identity, but they also struggled to find success or meaning in education. But then, a small group of dedicated parents started gathering to teach their children the languages that they were unwilling to let die. They gathered in living rooms, garages, backyards or wherever they could find space. As people began to notice the children speaking their languages, more parents flocked to these "language nests." With time, the living rooms became classrooms and the nests became fully developed immersion education systems. Today, Maori and Hawaiian speakers number in the thousands. Children are no longer lost in the educational system. They are unafraid to succeed and thrive. As one Maori educator told me when I visited New Zealand in 2004, they are "fiercely Maori." I dream of a day when we will have "fiercely Native" children succeeding at every level of education, speaking their languages and knowing who they are and from where they came. I believe in my heart that immersion education is the path that will lead us there. Language immersion education is the only effective method to produce large numbers fluent speakers. Additionally, contrary to some people's fears, language immersion education actually improves Native students' academic achievement, rather than hinders it. The combination of mental acuity developed by becoming bilingual and the academic confidence engendered when Indian culture is embraced in the classroom has proven remarkably successful for Indian children. Congress is currently considering Senate Bill 2674, which, if enacted, will promote language immersion education and provide much- needed funding for these programs. We must stand united to support this bill. Still, my experience with the Maori demonstrated to me that we cannot wait for Congress to sanction what we already know we must do. We must follow the lead of the Piegan Institute in Montana and the Akwesasne Immersion School in New York state, which have already begun critical immersion work. We must support the fledgling immersion programs at Colville, Gros Ventre and others to build their own language nests and create new generations of Native leaders that will bring us out of poverty and despair. And we must all recognize that Native languages not only connect us with our ancestors and our traditional ways, but also with each other. They provide a window to the rich cultural heritage of Native people, a heritage that is woven throughout the beautiful tapestry that is this society as a whole. From coyotez at UOREGON.EDU Sun Aug 27 15:00:25 2006 From: coyotez at UOREGON.EDU (David Lewis) Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 11:00:25 -0400 Subject: Endangered languages of our ancestors can flourish again In-Reply-To: Message-ID: And Interesting article. What is most interesting is the perspective of the author. Who is the proverbial "we" who is apparently ignoring the truths of language loss? I don't think this perspective is taking into account the fact that tribes/individuals/universities across the Americas are engaged in efforts to save native languages and are well aware of the cultural issues pointed out in the article. David Andre Cramblit wrote: > Endangered languages of our ancestors can flourish again > > By Richard B. Williams > > > Endangered languages of our ancestors can flourish again - By > Richard B. Williams source=email> > > Indian Country faces a historically unparalleled affront to > our cultural survival. Of the 300 Native languages spoken at the time > of European contact, it is estimated only 20 of these languages will > still be viable in 2050. View Full Story www.denverpost.comnull/ci_4242689?source=email> > > Indian Country faces a historically unparalleled affront to our > cultural survival. Of the 300 Native languages spoken at the time of > European contact, it is estimated only 20 of these languages will > still be viable in 2050. The rest will be irrevocably lost, and with > them will go the traditional knowledge that has sustained our people > since time immemorial. > > The impact will not be limited to Indian Country alone. The loss of > cultural, spiritual, medicinal and historical indigenous knowledge > has ramifications for all. > > If we continue to ignore these truths, this loss will come to pass > just as certainly as the sun continues to rise and set in the sky. > Yet, just as an eclipse shows us that sometimes the inevitable > patterns of nature can be altered, so do we have the ability to > change our future when it comes to saving our languages. But we > cannot wait. > > Fortunately, we are blessed to have the solution to language recovery > in our hands. Offered to us by our indigenous brothers and sisters > from around the globe, the language-immersion education programs > developed by the Maori of New Zealand and Native Hawaiians have shown > us that we can reverse the rapid loss of our languages. > > From them, we know that it is possible for our languages to flourish > again. > > Not that long ago, the Maori and Native Hawaiians faced exactly the > same scenario that we now face. Fluent speakers had dwindled to only > a mere handful of elders. Children not only struggled to grasp their > cultural identity, but they also struggled to find success or meaning > in education. > > But then, a small group of dedicated parents started gathering to > teach their children the languages that they were unwilling to let > die. They gathered in living rooms, garages, backyards or wherever > they could find space. As people began to notice the children > speaking their languages, more parents flocked to these "language > nests." With time, the living rooms became classrooms and the nests > became fully developed immersion education systems. > > Today, Maori and Hawaiian speakers number in the thousands. Children > are no longer lost in the educational system. They are unafraid to > succeed and thrive. As one Maori educator told me when I visited New > Zealand in 2004, they are "fiercely Maori." > > > I dream of a day when we will have "fiercely Native" children > succeeding at every level of education, speaking their languages and > knowing who they are and from where they came. I believe in my heart > that immersion education is the path that will lead us there. > > Language immersion education is the only effective method to produce > large numbers fluent speakers. Additionally, contrary to some > people's fears, language immersion education actually improves Native > students' academic achievement, rather than hinders it. The > combination of mental acuity developed by becoming bilingual and the > academic confidence engendered when Indian culture is embraced in the > classroom has proven remarkably successful for Indian children. > > Congress is currently considering Senate Bill 2674, which, if > enacted, will promote language immersion education and provide much- > needed funding for these programs. We must stand united to support > this bill. Still, my experience with the Maori demonstrated to me > that we cannot wait for Congress to sanction what we already know we > must do. > > We must follow the lead of the Piegan Institute in Montana and the > Akwesasne Immersion School in New York state, which have already > begun critical immersion work. We must support the fledgling > immersion programs at Colville, Gros Ventre and others to build their > own language nests and create new generations of Native leaders that > will bring us out of poverty and despair. > > And we must all recognize that Native languages not only connect us > with our ancestors and our traditional ways, but also with each other. > > They provide a window to the rich cultural heritage of Native people, > a heritage that is woven throughout the beautiful tapestry that is > this society as a whole. > From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 27 22:12:43 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 15:12:43 -0700 Subject: Microsoft unveils Incan version of Windows (fwd) Message-ID: Microsoft unveils Incan version of Windows Sat Aug 26, 2006 4:09 AM IST147 By Eduardo Garcia http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2006-08-26T035857Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-264935-1.xml&archived=False SUCRE, Bolivia (Reuters) - Microsoft launched a version of its software in the Incan language of Quechua on Friday, boosting Bolivian President Evo Morales' quest to promote Bolivia's native tongues. Some 200 people, many of them Quechuan Indians clad in ponchos, joined local Microsoft executives to unveil the version of the Windows operating system and Office software in Bolivia's constitutional capital. "Open" is replaced by "Kichay" and "Save" by "Waqaychay" in the version in Quechua -- a language spoken by more than 2.5 million people in Bolivia, and some 10 million throughout South America. Since taking power in January, Morales, an Aymara Indian, has sought to promote Indian culture and end discrimination against indigenous peoples in South America's poorest country. Government officials said they were excited about the new software but concerned it could be costly for many in Bolivia's poor indigenous majority. "We congratulate Microsoft for having facilitated the use of computers in our own languages, but we have to advance towards systems that are more open because we still have to pay a license fee (to use the software) to Microsoft," Bolivia's Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca said. Windows and Office In Quechua can be downloaded free from the Internet, but only by those who already own licensed versions of the software packages. Maritza Yapu, a 28-year-old Quechua teacher, thinks the new version will help Quechua speakers breach the digital divide with Spanish speakers in Bolivia. "Quechua is experiencing a revival, some university teachers read their courses in Quechua, and now the (education) Ministry is including the language in primary education," said the teacher. The Quechua translation was carried out by academics from three Peruvian universities in coordination with the Education Ministry in Peru -- where Quechua is also spoken -- and Microsoft. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 27 22:23:15 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 15:23:15 -0700 Subject: Technology News (fwd) Message-ID: Technology News http://www.canadaeast.com/cp/science/article.php?articleID=37342 WHITE EAGLE, Okla. (AP) - Suzanne White Eagle never dreamed in her 71 years she would see her native tongue - the Ponca language - speak back at her the way it did with new technology. White Eagle, a Ponca tribal citizen and Henry Lieb, 80, are two of the few people who speak the Ponca language. The Ponca Tribe has only about two dozen fluent speakers among its 3,000 tribal members, said Dan Jones, tribal chairman. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 27 22:28:41 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 15:28:41 -0700 Subject: Handheld 'Phraselator' helps preserve North American native languages (fwd) Message-ID: Handheld 'Phraselator' helps preserve North American native languages Christina Good Voice Canadian Press Sunday, August 27, 2006 http://www.canada.com/topics/technology/news/gizmos/story.html?id=c6945d61-849d-4be6-85d4-d9eb30fb0948&k=86402 WHITE EAGLE, Okla. (AP) - Suzanne White Eagle never dreamed in her 71 years she would see her native tongue - the Ponca language - speak back at her the way it did with new technology. White Eagle, a Ponca tribal citizen and Henry Lieb, 80, are two of the few people who speak the Ponca language. The Ponca Tribe has only about two dozen fluent speakers among its 3,000 tribal members, said Dan Jones, tribal chairman. With the help of the Phraselator P2, a handheld device capable of recording and playing back thousands of phrases, words, songs and stories, White Eagle and Lieb recorded their native language Wednesday. The Phraselator was developed for the U.S. military after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks but Don Thornton, a Cherokee citizen from California, knew this device could be useful for more than just national security. "My mother was part of that boarding school era, where Indian kids were made to be ashamed to be Indian," Thornton said. After a couple of years of endless requests, Thornton finally was able to purchase the Phraselator from defence contractor Voxtec International to be used for native language-revitalization. He said he spent about $12 million developing the device for use by tribes. The Phraselator costs about $3,300. "It's the only thing invented for communication," Thornton said. "The inventor of the device never imagined it could be used for language-revitalization." Thornton and his wife, Kara, run Thornton Media Inc., which is based in Banning, Calif. They spend most of their time travelling around the country and Canada recording the language of many different tribes. Some of the tribes in Oklahoma whose languages have been recorded are the Choctaw Nation, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, Comanche Nation, Ponca Tribe and the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribe of Oklahoma. About a dozen tribes have already recorded their speakers and have purchased the Phraselator. Thornton said the next couple of stops to record with tribes include the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and tribes in Montana and Alberta. The Ponca speakers said they can't believe they are going to have this sort of help in preserving their language. White Eagle has lived most of her life in White Eagle, which is about eight kilometres south of Ponca City and has the namesake of her husband's grandfather. She moved away for about 15 years while her husband was in the military. White Eagle said even before she left home she felt her tribe's language was "fading away." "It scared me - to see our language slipping away," White Eagle said. "So I said: 'Let's get started. Let's teach our language."' White Eagle said despite her determination and willingness to help teach the language, she knew it was going to take much more than just her. "So I thought: 'I'm going to pray about this,"' White Eagle said. Tuesday, White Eagle's prayers were answered. The Thorntons recorded with White Eagle and Lieb for two days and by mid-afternoon Wednesday, the two had recorded several hundred words and phrases. "It will take a couple of years - it'll happen when it's meant to be," Jones said. "Then we'll have it forever." Lieb, a well-known tribal elder and language instructor said he is a fluent speaker, if he can find someone to talk with. "English is my second language. I was born on a reservation - the language is all I know," Lieb said. Lieb's been pushing for the tribe to begin language courses since 1998. He's a Ponca language instructor at Frontier high school and he teaches a community course to Ponca men once a week. White Eagle teaches a course for Ponca women because men and women speak the language slightly different from one another. Lieb has developed a language program which he hopes to have in place by fall 2007. Jones said the Phraselator means a lot to the tribe because it will speed up the learning process. The tribal chairman said the tribe recently purchased two Phraselators from Thornton Media Inc. and also bought 25 language apparatuses aimed at children as young as four. "From everything I've learned, it's the easiest age to learn a foreign language," Jones said. "They're so much more able to adapt in learning it." The language device for the children is called the Little Linguist and it's a round kid-friendly device that has two large buttons on it. The device comes with several separate pieces in the forms of animals, trees and mountains. When a child places the toy into the device, it speaks the word in whatever language is on the small disk that's inserted into its side. "It's ironic," Thornton said. "That this tool, created by the U.S. government may help to save the languages that they attempted to wipe out for generations. With Phraselator tribes can now have full control over their languages without the help of outsiders." © The Canadian Press 2006 From nwarner at U.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 27 23:25:06 2006 From: nwarner at U.ARIZONA.EDU (Natasha L Warner) Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 16:25:06 -0700 Subject: Handheld 'Phraselator' helps preserve North American native languages (fwd) In-Reply-To: <20060827152841.j0z6sk04ows0g048@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: Hi, does anyone know what the functions of this "Phraselator" are in more detail than what's described in the newspaper article? The article describes a handheld recording device that can record and play back large numbers of brief recordings. (The one they describe for kids seems to have an additional system for specifying what to play back by means of picture tokens.) Why would they need to go to a defense contractor for that? It seems like it must do something else that isn't described. If someone is going around to lots of tribes and using it for many languages, what is it this device is doing? Thanks, Natasha ******************************************************************************* Natasha Warner Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics University of Arizona PO Box 210028 Tucson, AZ 85721-0028 From wjposer at LDC.UPENN.EDU Sun Aug 27 23:54:15 2006 From: wjposer at LDC.UPENN.EDU (William J Poser) Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 19:54:15 -0400 Subject: Handheld 'Phraselator' helps preserve North American native languages (fwd) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I've seen some information about this. What distinguishes it from any old digital audio player is the interface, which lets you select the utterance that you want to play. The reason that a defense contractor is involved is that the US military is using these things in Iraq. Since most soldiers speak little or no Arabic, they can find the utterance that they need, e.g. "Hands in the air!", and play it back in real Iraqi Arabic. If you just had a long list to scroll through as on many music players, somebody would be dead by the time you found the right phrase. As a means of documenting endangered languages these are not of much interest since they they are much more expensive than regular digital recorders. For language learning again it is cheaper and more versatile to put the recordings on a regular computer. The putative virtue of these things is that language learners can use them to have real conversations. I suspect that they aren't worth the cost. Even with several hundred or thousand utterances on them, they can't cover a very wide range of things that one wants to say, especially in languages with elaborate morphology. My impression is that they get people excited because they can carry around with them some "real language", but that they are actually not very useful. I think that the people pushing this probably have good intentions, but it looks like more "eye candy" to me. Bill From rzs at TDS.NET Mon Aug 28 16:20:08 2006 From: rzs at TDS.NET (Richard Smith) Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:20:08 -0700 Subject: Handheld 'Phraselator' helps preserve North American native languages In-Reply-To: <20060827235415.CF52DB2899@lorax.ldc.upenn.edu> Message-ID: The Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma has a device similar to what you described Though not portable. Slide a card with a word or phrase through it and it ³speaks² the word. The thing may have a function for preserving pronunciation, But I'm beginning to see first hand That language itself will not return because of any cool technology. Technology tends to beget more complex technology Technology has in many ways shattered community Now we no longer NEED one another. We no longer NEED to pray together. Ceremonies are becoming ³our Indian culture events² Something we can ADD to our life,if we choose to do so. We used to be a tight interdependent unit looking out It almost seems we are now on the outside looking in. Our own language sounds foreign uncomfortable in our Latin-based thinking processes. I¹ve heard it referred to as ³talkin¹ ndn² Our Language will return only when there is a NEED to become true and separate community again And we just have to be ready when or if that time comes We work with HOPE into an uncertain future A time when we are rebonded once more till we won¹t even think we¹re ³talkin¹ ndn² Richard Zane Smith Wyandotte, Oklahoma On 8/27/06 4:54 PM, "William J Poser" wrote: > I've seen some information about this. What distinguishes it > from any old digital audio player is the interface, which lets you > select the utterance that you want to play. The reason that a > defense contractor is involved is that the US military is using > these things in Iraq. Since most soldiers speak little or no Arabic, > they can find the utterance that they need, e.g. "Hands in the air!", > and play it back in real Iraqi Arabic. If you just had a long list > to scroll through as on many music players, somebody would be dead > by the time you found the right phrase. > > As a means of documenting endangered languages these are not > of much interest since they they are much more expensive than > regular digital recorders. For language learning again it is cheaper > and more versatile to put the recordings on a regular computer. > The putative virtue of these things is that language learners can use > them to have real conversations. I suspect that they aren't worth the > cost. Even with several hundred or thousand utterances on them, they > can't cover a very wide range of things that one wants to say, > especially in languages with elaborate morphology. My impression is > that they get people excited because they can carry around with them > some "real language", but that they are actually not very useful. > I think that the people pushing this probably have good intentions, > but it looks like more "eye candy" to me. > > Bill -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Wed Aug 30 01:21:37 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 18:21:37 -0700 Subject: Assistant Professor to Testify on Native American Language Preservation (fwd) Message-ID: August 29, 2006 Assistant Professor to Testify on Native American Language Preservation http://www.unm.edu/~market/cgi-bin/archives/001390.html Christine Sims will testify before a congressional committee in Albuquerque. The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce will hold a hearing on “Recovery and Preservation of Native American Languages” Thursday, Aug. 31 at 2:30 p.m. at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th Street NW in Albuquerque. Photo: Assistant Professor Christine Sims The hearing will examine the decline in Native American languages. Chairman Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, (R-CA) will be joined in leading the committee by Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM). Also serving on the committee are Rep. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI). Sims teaches in the Department of Language, Literature and Sociocultural Studies and is from the Pueblo of Acoma. Her work at UNM emphasizes the importance of teaching Native language as an essential part of the education of American Indian children. This hearing will examine the decline in Native American languages. The committee also will explore Native American language immersion programs as a solution to language preservation and will review the Native American Languages Preservation Act, legislation introduced by Rep. Wilson in February 2006 to secure the preservation of Native American languages. Across the country, Native American languages are in rapid decline. It is estimated that only twenty indigenous languages will remain viable by the year 2050. As a result of the rapid deterioration of Native languages, Native communities across the country have made language recovery and preservation one of their highest priorities. Media Contact: Greg Johnston, (505) 277-1816; e-mail: gregj at unm.edu From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Wed Aug 30 01:26:46 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 18:26:46 -0700 Subject: State's tribes devote resources to preserving their languages (fwd) Message-ID: State's tribes devote resources to preserving their languages By S.E. RUCKMAN World Staff Writer 8/29/2006 http://www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=060829_Ne_A1_State30252 [photo inset - Euchee tribe members Josephine Keith (left) and Maggie Marsey participate in a recent Euchee Language Project class in Sapulpa. Oklahoma tribes are taking various steps to ensure the survival of their languages. JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World] For more Listen to Maggie Marsey read Psalm 23 in Euchee, here. SAPULPA -- Henry Washburn would say it's a "de che ne," or battle, to keep his native tongue alive. "This is a hard language; I guess there's no other one like it anywhere," the Euchee elder said, chuckling. "Seems like it was only yesterday that I was a young boy, listening to my elders speak Euchee to me." Learning the Euchee language is painstaking. As an isolated American Indian language, it takes a special determination to learn because it is not linked to an existing language group. Another trick is recognizing slight variations between the way men and women speak the language. One is "women's talk" and the other is "man's talk." To speak outside of their proper context is not only incorrect but potentially embarrassing. A group of like-minded Euchees gathers daily to labor over the language of their ancestors. They are part of a small program, the Euchee Language Project. Launched in the 1990s, the program faces an uncertain future because a federal Administration for Native Americans grant was not renewed, said the program's coordinator, Richard Grounds. With the loss of the $175,000 grant, the group will look mostly to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, which helps fund the Euchee lingual effort. It focuses on daily classes for adults and weekly classes for children. "I think the language issue is the most critical in Indian Country," Grounds said. "We need to realize the other problems we have in tribes will be there in 10 years; our languages won't be." According to the Intertribal Wordpath Society, only 27 of Oklahoma's 38 tribes have language speakers left. Some tribes, such as the Ottawa, Otoe, and Delaware, have an estimated speaker count of less than five each, the society says. Grounds said those who are attempting to save a tribal language, especially in smaller tribes, face two critical hurdles -- financial and cultural resources. "Sometimes, we go to language preservation seminars and we cannot relate to them on the same page, because there are such big differences in what they can do and what we can realistically do," he said. A successful gaming operation can bolster a tribe's language efforts. The Cherokee Nation allocated $1.4 million to its language revitalization program in fiscal year 2005 and increased that amount to $2.5 million in fiscal year 2006, officials said. Larger tribal census numbers also mean more fluent speakers in a group. The Miami Tribe in Miami has no fluent speakers left, said Julie Olds, the tribe's cultural preservation officer. That means the 3,000-member tribe does not qualify for most grants to preserve language. The tribe shoulders the cost of its Miami Project, allocating money in its annual budget for language revitalization. It too is made possible with gaming profits, Olds said. The Miamis have made signifiBalance = 20.0 ptscant gains from having no fluent speakers since the early 1900s, officials said. The tribe printed its first Miami language dictionary in 2005. It subsequently mailed a copy to every enrolled Miami member. "We have tribal members who live all across the country, so it went everywhere," Olds said. Mary Linn, the curator of native languages at the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma, said the Miamis' achievements were epic in regard to saving their language. "Smaller tribes have something working for them that larger tribes don't and that is immediacy," she said of language preservation. "People tend to work better when the crisis is there. They are more unified." As some tribes search for funding, the 3,000-member Pawnee Nation is banking on a language immersion class that will start in January. It will focus on children, ages preschool to 5. Immersion is almost nonexistent among the state's smaller tribes, mainly because of the cost. But immersion should be viewed as a solution for tribes who want to save a language, said a native languages linguist, Cedric Sunray. A tribe has a better chance to restore fluency by surrounding members' children with the language, he said. The Pawnee Nation used its federal ANA grant to fund the new immersion program, which includes drafting a new pronunciation manual based on phonetics and not linguistics. The goal is to make the Pawnee language familiar, Sunray said. "When you're around it every day, your fluency level goes through the roof," he said. "We want to see the fireman's kid, the tribal employee's kid . . . the whole Pawnee tribe get out of the mold." Linn said Oklahoma has more spoken tribal languages than any other state. "What a boring world it would be if everyone spoke the same language," she said. "Just imagine if you could not speak to anyone in the language you grew up using, like English. This is why saving tribal languages is so important." S.E. Ruckman 581-8462 se.ruckman at tulsaworld.com From scoronel at PRINCETON.EDU Wed Aug 30 19:37:10 2006 From: scoronel at PRINCETON.EDU (Serafin M Coronel-Molina (scoronel@Princeton.EDU)) Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 15:37:10 -0400 Subject: Inca Language-Microsoft Message-ID: Title: CNN.com - Inca language gets jumpstart on Microsoft - Aug 25, 2006 CNN.com will expire this article on 09/24/2006. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/08/25/inca.microsoft.ap/index.html Also available at: http://www.cbc.ca/cp/technology/060825/z082510.html http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Aug25/0,4670,BoliviaMicrosoft,00.html SUCRE, Bolivia (AP) -- You have to press "Qallariy" to begin. Pronounced "KAH-lyah-ree," the word replaces "Start" on Microsoft Windows' familiar taskbar in a new Quechua translation of the program, which gets its Bolivian debut Friday. President Evo Morales, the South American nation's first Indian leader, has found an ally in the U.S. software giant as he promotes the native tongues of his country's indigenous majority. Some 2.6 million Bolivians -- nearly one third of the country -- speak the Incan language, and Morales sees empowering these people as his primary mission. Among the first users of Quechua software will be Indian members of a constituent assembly meeting in this colonial city to rewrite the nation's constitution. First launched in Peru in June and now freely available for download online, the software is a simple patch that translates the familiar Microsoft menus and commands. Microsoft Corp. teamed up with several universities in Peru's Quechua-speaking south to create the translation program, joining 47 other versions of Windows in such languages as Kazakh, Maori and Zulu. "More than anything, I was surprised," said 21-year-old Dilma Arancibia, a Quechua speaker invited to a Thursday preview of the program. "If they hadn't done this with Quechua, and if we don't teach it to our children, the language would definitely cease to exist." And while few of the estimated 10 million to 13 million Quechua speakers in South America have regular access to a computer, the project is paying dividends for Microsoft: The company recently won a contract from the Peruvian government for 5,000 Quechua-equipped computers. "Technology should be available to all," Microsoft said in a statement in response to e-mailed questions about the translation. "It helps improve the lives of people." Linguistics professors spent nearly three years reconciling 22 dialects of the language -- many without a formal written form -- to compile a vocabulary fit for Microsoft's programs. For "file," they chose "kipu" (KEE-poo), borrowing the name of an ancient Incan practice of recording information in an intricate system of knotted strings. "Internet" became "Llika" (LEE-ka), the Quechua word for spider web. The Quechua translation also includes many English words, as well as a few in Spanish. The greatest challenge was likely finding a balance between the use of foreign words and the creation of new terms, said Serafin Coronel-Molina, a linguist at Princeton University and native Quechua speaker. Borrowed words "are one way that a language evolves," he said. "But you can't just fill up a language with borrowed words, because then what have you got?" It seems the computers are also still trying to figure out Quechua. Sandra Picha was one of a dozen Quechua speakers invited to type out a letter to Morales at Thursday's preview. As she filled the screen with Quechua words, Microsoft's automatic spell-checker underlined every single one in red. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 31 04:12:11 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 21:12:11 -0700 Subject: software note: FMP Message-ID: fyi, File Maker Pro is now in unicode, see link below: FileMaker Pro in Simplified, Traditional Chinese http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0608/S00069.htm pcc From donaghy at HAWAII.EDU Thu Aug 31 04:30:30 2006 From: donaghy at HAWAII.EDU (Keola Donaghy) Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 18:30:30 -1000 Subject: software note: FMP In-Reply-To: <20060830211211.kpxa84s4osgososg@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: Aloha Phil, yes, has been for a while now (I believe since 7- something). I've done some databases with the Hawaiian language keyboard that ships with OS X, and works well. I've had a terrible time with FMP for serving web dabases since it first shipped with the web plugin and the CDML markup language (about FMP 3 or 4). It's much easier to develop databases that can be served via the web than it used to be, but I the server does seem to go deaf (i.e., not respond to web requests) even under a moderate load. I was told that FMP no longer uses that web plugin architecture and that the web server capability was completely re-written, but the behavior is exactly the same as I experienced previously. If you use access it over the web with FMP application itself it works great, but not with a web browser. At least my personal experience ;-) Keola ======================================================================= Keola Donaghy Assistant Professor of Hawaiian Studies Ka Haka 'Ula O Ke'elikolani keola at leoki.uhh.hawaii.edu University of Hawai'i at Hilo http://www2.hawaii.edu/~donaghy/ ======================================================================= On 30 ʻAu. 2006, at 6:12 PM, phil cash cash wrote: > File Maker Pro is now in unicode, see link below: > > FileMaker Pro in Simplified, Traditional Chinese > http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0608/S00069.htm From alexispalmer at MAIL.UTEXAS.EDU Tue Aug 1 20:18:45 2006 From: alexispalmer at MAIL.UTEXAS.EDU (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Alexis_Palmer?=) Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2006 13:18:45 -0700 Subject: Announcement: deadline extension, TLSX Message-ID: Extended deadline: 15 August 2006 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- TLSX: Texas Linguistics Society 10 Computational Linguistics for Less-Studied Languages November 3?5, 2006 University of Texas at Austin ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Description The past decade has seen great developments at the intersection of computational linguistics and language documentation, particularly in the focus areas of speech and video recording and transcription, best practices for data collection and archiving, and ontology development. TLSX aims to highlight the application of techniques from computational linguistics to the management and analysis of language data as well as to less-studied languages or less-studied varieties of well-studied languages. The goal of TLSX is to further the state of computational linguistics for less-studied languages by bringing together researchers working at this frontier and providing a forum for the presentation of original research. We anticipate work both from documentary and descriptive linguists interested in improving technologies for linguistic analysis and from computational linguists interested in theoretical issues such as the application of data-driven natural language processing (NLP) techniques to languages for which there exists relatively little digitally-available data. To that end, we invite submissions in the areas of computational analysis and management of linguistic data from less-studied languages. We also welcome submissions relating to the development of computational tools to facilitate such analysis. Possible topics include (but are not limited to): * machine learning in scarce data situations * multilingual grammar and lexicon development * cross-linguistic applicability of NLP methods * active learning * transfer learning * bootstrapping semi-automated annotation * challenges posed by particular languages or phenomena to current NLP methods Invited Speakers * Jason Baldridge, University of Texas at Austin * Emily Bender, University of Washington * Steven Bird, University of Melbourne * Katrin Erk, University of Texas at Austin * Mark Liberman, University of Pennsylvania * Raymond Mooney, University of Texas at Austin Submissions Submitted papers must be no longer than 10 pages and are expected to follow the CSLI format for Collected Volumes: http://cslipublications.stanford.edu/site/authors.html LaTeX2e package http://cslipublications.stanford.edu/site/cslipubscollection.tar.gz MS Word template and style guide http://cslipublications.stanford.edu/site/style_edited_vol_part2.doc Submissions due: August 15, 2006 (Extended) Notification: September 1, 2006 Meeting URL: http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~tls/2006tls E-mail contact: tls at uts.cc.utexas.edu Organizing Committee Stephen Hilderbrand, Heeyoung Lyu, Alexis Palmer, Elias Ponvert (all of UT Austin) From MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US Tue Aug 1 23:38:10 2006 From: MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US (Mia Kalish) Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2006 17:38:10 -0600 Subject: Modeling language death Message-ID: This is an excellent article. People might like to read it. It is short, 1 page, but full of implication. http://tam.cornell.edu/Strogatz%20language_death.pdf People are always impressed by that which can be "measured" or "modeled" . . . math is distant but impressive. I am using it as a grounding thesis for immersion learning materials. With a model, it's no longer a question of interpretation, belief, or position. 'Course, my dissertation is all about math anyway, so it's a nice way to go. Hope all are well. Raining here. Lots of floods. . . not where I live, but other places. Best, Mia -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From susan.penfield at GMAIL.COM Wed Aug 2 12:19:28 2006 From: susan.penfield at GMAIL.COM (Susan Penfield) Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2006 05:19:28 -0700 Subject: Modeling language death In-Reply-To: <001601c6b5c3$909a7690$6701a8c0@LFPMIA> Message-ID: Thanks for this, Mia Math is not my thing but even I could understand and appreciate this! Interesting to see how different disciplines can come to the same conclusions,but represent and discuss them in different ways. Adds the credibility of a really 'hard' science to the description of language death. Best, Susan On 8/1/06, Mia Kalish wrote: > > This is an excellent article. People might like to read it. > > > > It is short, 1 page, but full of implication. > > > > http://tam.cornell.edu/Strogatz%20language_death.pdf > > > > People are always impressed by that which can be "measured" or "modeled" > . . . math is distant but impressive. > > I am using it as a grounding thesis for immersion learning materials. With > a model, it's no longer a question of interpretation, belief, or position. > > 'Course, my dissertation is all about math anyway, so it's a nice way to > go. > > > > Hope all are well. Raining here. Lots of floods. . . not where I live, but > other places. > > > > Best, > > Mia > > > > > > > -- Susan D. Penfield, Ph.D. Department of English(Primary) Associate Director, Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy (CERCLL) American Indian Language Devel.Institute Department of Linguistics Second Language Acquistion &Teaching Ph.D. Program Dept. of Language,Reading and Culture The Southwest Center (Research) Phone for messages: (520) 621-1836 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US Wed Aug 2 13:05:29 2006 From: MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US (Mia Kalish) Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2006 07:05:29 -0600 Subject: Modeling language death In-Reply-To: <39a679e20608020519w2b188775yc7beab83faa6cf22@mail.gmail.com> Message-ID: I love the model; at least it?s a start. However, I don?t fully support their premise regarding bilinguality (x=0.5). In Computer Science, many, many languages co-exist. This is also true (or used to be true) in many non-American countries, where sometimes 4+ languages coexisted, for the different groups of people, for commerce, for law, that sort of thing. So I would like to see them apply the same model to the rise and fall of computer languages over the last 60-70 years . . . maybe I?ll write to them and tell them that. Well, I?m writing the results section of my dissertation . . . a bit ahead of actually building the movies so I can see all the assumptions and constraints and design for them. I am truly doing this in the philosophy of the Din? cycle of knowing :-) Best, Mia _____ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Susan Penfield Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 6:19 AM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Modeling language death Thanks for this, Mia Math is not my thing but even I could understand and appreciate this! Interesting to see how different disciplines can come to the same conclusions,but represent and discuss them in different ways. Adds the credibility of a really 'hard' science to the description of language death. Best, Susan On 8/1/06, Mia Kalish wrote: This is an excellent article. People might like to read it. It is short, 1 page, but full of implication. http://tam.cornell.edu/Strogatz%20language_death.pdf People are always impressed by that which can be "measured" or "modeled" . . . math is distant but impressive. I am using it as a grounding thesis for immersion learning materials. With a model, it's no longer a question of interpretation, belief, or position. 'Course, my dissertation is all about math anyway, so it's a nice way to go. Hope all are well. Raining here. Lots of floods. . . not where I live, but other places. Best, Mia -- Susan D. Penfield, Ph.D. Department of English(Primary) Associate Director, Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy (CERCLL) American Indian Language Devel.Institute Department of Linguistics Second Language Acquistion &Teaching Ph.D. Program Dept. of Language,Reading and Culture The Southwest Center (Research) Phone for messages: (520) 621-1836 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US Wed Aug 2 21:01:45 2006 From: MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US (Mia Kalish) Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2006 15:01:45 -0600 Subject: Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Message-ID: Hi, Everyone, This is a reminder that Sue and I need to know if you will be submitting digital media for the Language Revitalization Digital Poster at LSA in Anaheim in January. We don't have to have the actual submission, with your abstracts or descriptions, but we do need to know so that we can submit our formal poster description to the LSA by September 1st. If people could write and tell me if they are going to send something, and if you have a description, it would be wonderful if you would send that along, also. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions. Thanks, Mia -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From onursenarslan at YAHOO.COM Thu Aug 3 01:49:01 2006 From: onursenarslan at YAHOO.COM (Onur Senarslan) Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2006 18:49:01 -0700 Subject: Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January In-Reply-To: <003101c6b676$e1391ad0$6701a8c0@LFPMIA> Message-ID: Hi Mia, I have 4 language CDs which I would like to submit: Beginning Tohono O'odham CD I-II Beginning Southern Paiute (Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah) Beginning Southern Paiute (Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians) Currently I am teaching overseas. I am coming back to the States at the end of August. All the best, Onur Senarslan Mia Kalish wrote: Hi, Everyone, This is a reminder that Sue and I need to know if you will be submitting digital media for the Language Revitalization Digital Poster at LSA in Anaheim in January. We don?t have to have the actual submission, with your abstracts or descriptions, but we do need to know so that we can submit our formal poster description to the LSA by September 1st. If people could write and tell me if they are going to send something, and if you have a description, it would be wonderful if you would send that along, also. Don?t hesitate to contact me if you have questions. Thanks, Mia Onur Senarslan, Linguistic Anthropologist onursenarslan at yahoo.com http://www.geocities.com/onursenarslan --------------------------------- How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger?s low PC-to-Phone call rates. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US Thu Aug 3 14:09:25 2006 From: MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US (Mia Kalish) Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2006 08:09:25 -0600 Subject: Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January In-Reply-To: <20060803014901.72862.qmail@web36814.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Excellent! Thank you very much, Onur. Will you be sending them to me when you return? Mia _____ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Onur Senarslan Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 7:49 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Hi Mia, I have 4 language CDs which I would like to submit: Beginning Tohono O'odham CD I-II Beginning Southern Paiute (Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah) Beginning Southern Paiute (Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians) Currently I am teaching overseas. I am coming back to the States at the end of August. All the best, Onur Senarslan Mia Kalish wrote: Hi, Everyone, This is a reminder that Sue and I need to know if you will be submitting digital media for the Language Revitalization Digital Poster at LSA in Anaheim in January. We don't have to have the actual submission, with your abstracts or descriptions, but we do need to know so that we can submit our formal poster description to the LSA by September 1st. If people could write and tell me if they are going to send something, and if you have a description, it would be wonderful if you would send that along, also. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions. Thanks, Mia Onur Senarslan, Linguistic Anthropologist onursenarslan at yahoo.com http://www.geocities.com/onursenarslan _____ How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jtucker at STARBAND.NET Thu Aug 3 14:27:53 2006 From: jtucker at STARBAND.NET (Jan Tucker) Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2006 10:27:53 -0400 Subject: Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January In-Reply-To: <000f01c6b706$731faba0$6701a8c0@LFPMIA> Message-ID: Hi Mia, aren't we collaborating on something to present? Email me off list, I'll have time to devote to this work for three whole weeks! jan -----Original Message----- From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU]On Behalf Of Mia Kalish Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 10:09 AM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Excellent! Thank you very much, Onur. Will you be sending them to me when you return? Mia ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Onur Senarslan Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 7:49 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Hi Mia, I have 4 language CDs which I would like to submit: Beginning Tohono O'odham CD I-II Beginning Southern Paiute (Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah) Beginning Southern Paiute (Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians) Currently I am teaching overseas. I am coming back to the States at the end of August. All the best, Onur Senarslan Mia Kalish wrote: Hi, Everyone, This is a reminder that Sue and I need to know if you will be submitting digital media for the Language Revitalization Digital Poster at LSA in Anaheim in January. We don't have to have the actual submission, with your abstracts or descriptions, but we do need to know so that we can submit our formal poster description to the LSA by September 1st. If people could write and tell me if they are going to send something, and if you have a description, it would be wonderful if you would send that along, also. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions. Thanks, Mia Onur Senarslan, Linguistic Anthropologist onursenarslan at yahoo.com http://www.geocities.com/onursenarslan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cspaulding at ROSETTASTONE.COM Thu Aug 3 19:40:21 2006 From: cspaulding at ROSETTASTONE.COM (Spaulding, Craig) Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2006 15:40:21 -0400 Subject: Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January In-Reply-To: A<000f01c6b706$731faba0$6701a8c0@LFPMIA> Message-ID: Mia, A couple of questions: * What length movie/presentation are you looking for? * What is the deadline for the getting the actual presentation to you, and * Is there any cost involved? Thanks, Craig Spaulding Project Manager Endangered Language Program Fairfield Language Technologies 135 West Market Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801 800-788-0822 ext. 3308 FAX: 540-437-2829 www.RosettaStone.com ________________________________ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Mia Kalish Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 10:09 AM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Excellent! Thank you very much, Onur. Will you be sending them to me when you return? Mia ________________________________ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Onur Senarslan Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 7:49 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Hi Mia, I have 4 language CDs which I would like to submit: Beginning Tohono O'odham CD I-II Beginning Southern Paiute (Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah) Beginning Southern Paiute (Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians) Currently I am teaching overseas. I am coming back to the States at the end of August. All the best, Onur Senarslan Mia Kalish wrote: Hi, Everyone, This is a reminder that Sue and I need to know if you will be submitting digital media for the Language Revitalization Digital Poster at LSA in Anaheim in January. We don't have to have the actual submission, with your abstracts or descriptions, but we do need to know so that we can submit our formal poster description to the LSA by September 1st. If people could write and tell me if they are going to send something, and if you have a description, it would be wonderful if you would send that along, also. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions. Thanks, Mia Onur Senarslan, Linguistic Anthropologist onursenarslan at yahoo.com http://www.geocities.com/onursenarslan ________________________________ How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US Thu Aug 3 23:06:50 2006 From: MiaKalish at LEARNINGFORPEOPLE.US (Mia Kalish) Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2006 17:06:50 -0600 Subject: Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Hi, Craig, Length is up to you. I have seen some of the materials on tv, and it would be nice to have something a bit longer than 1 page. :-) We have some short skits (2-3 minutes) and some really large demonstrations. I have some 1-hour movies, and some half hour movies. So it really depends on the message you are trying to get across. I am structuring the presentation framework to fit the materials that come in, rather than the other way around. No, there is no cost involved. If you send me the stuff over the Internet, its only your time. If you snail mail them to me, it's the cost of postage. Didn't you just finish a huge project with the Iroquois? If the Tribe would agree, some of that would be fantastic. Just a suggestion, I don't want to be rude. Best, Mia _____ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Spaulding, Craig Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 1:40 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Mia, A couple of questions: * What length movie/presentation are you looking for? * What is the deadline for the getting the actual presentation to you, and * Is there any cost involved? Thanks, Craig Spaulding Project Manager Endangered Language Program Fairfield Language Technologies 135 West Market Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801 800-788-0822 ext. 3308 FAX: 540-437-2829 www.RosettaStone.com _____ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Mia Kalish Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2006 10:09 AM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Excellent! Thank you very much, Onur. Will you be sending them to me when you return? Mia _____ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Onur Senarslan Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 7:49 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Digital Poster Session in Anaheim in January Hi Mia, I have 4 language CDs which I would like to submit: Beginning Tohono O'odham CD I-II Beginning Southern Paiute (Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah) Beginning Southern Paiute (Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians) Currently I am teaching overseas. I am coming back to the States at the end of August. All the best, Onur Senarslan Mia Kalish wrote: Hi, Everyone, This is a reminder that Sue and I need to know if you will be submitting digital media for the Language Revitalization Digital Poster at LSA in Anaheim in January. We don't have to have the actual submission, with your abstracts or descriptions, but we do need to know so that we can submit our formal poster description to the LSA by September 1st. If people could write and tell me if they are going to send something, and if you have a description, it would be wonderful if you would send that along, also. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions. Thanks, Mia Onur Senarslan, Linguistic Anthropologist onursenarslan at yahoo.com http://www.geocities.com/onursenarslan _____ How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dzo at BISHARAT.NET Fri Aug 4 14:10:58 2006 From: dzo at BISHARAT.NET (d_z_o) Date: Fri, 4 Aug 2006 14:10:58 -0000 Subject: African governments "wish ... small languages [to] die" ? Message-ID: This evaluation and other remarks by Nigerian linguist Ben Elugbe about language planning in Africa may be of interest. This passage comes from a paper presented 10 years ago (reference at end), so it would be interesting to know the author's current take on the situation. (Cf. also part of a recent interview with Ugandan Pres. Museveni at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/message/622 ) Don Osborn ... The development of African languages is not uniform across the continent. Some languages have been fortunate, others have not. Some parts of the same language have been fortunate - others have not. Even so, it has been the case that large languages (as defined within a given country) have received attention. By contrast, small (often called "minority") languages have been less fortunate. It is probably the wish of African governments in multilingual countries that the small languages should die. Fortunately, because these languages have speakers and because their speakers do not always have literacy in a viable alternative, the rate of extinction is surprisingly low. Hence the problem of language simply will not disappear. There are convincing arguments for avoiding the development of African languages in the multilingual states. First of all, multilanguage policies are considered expensive (which they are) and disuniting (which has never been proved). It is also true that investment in language is not quantifiable in real statistics - unlike investment in oil production, in wheat production, or in dairy farming, for example. Yet there are advantages in encouraging the development of African languages - large and small. These include the fact that the speakers of such a language develop a sense of political care and belonging. The speakers are automatically carried into the modern age because new ideas, modern ideas, can be presented in the language they understand best. (Note that this point implies that language development goes beyond the provision of a writing system and readers or primers; it includes the expansion of the vocabulary of the language to cope with new ideas.) Education is a major beneficiary as children would be able to learn - at least for a while - in their mother tongues. There is thus a major gain for national development. Governments have to look beyond the immediate to see the gains of policies charitable towards African languages. Of course, the problem needs planning, a trait not too often associated with governments in this part of the world. A country should have an accurate figure of the number of languages within its borders and the size of each as defined by speakers and territory. If it does not (language is an elastic term), it should have a good idea of the linguistic situation in every part of its territory. Questions to be answered would include the number of languages; the extent of each language; the diversity among the languages; the number of speakers; etc. ... Elugbe, Ben. 1998. "Cross-border and Major Languages of Africa." In K. Leg?re, ed. Cross-border languages : reports and studies, Regional Workshop on Cross-Border Languages, National Institute for Educational Development (NIED), Okahandja, 23-27 September 1996. Windhoek : Gamsberg Macmillan. (page 24) From pasxapu at DAKOTACOM.NET Sun Aug 6 18:19:30 2006 From: pasxapu at DAKOTACOM.NET (philcashcash) Date: Sun, 6 Aug 2006 11:19:30 -0700 Subject: NOAA scientists name Alaskan fish with Aleut words (fwd) Message-ID: NOAA scientists name Alaskan fish with Aleut words http://www.sitnews.us/0806news/080406/080406_unangas.html August 04, 2006 Friday AM NOAA Fisheries scientists have chosen Aleut words to officially name four fish species they found in the Aleutian Islands that were new to science. A snailfish, allocareproctus-unangas, newly described and documented by NOAA scientists, has been officially named in honor of the people of the Aleutian Islands. 'Unangas' is a word for the Aleuts of Atka Island, a major island near the center of the new species' known range. Photo courtesy NOAA Scientists Dr. James Orr, Duane Stevenson, and Morgan Busby of NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center collaborated with Aleut language teacher Moses Dirks from the Unalaska School District and with NOAA Fisheries anthropologist Jennifer Sepez on naming the species. Dirks, a native speaker and linguist, worked with local elders to see if there were already any Aleut names for this kind of fish, then helped suggest names or offer translations of descriptive terms suggested by NOAA's scientists. "Moses Dirks has worked tirelessly to preserve, document, and teach Unangam Tunuu," said Dr. Sepez. "We were honored to work with him." Unangam Tunuu is the Aleut name for the Aleut language. Dr. Orr, one of the ichthyologists involved, said, "We used these names to recognize the people who were here before we scientists arrived. We hoped to honor the Aleut culture, in a small way, by preserving these words within the scientific names." Three of the newly named species are snailfishes (genus Allocareproctus), smooth and shiny with no scales, in colors from peach to pink to red and ranging in size from about three to seven inches long. Scientists found them in waters of the Aleutian Islands between 250 and 2,130 feet down. A fourth newly named fish species-an eelpout (genus Lycodes)-also appears scale-less but has very small scales and looks more like an eel. It is closer to a foot long. NOAA researchers conducting annual scientific bottom trawl surveys in the central Aleutian Islands found the new type of eelpout. Two specimens had remnants of sea urchins in their stomachs. The native people of the Aleutian Islands have extensive knowledge and understanding of the marine environment. Fish and marine mammals feed their populations, animate their stories, and sustain their culture. But the newly discovered species are all relatively small fish from very deep water -- not the usual fishing target of an Alaska Native fisherman. Orr, on the other hand, has spent the last ten years examining marine life from the Aleutian depths. The namers titled one of the fish-whose complete name is 'Allocareproctus tanix'--using the Aleut word for forehead, 'tanix', referring to the fact that is has no whiskers on its smooth, pale 'forehead', unlike the other species which have many whiskers on their heads. 'Allocareproctus ungak' uses the Alutiiq word for whiskers, 'ungak' in reference to the whisker-like papillae on the fish's head. 'Allocareproctus unangas' was named in honor of the people of the Aleutian Islands. 'Unangas' is a word for the Aleuts of Atka Island, a major island near the center of the known distribution of the newly named species. Scientists found specimens of the new eelpout species between Samalga Pass and Seguam Pass on different expeditions from 1994 through 2004, and again this summer. They named the species 'Lycodes akuugun'. The word 'akuugun' is the Aleut name for the native inhabitants of the Islands of Four Mountains, the region in which the species was discovered. "Every two to three years we survey the Aleutian Islands to provide fisheries and ecosystem data to manage the marine resources," explained Orr. "Finding four new species in Alaskan waters indicates just how much we have yet to learn about our marine environment. And we know of several new species still to be named." At least one of these undescribed species is a snailfish from a different genus that will also bear an Aleut species name. The species of snailfishes turned out to be quite common throughout the Aleutians, but because the genus had been known from only a handful of specimens from the western Pacific off Japan and the Kuril Islands, what was thought to be the single member of the genus and these new species had been overlooked. "We were sailing at different times on four chartered fishing vessels out of Dutch Harbor when we found Lycodes akuugun specimens", said Orr-"the Dominator, the Vesteraalen, the Gladiator and the Sea Storm. Thanks to the efforts of other scientists aboard the vessels, as well, the specimens were returned to our laboratory where Duane [Stevenson] and I were able to recognize them as representing a previously unknown species." Source of News: NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) www.fakr.noaa.gov -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 080406_unangas.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1825 bytes Desc: not available URL: From Carolyn.Hepburn at SAULTCOLLEGE.CA Tue Aug 8 13:03:36 2006 From: Carolyn.Hepburn at SAULTCOLLEGE.CA (Carolyn Hepburn) Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2006 09:03:36 -0400 Subject: Modern tool is utilized in the rebuilding of languages Message-ID: Fyi. Thanks Carolyn Modern tool is utilized in the rebuilding of languages August 02, 2006 by: Konnie LeMay / Indian Country Today KAHNAWAKE, Quebec - The creators of a popular immersion language-learning software program called Rosetta Stone are marketing their services under an endangered language program geared toward revitalizing languages. Under the program, indigenous communities contract with Fairfield Language Technologies Inc. of Harrisonburg, Va., to develop language learning software. The communities provide the language expertise and images to use. The voices on the programs are those of fluent local speakers. Currently, four programs are under development: for the Kahnawake Mohawk community near Montreal, (a recently completed program), the NANA Regional Corporation in Alaska and its Inupiat shareholders, the Labrador Inuit Association and the Seminole Tribe in Miccosukee, Fla. ''The way that we teach languages through our software has been very successful,'' said Marion Bittinger of Fairfield Language Technologies. Communities contacted the company for help, and the Endangered Language Program was born. Rather than simply a grammar- or writing-based teaching tool, the Rosetta Stone system harkens to how children first learn to speak: associating new words with images of situations or objects. The program uses thousands of images and interactive lessons to prompt students to understand spoken and written words and phrases. A demonstration of how the immersion concept works can be found at www.rosettastone.com. The name Rosetta Stone was inspired by the stone tablet found in the northern Egyptian city formerly called Rosetta. The tablet, inscribed with three writing systems, including hieroglyphics, unlocked the meaning of those ancient Egyptian inscriptions. Unlike some teaching methods, Rosetta Stone does not translate from one language to another, so English, for example, is not used to teach Kanien'keha, the language of the Kanien'kehaka (Mohawk, or ''People of the Flint''). Thus Kanien'keha words don't lose possible aspects of their meaning in the learning process. ''The language that you're learning stands on its own feet,'' Bittinger said. This particular Rosetta Stone software, released this past spring, was the first completed under the Endangered Language Program. North America once had about 300 indigenous languages, according to the company. Today, with only about 25 of those languages spoken fluently by children and others already lost, an additional 150 languages may disappear with the current generation of elders. The loss of many languages can be traced to the polices of both the United States and Canada to eliminate languages for First Nations children forced into boarding or residential schools. Once the programs are developed and Rosetta Stone assists with training in the use of the software, the language program is sold and distributed by the community. The visual images in the computer programs are of people and places from the communities themselves. This is a particularly pleasing element of the system, said Kaherakwas Donna Goodleaf, executive director of the Kanien'kehaka Onkwawen:na Raotitiohkwa Language and Cultural Centre and manager of the Rosetta Stone program for the Kahnawake community. Incorporating pictures and images from the community make it more culturally relevant, Goodleaf said. ''What is helpful is that you're using images, you're using pictures of our own people.'' Of the about 8,000 people from the Kahnawake community, some 10 percent are fluent speakers of Kanien'keha. ''Language is such a direct link to who we are as a people - language plays a very vital role. It informs our world view of who we are and connects us to our land and all the history that comes with it,'' Goodleaf said. ''To ensure that we continue to survive as distinct indigenous nations, the Kanien'kehaka Onkwawen:na Raotitiohkwa is taking an aggressive approach in developing and promoting new language immersion programs for our community.'' Rosetta Stone is just one of the language tools the community has chosen. In 1999, at the encouragement of local elders, the community council passed a language law that requires use of Kanien'keha in all educational, work and business and community settings. The cultural center produces two local cable network shows aired in the language and 90 percent of the community has this cable network, Goodleaf said. In fact, the children's puppet show program, ''Tota Tanon Ohkwa:ri,'' has been so popular that the cultural center is putting it on DVDs for the community and schools to use and for other Mohawk communities to access. For the fifth year, the cultural center is about to offer a nine-month adult language-immersion program, Ratiwennahni:rats. Former students who are parents were encouraged to set up their own parent language nest group. The cultural center is setting up a computer lab so community members can access a language-learning experience designed to meet individual or group needs. ''This is where the Rosetta Stone plays in,'' she added. Hope for the future of this voice of the people runs high for Goodleaf, who sees a strong shift in language preservation and usage in the community thanks to the efforts of parents, schools, leadership and businesses. ''In 20 years, we'll have the majority of our community members communicating in our language, whereby Kahnahwakero:non will be speaking, reading and writing in our language.'' Those efforts are succeeding and shined through at the cultural center's annual language variety-night show in which schools from the Kahnawake and other Kanien'kehaka communities do skits or entertainment in Kanien'keha. It was so beautiful and hopeful that evening to hear and see preschool children in the audience talking to one another in Kanien'keha, Goodleaf remembered. The joy was especially felt by community elders, she said. ''They were so happy to see these children walking around and talking to each other in our language.'' Carolyn Hepburn Director, Native Education and Training Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology 443 Northern Avenue Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 5L3 Phone: (705) 759-2554 ext. 2499 Fax: (705) 759-0175 Web: www.saultcollege.ca/NativeEducation -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jtucker at STARBAND.NET Tue Aug 8 22:23:46 2006 From: jtucker at STARBAND.NET (Jan Tucker) Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2006 18:23:46 -0400 Subject: Minnesota Humanities Commission Native Language workshop In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Great story, as usual, I can just picture it all, the woods and the children, and you and your wife performing for the children. You earned that walk in the woods it sounds like, and why can't you do it all? Another good story... Jan -----Original Message----- From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU]On Behalf Of Richard Smith Sent: Monday, July 10, 2006 3:19 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] Minnesota Humanitites Commission Native Language workshop Richard LaFortune, Great to hear about the workshop You are working precisely in the area of my interest Getting our languages into great books for kids reaching towards our unknown future generations I've honestly been discouraged by the lack of adult passion among my tribal members to put out the effort this language work requires And I wonder at times if it really is "too late" It seriously makes me want to disappear, retreating into the woods where I'm content quiet and can sing my own prayersongs and dip into the cold creek And be free from the absurd crazy noisy mansworld that makes no sense. Am I wasting my breath on these resuscitation efforts? Ripping away pieces of my life on that which is already dead and gone? But then I stop... I picture kids bright faces in the school here in Wyandotte Okl. Sitting in their circles waiting impatiently for my wife and I to visit For the time of winter stories and the puppets I see them now Singing out an old Wyandot song I taught them, And the new fun songs I love to create for them And wow...listen! they're speaking the language,sounding words with such great pronunciation and inflection Having no hang-ups with the nasals or glottal stops...no problem! The waterdrum comes out And I thump it testing the skin a little girl nods smiling, "It sounds happy today!" So... I stay What else can I do? Richard Zane Smith artist /non-linguist/Wyandot On 7/10/06 7:45 AM, "Richard LaFortune" wrote: > We have a very good crowd (more than 80) of people > here today in St. Paul for this historic, day-long > workshop. I first began working with the commission > about 9-10 years ago when I launched the Grotto > Foundation Native language research initiative (now a > $5.6M fifteen year long program). > > As state-wide legislative co-chair for the Dakota > Ojibwe Language Revitalization Alliance I approached > MHC again a little over a year ago & suggested that we > explore a Native language children's literature > initiative -- this workshop presents the first step > in what we hope will generate several dozen beautiful, > hardcover Native language children's books in Dakota & > Ojibwe. I created a tenative budget for about $2.25M > over a 2-3 period so that children's books, regional > dialect dictionaries & some master-apprentice work can > be used as the starting point for long-term > humanties/cultural conservation-based work with this > state institution. If anyone on the listserve has > questions about how we put this together in Minnesota, > I'm on the organizing committee & I am happy to be a > resource --or of course you can contact the commission > administration as well. > > peace! > Anguksuar (Richard LaFortune) > co-Chair, Dakota Ojibwe Language Revitalization > Alliance > 612.267.1682 > > > > Dakota and Ojibwe Language and Literacy Workshop > Monday, July 10, 2006 > 9:00 a.m. ? 4:00 p.m. > Humanities Education Center, St. Paul > > The Minnesota Humanities Commission is partnering with > Dakota and Ojibwe language supporters to offer a > workshop that honors these languages and cultures. The > emphasis of this workshop will be on materials for use > in early childhood (ages 0-8) language programs. Dr. > Anton Treuer, Assistant Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji > State University, will open the workshop with a > session on the importance of language revitalization. > Breakout sessions will highlight various immersion > program models; how to work together with elders in > language programs; and how to make books for use with > young children and their families. Exhibitors will > display and sell children?s books and other Dakota and > Ojibwe language materials for use with young children > and their families. This workshop is open to all > educators who have an interest in preserving Native > American languages. Registration for this seminar is > now closed. > > Fee: $25, which includes lunch and a cassette > recording of From the Sky: Stories in Song from Native > North America. > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com From hsouter at GMAIL.COM Wed Aug 9 12:29:27 2006 From: hsouter at GMAIL.COM (Heather Souter) Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 07:29:27 -0500 Subject: Minnesota Humanitites Commission Native Language workshop In-Reply-To: <20060710144534.63347.qmail@web31108.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Taanshi, Richard, I am interested to learn more about your initiatives. I am a Michif and live in Northern Manitoba. I have had an interest in language revitalization for some time and was involved in a Master-Apprentice project for a while as well. I have recently left my job and will be devoting my time to learning more Michif, gathering medicines with an elder, and preparing to go to grad school. I have been accepted into KU starting January 2007 (with a full-tuition waiver, thank the Creator!) and will be working with Akira Yamamoto and Arienne Dwyer. Actually, I believe I met a couple of years ago you and was very impressed (almost overwhelmed!) by the work you had done. You continue to more forward, and so I would like to learn from your experience. To be honest with you, I had hoped to be further along in my language learning and revitalization efforts by now. Life in my small mixed (English, Objibwe, Michif and Cree) community of speakers is a struggle. We are constantly challenged by our mixed status (First Nation treaty-holders, "non-status" Indians, and Metis/Michif nation members (aboriginal but non-treaty holders) and the related status of our languages. However, be that as it may, I have recommitted myself to my language/culture. And, since funding seems to be a constant problem, I am eager to learn more about other successes in this area. This is especially important as the false economy of welfare is central to almost everyone's life here. It would be great to be able to offer something to elders and others who want to get involved but need a few more resources to motivate them.... BTW, how far do you live from the Canadian border? I live about 4-5 hours from Winnipeg.... Eekushi maaka, Heather Souter On 7/10/06, Richard LaFortune wrote: > We have a very good crowd (more than 80) of people > here today in St. Paul for this historic, day-long > workshop. I first began working with the commission > about 9-10 years ago when I launched the Grotto > Foundation Native language research initiative (now a > $5.6M fifteen year long program). > > As state-wide legislative co-chair for the Dakota > Ojibwe Language Revitalization Alliance I approached > MHC again a little over a year ago & suggested that we > explore a Native language children's literature > initiative -- this workshop presents the first step > in what we hope will generate several dozen beautiful, > hardcover Native language children's books in Dakota & > Ojibwe. I created a tentative budget for about $2.25M > over a 2-3 period so that children's books, regional > dialect dictionaries & some master-apprentice work can > be used as the starting point for long-term > humanties/cultural conservation-based work with this > state institution. If anyone on the listserve has > questions about how we put this together in Minnesota, > I'm on the organizing committee & I am happy to be a > resource --or of course you can contact the commission > administration as well. > > peace! > Anguksuar (Richard LaFortune) > co-Chair, Dakota Ojibwe Language Revitalization > Alliance > 612.267.1682 > > > > Dakota and Ojibwe Language and Literacy Workshop > Monday, July 10, 2006 > 9:00 a.m. ? 4:00 p.m. > Humanities Education Center, St. Paul > > The Minnesota Humanities Commission is partnering with > Dakota and Ojibwe language supporters to offer a > workshop that honors these languages and cultures. The > emphasis of this workshop will be on materials for use > in early childhood (ages 0-8) language programs. Dr. > Anton Treuer, Assistant Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji > State University, will open the workshop with a > session on the importance of language revitalization. > Breakout sessions will highlight various immersion > program models; how to work together with elders in > language programs; and how to make books for use with > young children and their families. Exhibitors will > display and sell children's books and other Dakota and > Ojibwe language materials for use with young children > and their families. This workshop is open to all > educators who have an interest in preserving Native > American languages. Registration for this seminar is > now closed. > > Fee: $25, which includes lunch and a cassette > recording of From the Sky: Stories in Song from Native > North America. > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 10 04:19:21 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 21:19:21 -0700 Subject: Tribal teens use film to tell the stories of who they are (fwd) Message-ID: Published: Tuesday, August 8, 2006 Tribal teens use film to tell the stories of who they are By Krista J. Kapralos Herald Writer http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/08/08/100loc_b1film001.cfm EVERETT - The spotlight was on Aaron Jones, 13, and he shifted from one foot to another. "Um, thanks," he said, and thrust the hand-held microphone back toward the podium onstage at the Historic Everett Theatre. He and his brother, Derek Jones, 17, collected their armfuls of awards and hurried toward a small keyboard at stage left. Derek sat down and began playing a musical diversion during intermission at the first-ever Tulalip Film Festival awards ceremony. For many American Indians, attention from the world outside the reservation boundaries can be fearsome. Mainstream video cameras capture poverty, suicide or corruption. When Indians turn their own cameras on themselves, the picture is very different. The 20 films submitted to the Tulalip Film Festival, which ended Friday, refused to gloss over the challenges on reservations, but they didn't abandon their characters there. In one film, young Indians escape to Montana's backcountry for a leadership camp. In another, women discuss how they look and feel different than non-Indians. Puppets share the tribal legend of "Deer and Changer" in both English and Lushootseed, the traditional language of the Tulalip Tribes. A boy's father turns to alcohol to cope with the death of a friend. One by one, stereotypes of tribal culture are challenged. "By charging the youth with the skills necessary to tell their own stories and to put those images out in the media in our own way, the broader public will see native persons the way we see ourselves, with all the cultural complexities," American Indian filmmaker Tracy Rector said. Rector is director of Longhouse Media/Native Lens, a Seattle-based nonprofit that trains American Indian teenagers around the state in digital film. Her organization submitted three of the festival's 20 films. The Tulalip Film Festival was born out of a conference that suggested that distance learning students use digital media to submit projects and connect with their professors. Daniel Jones, Tulalip site manager for Northwest Indian College, discovered that students could learn filmmaking skills with the same technology. Jones received a $15,000 grant from the Tulalip Tribes to help fund a week's worth of filmmaking classes for 25 students. Students also took a drum-making class. The drums were featured in several of the films they created. Both of Jones' sons, Tulalip tribal members Aaron and Derek Jones, participated in the class. "I just picked up a camera in March and started filming," Derek said. "I continued that with this class." Sam Longoria, who has worked on Oscar-nominated movies during a long career in Hollywood, volunteered to help train the students. Longoria, who has a home in Lake Stevens, said he wanted to help because his first feature film was shot on the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation south of Seattle. Stephen Jiminez, an instructor at Northwest Indian College in Bellingham, also taught the students. On Friday, several of the students gathered at the Historic Everett Theatre on Colby Avenue to see their work on the big screen. There were technical hiccups and muffled dialogue, but also a deep sense of pride. Their lives, for so long mundane, joyful and sometimes painful collections of daily tasks, were suddenly in the spotlight. "Often times communities don't want to air their dirty laundry, but when it comes from the youth, the youth are honest by saying, 'This is my story, this is who I am,'" Rector said. "Once they're able to express that and acknowledge who they are, both good and bad, they're able to move on." From Rrlapier at AOL.COM Thu Aug 10 15:34:01 2006 From: Rrlapier at AOL.COM (Rrlapier at AOL.COM) Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:34:01 EDT Subject: Innaihtsiiyi (Peace) History Conference Message-ID: News Release August 2006 Piegan Institute Browning, Montana Innaihtsiiyi (Peace) History Conference In a time when war in the Middle East is profoundly affecting American society, it seems relevant to ask how peace and warfare have affected earlier societies. Innaihtsiiyi (Peace) History Conference will explore the effects of warfare on Blackfeet society in the 18th and 19th centuries. Historians have long described Blackfeet society as especially "war-like." What does is mean? What is true or not true about the description? What role did peace play within Blackfeet society? The Piegan Institute will hold a one-day history conference Innaihtsiiyi (Peace) which will examine differing concepts of peace (and war), Blackfeet relationships with their neighbors, the role of peace negotiators, and the dynamics of history on the Northern Great Plains.? The conference is free and open to the public and will be held on Friday, August 18, 2006 at the Nizipuhwahsin School? from 10am to 4pm. Presenters will include: Dr. Theodore Binnema, Professor of History, University of Northern British Colombia, and author of Common and Contested Ground: A Human and Environmental History of the Northwest Plains, will examine? the significance of peace and warfare in Blackfeet history in the 18th and early 19th century and the role of warfare on Blackfeet society. Narcisse Blood, Kainai Studies Department at Red Crow College, Alberta and Dr. Cynthia Chambers will screen a 30 minute video which attempts to capture Blackfoot stories, especially those about the land, and those that originate from the land, have not adequately conveyed the perspective of Blackfeet elders. Dr. Hugh Dempsey, Chief Curator Emeritus, Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta, and author of The Amazing Death of Calf Shirt and other Blackfoot Stories: Three Hundred Years of Blackfoot History, will examine the motivations for treaties made between the Blackfoot and other tribes, such as the Cree and Kootenai, and why some treaties succeeded and others failed, and their implications. Dr. James Dempsey, Professor of Native Studies, University of Alberta, and author of Warriors of the King, will examine images of peace and war in Blackfoot pictographs. His visual presentation will examine these pictorial representations of history and the unique concepts of war and peace found within them.? Nicholas Vrooman, Adjunct Instructor of Native American Studies at the University of Montana will examine the life of Maski Pitonew or Broken Arm, a Cree Indian. Broken Arm's traditional role as a peace negotiator coincided when Native ideas of peace struggled to accommodate external and internal conflict.? Piegan Institute is a private not-for-profit organization with programs dedicated to researching, promoting and preserving Blackfeet history and language. This conference is co-sponsored by the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West and the Native American Studies Department at the University of Montana. For more information on the conference or directions to Nizipuhwahsin please call Rosalyn LaPier at 406-338-7740 or rrlapier at pieganinstitute.org. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 10 18:10:49 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:10:49 -0700 Subject: 2 Congresswomen insist on speaking Quechua in Parliament (fwd) Message-ID: 10 August, 2006 [ 09:12 ] 2 Congresswomen insist on speaking Quechua in Parliament http://www.livinginperu.com/news/2277 Two nationalistic congresswomen representing the department of Cusco, Maria Sumire and Hilaria Supa, announced in a press conference yesterday to speak only in their indigenous Quechua language during plenary sessions of Peru's Congress. They requested a certified interpreter present at all sessions and sufficient installation of technical equipment. Sumire and Supa, members of the oppositional 'Union por el Peru' alliance, caused problems while taking their congressional oath on July 26 after deciding to do it in native Quechua. For a moment the situation at the press conference became somewhat embarrassing. Both delivered their message in their indigenous language while attending journalists understood nothing. After looking at the confused faces of his colleagues one journalist got up and said "Don't worry, I will translate for you?. "We do not want to be excluded. This is an ongoing abuse, marginalization and discrimination of our people?, Sumire alleged. Sumire and Supa base their request on Article 48 of Peru's Constitution which states: ?Peru's official language is Castellano. In areas predominantly inhabited by indigenous citizens they are Quechua, native Aymaran and other languages, according to the law?. ?We are going to defend our cultural identity and the rights of our communities?, Sumire stated. Supa added that ?they think that Lima is the only city. The rest of the country also needs quality investment?. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 10 19:49:39 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 12:49:39 -0700 Subject: Brief ILAT Update Message-ID: Dear ILAT Subscribers, Welcome new subscribers! The subscriber numbers have increased as of late. Thank you to all our new and current subscribers, especially to various people providing news worthy items to the listserv with regard to language and technology topics. Indigenous Languages and Technology discussion list is an open forum for community language specialists, linguists, scholars, and students to discuss issues relating to the uses of technology in language revitalization efforts. Subscribers: 208 * Country Subscribers * ------- ----------- * Australia 6 * Bolivia 1 * Canada 3 * Fiji 1 * Finland 1 * Great Britain 3 * Italy 1 * Mexico 1 * New Zealand 1 * USA 182 The list mg (hehe...me) is presently "in the field" here on the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington. General news postings should pick-up soon. Have a good day. qo'c pammawa (later), Phil Cash Cash (Cayuse/Nez Perce) ILAT list mg, University of Arizona http://www.u.arizona.edu/~cashcash/ILAT.html From phonosemantics at EARTHLINK.NET Thu Aug 10 21:49:10 2006 From: phonosemantics at EARTHLINK.NET (jess tauber) Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 17:49:10 -0400 Subject: Venezuela to become Linguist-Land?? Message-ID: According to a new posting to the LINGUIST discussion list (http://www.linguistlist.org/issues/17/17-2277.html#2) the government of Venezuela may be willing to fund a project (if the proposal is accepted) to train 250,000 people in linguistics. All I can say is that if it goes through, hot diggity damn! Maybe some of that oil money will be used to help preserve endangered languages? Just imagine the possibilities. Eat your heart out Bill Gates.... Jess Tauber phonosemantics at earthlink.net From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 11 21:06:00 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 14:06:00 -0700 Subject: Extinction of Languages Puts Plants and Animals at Risk (fwd) Message-ID: Extinction of Languages Puts Plants and Animals at Risk By Corey Binns Special to LiveScience posted: 11 August 2006 02:01 pm ET http://www.livescience.com/othernews/060811_language_diversity.html The ears of linguists, anthropologists, and conservationists perked up with the recent announcement that the federal government will continue to support the digital documentation of languages on the brink of extinction. More than half of the world's 7,000 languages are endangered[1]; many face extinction in the next century. Interestingly, the projects funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) could save more than just a few mother tongues. It might also protect plants and animals[2]. TALK ABOUT DIVERSITY! When the nonprofit organization Terralingua mapped the distribution of languages against a map of the world's biodiversity[3], it found that the places with the highest concentration of plants and animals[4], such as the Amazon Basin and the island of New Guinea, were also where people spoke the most languages. As well as serving as indicators of biodiversity, languages also act as good signs of cultural diversity and a group's understanding of surrounding environments, because people store communal knowledge in their language. "Wherever humans exist, they have established a strong relationship with the land, and with the biodiversity that exists there," said anthropologist and Terralingua President Luisa Maffi. "They have developed a deep knowledge of the plants and animals, the local ecology, as well as a knowledge about how to use and manage the resources to ensure continued sustenance of biodiversity." Languages hold valuable knowledge about how to preserve biodiversity. Native languages have many names for plants that describe how and where they grow, as well as their medicinal uses. But the meanings often do not survive translation from one language to another. "If you've learned something about a plant from a speaker of an indigenous language, but you don't use the language, it's harder to pass on that knowledge," said linguist Pamela Munro of UCLA. DESTABILIZING A FOREST As one example, members of the Native American group called the Sekani practiced controlled burning of the forests of British Columbia to regenerate the forest and keep the understory clear for game animals. Their methods also kept the mountain pine beetle pest at bay. A small pox epidemic decimated the indigenous people and the timber industry took over the management of the forests, putting a stop to the controlled burns. Since the 1990's, without the regular burnings, the beetle's outbreak has destroyed more than 7 million acres of forest. "The forests have been made unusable because the native populations have not been allowed to continue those practices," Maffi said. "Ultimately their communities will have to disperse, which will lead to a loss of cultural and linguistic diversity." ANCIENT RESPECT FOR FISH In Thailand, new protective measures are observing an age-old respect for one of the world's largest freshwater fish by following ancient fishing practices. The Mekong giant catfish[5], called the "king of fish" in Cambodian, can grow to more than 10 feet in length and has a regal history. Cave paintings in Thailand dating back 3,500 years illustrate the Mekong giant catfish's long-lived importance. Traditional fishermen in the northeast of Thailand have historically believed that they should not catch the fish. If they do, they hold a religious ceremony to ward off bad luck, burning an image of the fish. This summer, in celebration of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, fishermen in Thailand and Laos took an oath to abide by these ancestral fishing taboos to avoid fishing the critically endangered beast. The fish is also legally protected in Cambodia. By following tradition, the fishermen may save the catfish from being the first extinct casualty in the Mekong River, a diverse habitat that is home to more than 1,200 species. SAVING THE SALMON Similarly, in Washington State, time-honored lessons are being heard. Generations of the Tulalip and Yakima tribes and other Native American groups have relied on Pacific salmon[6] as a key resource; they also value the fish very highly and harvest with forethought. "They treat salmon with respect so that the fish return every year," said ethnobiologist Eugene Hunn of the University of Washington. The tribes hold annual salmon ceremonies to honor the fish. The first catch of the season is celebrated with singing, dancing, and the passing of salmon tales from generation to generation. Yet commercial fishing has led to drastic reductions in salmon populations?some species face endangerment. Since a 1974 decision upheld the Indian's rights to harvest fish, the tribes and the Washington Department of Fisheries have collaborated to maintain a healthy population of Pacific salmon that will return to spawn in the Columbia River and east of the Cascade Mountains. "Salmon is sacred to them not just as a matter of maximizing profit," Hunn told LiveScience. "To preserve a resource for the people of your community for the future without end imposes a different attitude toward the fish. Now, these attitudes have become more widely recognized." Links: ------ [1] http://www.livescience.com/blogs/2006/07/10/half-of-all-languages-headed-for-extinction/ [2] http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/top10_species_success.html [3] http://www.livescience.com/environment/041117_species_threatened.html [4] http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/060306_extinct_list.html [5] http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/ap_050615_catfish.html [6] http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/050414_salmon.html From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 11 21:27:07 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 14:27:07 -0700 Subject: That Isn't Baby Talk You Hear (fwd fyi) Message-ID: fyi, An interesting article on American child speech appeared in the Wall Street Journal today, one suggesting that children tend to speak a form of universal grammar prior to acquiring English. ~~~ That Isn't Baby Talk You Hear By Sharon Begley Wall Street Journal, Aug. 11, 2006 From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 11 21:42:21 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 14:42:21 -0700 Subject: Student risked life running from residential school abusers (fwd) Message-ID: Student risked life running from residential school abusers ALAN CORBIERE August 5, 2006 Saturday [no link available. Available thru LexisNexis] At the Indian residential schools it was forbidden to speak a native language in the classrooms, school yard, sleeping quarters and basically anywhere within earshot of the teachers. Students caught speaking Ojibwa at the Spanish Indian Residential School were quickly and smartly punished with a strap. This is reportedly the case at Reserve Day Schools as well. However, there is one critical difference between being punished at a day school than at a residential school - the day school students got to go home at the end of the day to be consoled by a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or sibling. This consoling was unavailable to residential school students. When their situation became unbearable, some residential school students ran away. The following is a story told by Raymond Armstrong of M'Chigeeng First Nation. For two years Raymond attended Spanish Residential School for boys. Raymond moved back to the reserve and was kept back by his grandfather. The following is an edited, bilingual story of a young student who ran away from Spanish. Debaajmod: Raymond Armstrong Anishinaabebiigejig: Alan and Ted Corbiere Nahaa ga-dbaajmatooninim "Wiisagenh", nahiing megwaa gii- skoonwiyaang oodi Spanish. I will tell you about "Wiisagenh," while we were going to school at Spanish. Aapji ngii-nigaagoomi oodi gii-yaawaang. While we were there, we were treated very badly. Mii-sh maaaba gaa-bi-nji-maajaad maaba oodi, pane, maybe two-three times a year. That is why this one always left there (Wiisagenh), maybe two-three times a year. Maanpii gii-bi-zhaa, maanpii maanda gii-bi-biindigebiiyaag oodi-sh gaaming. He came here, this here bay (West Bay on Manitoulin) that comes in from the North Shore. Mii-sh maaba gaa-bi-zhaad zhiwi, nahaa Wiisagenh, kina maanda gii-gbading. And that is where Wiisagenh came, when all of this was frozen over (the bay). Gii- gkendaan go wipii waa-bi-maajaad oodi. He knew then that it was time to leave there. Jiibaakwegamgoong-sh ko ngii-nji-nokii. I used to work in the kitchen. Mii-sh go wiindamaagoowaang oodi shkiniigshag wiindamaagoog, Aah, wii-maajaa miinwaa "Wiisagenh" kidoog. And that's where the young boys would tell me, Oh, Wiisagenh is going to leave again," they said. Aash mii sa genii wi, ndazhchigeyaan nahii, nwii-gimoodin bkwezhigan, maa bezhigwaatig. And so I too, I sought to do something, to steal some bread, maybe a loaf of bread. Ngii-miinigoog shkiniigshag nahii, "pillowcase", wii-tooyaanh wi miijim gaa-gimoodiiyaan, piniig, miinwaa wiiyaas, giizhaamendeg wiiyaas. The guys gave me a pillowcase to put the food in, the food that I have stolen, potatoes and meat, cooked meat. Ko debnimaan, mii-sh go wi ngojing ngii-ni-kidoon fridgeing. And when I used to get a steak I used to go hide it some place in the fridge. Mii maanda gaa-daapnamaanh maage nswi maage niiwin, mii-sh maanda biinamaanh niwi pkweshmoniiginoon maaba Wiisagenh waa-bi-maajiidood, wii-bi-nwopod. When I picked up three or four (steaks) then I would put them in the pillowcase for this Wiisagenh, to take with him to eat for lunch. Maanpii-sh ko gnamaa ngoji gii-bi-nbaadigenag niwi mnishenying one of the islands here. And maybe they'd spend the night over here on an island. There's about two or three islands there between Spanish and West Bay and Sheshegwaning. Aapji-sh go wipii gii-gzod December, aapji gii-gnaajwi maaba mkom. And at that certain time of the month, December, the ice was nice. Nawaach maaba gii-yowaan Wiisagenh, naa, zhooshkwaadaaganan mechwe-dkobzojig. And this Wiisagenh used to have skates, the ones you tie on by hand (no boots to them). Mii niwi gaa-bmoomaajin miinwaa niwi wiijkiwenyan, that's what he and his friend used to carry on their backs, wii-zhi- zhooshkwaadewag oodi maamnik, mii-sh miinwaa bmosewaad ngoji shpaagonagaag and they were going to skate over there part ways, then they will walk where there is deep snow. Mii wi gii-nigaajigaaza maaba oodi. That's that, he was treated poorly over there. Gii-yekzi bmi-paakskindibe-ind, pshazhegaazo pshkwegin giishpin debnigaazod nishnaabemod. He was tired of being slapped on the head and getting strapped with the leather strap, if he was caught speaking Ojibwa. Gaa go maamdaa gegoo wii-nishnaabemtaadiyaang, shkwaa-skoonwiyaang kogaagoyaang niiwing naa wa zhiwi go naa, nahii zhaabdisewaad zhiwi name-ninwag. By no means were we to speak Ojibwa to each other, after school, if we all gather round together, that's where those brothers would always walk back and forth. Miinwaa go zhiwi aanind gaa-skoonwijig shkiniigshag gii-dbamaagaazod giwi wii-baataayaad giwi. And even some of the boys that were in school, they were paid to tell on them (the ones speaking Ojibwa). Aapji go gchi- nendamaawan gondag mekdekonyeg niwi. The priests really liked those guys. Mii-sh maaba ko gii-bi-maajaad. So then that is when Wiisagenh used to leave. Mii-sh maaba pane gaa-dbaadang Wiisagenh, gaa-zhi-nigaachigaazod oodi skoongamgoong. This is what Wiisagenh always talked about, how poorly he was treated at that school. Aaniish mnik oodi gaa-bi-mshkowaakjiwaad giwi shkiniigshag, bi- maajaawaad ngoji negoodewaad megwe-mtigoonski wii-nbaawad? How many of those boys froze along the way when they left and crawled in the brush to sleep? Gii-nigaazwidigenag oodi, bi-dkamiiwaad, gnamaa gaye wnishnawaad. They must have suffered over there as they were crossing or if they were lost. Aaniish mnik oodi gaa-bi-nji-gjibwewaad shkiniigshag gii-bi- dkamiiwaad zhonda mkomiing? How many boys ran away from there by crossing there on the ice? Aaniish mnik gaa-bkobiisewaad? How many fell in the water? Wiisagenh is remembered by many people in M'Chigeeng as having run away from Residential School in the winter time by crossing the ice. Fortunately, he did not freeze to death on one of those islands. Wiisagenh's situation must have become intolerable and he felt he had to leave the school and come home to M'Chigeeng. Copyright 2006 North Bay Nugget All Rights Reserved North Bay Nugget (Ontario) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Sat Aug 12 23:26:42 2006 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 16:26:42 -0700 Subject: That Isn't Baby Talk You Hear (fwd fyi) In-Reply-To: <20060811142707.ntfp4gscs4w4scog@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: Speaking of Baby Talk there are 13 fluent speakers of the Karuk language 12 of them are over 70 and one is my 2.5 year olf greta nephew. he is teh first child in 60 years to be raised only speaking the language thanks to his parents, both language teachers. he also has a 6 month old brother who doesnt speak so well yet but will also be fluent On Aug 11, 2006, at 2:27 PM, phil cash cash wrote: fyi, An interesting article on American child speech appeared in the Wall Street Journal today, one suggesting that children tend to speak a form of universal grammar prior to acquiring English. ~~~ That Isn't Baby Talk You Hear By Sharon Begley Wall Street Journal, Aug. 11, 2006 From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Sun Aug 13 01:08:38 2006 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 18:08:38 -0700 Subject: Familar Story Message-ID: Reply-To: Native American Alumni Association of Dartmouth Student risked life running from residential school abusers ALAN CORBIERE August 5, 2006 Saturday At the Indian residential schools it was forbidden to speak a native language in the classrooms, school yard, sleeping quarters and basically anywhere within earshot of the teachers. Students caught speaking Ojibwa at the Spanish Indian Residential School were quickly and smartly punished with a strap. This is reportedly the case at Reserve Day Schools as well. However, there is one critical difference between being punished at a day school than at a residential school - the day school students got to go home at the end of the day to be consoled by a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or sibling. This consoling was unavailable to residential school students. When their situation became unbearable, some residential school students ran away. The following is a story told by Raymond Armstrong of M'Chigeeng First Nation. For two years Raymond attended Spanish Residential School for boys. Raymond moved back to the reserve and was kept back by his grandfather. The following is an edited, bilingual story of a young student who ran away from Spanish. Debaajmod: Raymond Armstrong Anishinaabebiigejig: Alan and Ted Corbiere Nahaa ga-dbaajmatooninim "Wiisagenh", nahiing megwaa gii- skoonwiyaang oodi Spanish. I will tell you about "Wiisagenh," while we were going to school at Spanish. Aapji ngii-nigaagoomi oodi gii-yaawaang. While we were there, we were treated very badly. Mii-sh maaaba gaa-bi-nji-maajaad maaba oodi, pane, maybe two-three times a year. That is why this one always left there (Wiisagenh), maybe two-three times a year. Maanpii gii-bi-zhaa, maanpii maanda gii-bi-biindigebiiyaag oodi-sh gaaming. He came here, this here bay (West Bay on Manitoulin) that comes in from the North Shore. Mii-sh maaba gaa-bi-zhaad zhiwi, nahaa Wiisagenh, kina maanda gii- gbading. And that is where Wiisagenh came, when all of this was frozen over (the bay). Gii- gkendaan go wipii waa-bi-maajaad oodi. He knew then that it was time to leave there. Jiibaakwegamgoong-sh ko ngii-nji-nokii. I used to work in the kitchen. Mii-sh go wiindamaagoowaang oodi shkiniigshag wiindamaagoog, Aah, wii- maajaa miinwaa "Wiisagenh" kidoog. And that's where the young boys would tell me, Oh, Wiisagenh is going to leave again," they said. Aash mii sa genii wi, ndazhchigeyaan nahii, nwii-gimoodin bkwezhigan, maa bezhigwaatig. And so I too, I sought to do something, to steal some bread, maybe a loaf of bread. Ngii-miinigoog shkiniigshag nahii, "pillowcase", wii-tooyaanh wi miijim gaa-gimoodiiyaan, piniig, miinwaa wiiyaas, giizhaamendeg wiiyaas. The guys gave me a pillowcase to put the food in, the food that I have stolen, potatoes and meat, cooked meat. Ko debnimaan, mii-sh go wi ngojing ngii-ni-kidoon fridgeing. And when I used to get a steak I used to go hide it some place in the fridge. Mii maanda gaa-daapnamaanh maage nswi maage niiwin, mii-sh maanda biinamaanh niwi pkweshmoniiginoon maaba Wiisagenh waa-bi-maajiidood, wii-bi-nwopod. When I picked up three or four (steaks) then I would put them in the pillowcase for this Wiisagenh, to take with him to eat for lunch. Maanpii-sh ko gnamaa ngoji gii-bi-nbaadigenag niwi mnishenying one of the islands here. And maybe they'd spend the night over here on an island. There's about two or three islands there between Spanish and West Bay and Sheshegwaning. Aapji-sh go wipii gii-gzod December, aapji gii-gnaajwi maaba mkom. And at that certain time of the month, December, the ice was nice. Nawaach maaba gii-yowaan Wiisagenh, naa, zhooshkwaadaaganan mechwe- dkobzojig. And this Wiisagenh used to have skates, the ones you tie on by hand (no boots to them). Mii niwi gaa-bmoomaajin miinwaa niwi wiijkiwenyan, that's what he and his friend used to carry on their backs, wii-zhi- zhooshkwaadewag oodi maamnik, mii-sh miinwaa bmosewaad ngoji shpaagonagaag and they were going to skate over there part ways, then they will walk where there is deep snow. Mii wi gii-nigaajigaaza maaba oodi. That's that, he was treated poorly over there. Gii-yekzi bmi-paakskindibe-ind, pshazhegaazo pshkwegin giishpin debnigaazod nishnaabemod. He was tired of being slapped on the head and getting strapped with the leather strap, if he was caught speaking Ojibwa. Gaa go maamdaa gegoo wii-nishnaabemtaadiyaang, shkwaa-skoonwiyaang kogaagoyaang niiwing naa wa zhiwi go naa, nahii zhaabdisewaad zhiwi name-ninwag. By no means were we to speak Ojibwa to each other, after school, if we all gather round together, that's where those brothers would always walk back and forth. Miinwaa go zhiwi aanind gaa-skoonwijig shkiniigshag gii-dbamaagaazod giwi wii-baataayaad giwi. And even some of the boys that were in school, they were paid to tell on them (the ones speaking Ojibwa). Aapji go gchi- nendamaawan gondag mekdekonyeg niwi. The priests really liked those guys. Mii-sh maaba ko gii-bi-maajaad. So then that is when Wiisagenh used to leave. Mii-sh maaba pane gaa-dbaadang Wiisagenh, gaa-zhi-nigaachigaazod oodi skoongamgoong. This is what Wiisagenh always talked about, how poorly he was treated at that school. Aaniish mnik oodi gaa-bi-mshkowaakjiwaad giwi shkiniigshag, bi- maajaawaad ngoji negoodewaad megwe-mtigoonski wii-nbaawad? How many of those boys froze along the way when they left and crawled in the brush to sleep? Gii-nigaazwidigenag oodi, bi-dkamiiwaad, gnamaa gaye wnishnawaad. They must have suffered over there as they were crossing or if they were lost. Aaniish mnik oodi gaa-bi-nji-gjibwewaad shkiniigshag gii-bi- dkamiiwaad zhonda mkomiing? How many boys ran away from there by crossing there on the ice? Aaniish mnik gaa-bkobiisewaad? How many fell in the water? Wiisagenh is remembered by many people in M'Chigeeng as having run away from Residential School in the winter time by crossing the ice. Fortunately, he did not freeze to death on one of those islands. Wiisagenh's situation must have become intolerable and he felt he had to leave the school and come home to M'Chigeeng. Copyright 2006 North Bay Nugget All Rights Reserved North Bay Nugget (Ontario) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Sun Aug 13 15:45:37 2006 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2006 08:45:37 -0700 Subject: Speaking 1 Language Message-ID: Talk of the Nation Guests: Steven Bird * Associate Professor, Linguistics * Associate Director and Senior Researcher, Linguistics Data Consortium, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Jerold Edmondson * Professor, Linguistics, University of Texas, Arlington, Arlington, Texas Lawrence Kaplan * Director, Alaska Native Language Center * Professor, Linguistics, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Faibanks, Alaska Some linguists predict that by the end of this century half of the languages now spoken in the world will be extinct. In this hour, we'll look at the world's endangered and dying languages. How is a culture shaped by its language? Does it really matter if we all speak the same language one day? To listen to the discussion: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1139510 From dzo at BISHARAT.NET Sun Aug 13 17:50:12 2006 From: dzo at BISHARAT.NET (d_z_o) Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2006 17:50:12 -0000 Subject: Buffett, Gates, & the future of linguistic diversity Message-ID: Belated thanks to Phil, Mia, Susan, and Charles for their feedback re my posting last month on the topic of this (double-)mega foundation and what it might do for minority languages and linguistic diversity (esp. where the use of tech might be involved). I began to compose a follow up but am only now getting back to it. One reason is an article I note in today's NY Times entitled "Bill Gates's Charity Races to Spend Buffett Billions" http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/13/us/13gates.html . The title is scary. Or at least it does to me, having learned early on about international development where people get promoted (or at least used to) on the basis of how much money they move, small projects don't get much attention, and terms like "burn rate" are part of the discourse about funding. In the case of Gates/Buffett, the context of spending may be a little different, but any time the priority is on spending, it's almost inevitable that some good things get funded, some bad things get funded, and some good things get overlooked. Language - revitalization, localization, documentation, education - will likely be among the areas overlooked. Unless...? Last month there was some discussion in this thread of the wisdom of looking to the Gates Fndn for support fot language & technology initiatives. There is a tendency to conflate Bill Gates + ICT + MS and at least for the first two parts I was guilty of that too. But I do think that a charitable foundation is not or should not be beholden to any particular company (the third part, MS in this instance), even when related in the sense of being the original source of wealth that created it. So that, for example, a Ford Foundation grant that involved a vehicle purchase wouldn't have to go to the Ford Motor Company. Likewise we've even seen a little bit of evolution in the approach of national agencies that finance international development projects, away from insisting that everything possible (regardless of adaptedness or cost) that is needed for a project be purchased in the funding country. So, hopefully if the Gates/Buffett monies could in some small but significant way be allocated to projects for community language work, and if those projects involve ICT, this would (should) not automatically mean use of a particular package of software solutions. (i.e., Gates Fndn $ does not necessarily mean MS applications) At the same time, ICT these days is the message (per Marshall McLuhan) in a lot of ways. It made Gates' fortune (though not Buffett's). It offers new approaches to solving problems, including finding ways to preserve languages, revitalize them, expand their use for other needs (education, social & economic development), and employ them to help people learn ICT (bringing things full circle). It is fundamental to the rapidly evolving economy. Etc. So, with a lot of money intended for philanthropy in one corner, a lot of questions and needs re language (survival of endangered tongues, use & development of vernaculars for more effective communication & development) in another corner, and ICT as a potent tool, it is natural to look for connections (canals?). Why shouldn't Gates Foundation - "turbocharged" it seems by major additional monies and requirements for their disbursement - consider multilingual ICT, and via that, broader support for language-related initiatives? The fact that the Gates Foundation already funded technology awareness programs (per Phil's e-mail) is an obvious lead. Or seems to be. Susan's caveat re the actual aims of the Foundation in those programs and what it has *not* done (i.e., language revitalization, etc.) are important to know. How can one build on and expand from such a tenuous connection? Mia mentioned that Bill Gates in a recent interview said that "he is interested in talking to people who are working on technical solutions for learning/education." Well this nexus of issues re language is right there, waiting. It may be of interest to add that Gates in a speech last month in Cape Town spoke of technology as "a solution" to development issues in Africa. At the same conference the issue of localization of ICT in African languages came up. It's easy to get the impression that we are close to some serious program breakthroughs wrt multilingual ICT and localization for various purposes, but it's precisely at such a time that focused effort is needed to create something tangible (what specific programs to what specific ends with what specific resources when where & how?). Whether this translates into potential programs (or a leadership role??) for the Gates Fndn in this regard is a question. Whether that is what we'd want (if we look past the money) is another question (per Charles and Mia). But what's at issue here, IMO, is more than another source of funds for documenting endangered languages (which has an important place). Or even for a wider range of specific language-related projects. It's arguably more a matter of long-term vision and planning, and how significant resources at a high level (along with targetted grants for specific kinds of grassroots activities) can improve the environment for linguistic diversity. This has many facets. For instance: 1. Language policy, planning, management. 2. Opportunities for speakers of minority languages. (Various, that relate to their mastery of the languages.) 3. Development of materials and tools for education in minority languages (that is more than mere translation from European languages) 4. Training of teachers for work in minority language / bilingual classrooms. 5. Cutting edge ICT for various uses with/in minority languages. (Things that market incentives alone will never generate investment for.) 6. Linkages among diverse minority language projects around the world (co-learning, exchanging experience). The fact that this will necessitate resort to more widely spoken languages does not introduce anything new. Maybe I'm just dreaming (in addition to rambling on here), but since significant funds are being made available for worthy causes by this particular Foundation, isn't there a way to get language on their agenda? Don Osborn Bisharat.net PanAfrican Localisation project From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Tue Aug 15 16:49:20 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2006 09:49:20 -0700 Subject: Arizona man devoted 15 years to keeping Zuni language alive (fwd) Message-ID: Arizona man devoted 15 years to keeping Zuni language alive By CHRISTINE L. ROMERO | Associated Press August 14, 2006 http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/47877.html PHOENIX (AP) - The boxes had been tucked away in storage for about 20 years when the government found Curtis Cook on the Internet. In the boxes sat years of Cook's life and work, documents that Cook created with the help of seven Zuni elders. They were the origin of the written Zuni language. Now, the Library of Congress wanted them. Creating a Zuni alphabet was a mission that Cook took on alone, right after he finished some graduate linguistic studies in the mid-1960s. His first goal had been to create a Zuni version of the Bible, but he quickly realized the language didn't have a written form. So, he dedicated 15 years to the Zuni people, who live predominantly in New Mexico and in Arizona, east of Flagstaff. Without Cook's efforts, it's likely that the Zuni language would have perished as the elders passed away and young Zunis forgot the tongue. Forgetting the language would have forever cut a tie between the generations of Zunis. "I became concerned that many of their old stories and the richness of their history would be lost to posterity as the elders, who were the storytellers, began to die off," Cook said. The elders were all older than 100 when Cook began his work. The Library of Congress' intention is to preserve the work and eventually make the traditional Zuni stories more widely available. Cook's work has allowed the Zunis to teach their written language to children from kindergarten through high school on the reservation. The Zuni words are even on street signs, which Cook proudly notes are spelled correctly. By the end of this year, "The Curtis Cook Collection" is expected to be inducted into the Library of Congress' American Folklife Center. During his time on the reservation, Cook also approached the Zuni Tribal Council and suggested that some of the tribe's stories should be recorded and preserved. The council agreed and eventually about 300 reel-to-reel tapes were created with Zuni oral histories, folk tales and religious teachers. "The Curtis Cook Collection" will include those tapes, transcriptions, learning guides and some Zuni publications. Cook, 67, is the associate state director of community outreach for AARP Arizona. Previously, he was director of the National Indian Council on Aging. When Cook talks about his time with the Zuni, known as "a friendly people," his eyes light up and seem to dance with respect and excitement. In telling traditional Zuni stories, he infuses rhythmic Zuni words with English ones. To the English-speaking ear, the Zuni language seems breathy and includes many pauses that translate into meaning. On the reservation, Cook's constant chattering and repetition of Zuni words and phrases earned him the names "the Mockingbird" and, later, "the Locust" among the Zuni Pueblo, now numbering 10,000 people. Language experts say there likely still are pockets of the world where some languages exist only orally. Cook's intent was to create a Zuni version of the Bible. Other oral traditions have morphed into written languages in a similar missionary fashion, experts say. For many, the preservation of language in a written form allows them to stay connected with their history and roots. "Oral tradition keeps certain kinds of intergenerational contacts," said Guha Shankar, folklife specialist with the American Folklife Center. "It keeps memories alive." Without a written documentation, the Zuni oral tradition could have been lost, Shankar said. Cook's work piqued the Library of Congress' interest because he collaborated directly with native speakers in the pueblo, Shankar said. Cook meticulously made language records, including transcribing traditional stories passed down through the generations. He used the International Phonetic Alphabet, a commonly accepted series of symbols among linguists, to capture the Zuni language. "I was concerned that all of their history would be lost forever," Cook said. "My belief is when people get their language in writing it launches a whole new era. We take notes so we can remember." From charles.riley at YALE.EDU Wed Aug 16 17:35:15 2006 From: charles.riley at YALE.EDU (Charles RIley) Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2006 13:35:15 -0400 Subject: Buffett, Gates, & the future of linguistic diversity In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Greets to all; Hi from a cybercafe in Bamenda, Cameroon! Don, you raise some great points and it does seem like there's a useful role for Gates et al. to play. The message I sent earlier was mostly meant to be facetious, maybe a little out of frustration and/or mischief though too. I'd still have concerns about individual language initiatives perhaps becoming micromanaged, or linguistic diversity itself becoming stifled in the efforts to preserve it, but overall I don't see a problem with the project you've proposed. Especially points 3 and 6, and when it comes to infrastructure of any kind -- network, hardware, and linguistic necessities such as dictionaries, dialectologies, etc. Charles Quoting d_z_o : > Belated thanks to Phil, Mia, Susan, and Charles for their feedback re > my posting last month on the topic of this (double-)mega foundation > and what it might do for minority languages and linguistic diversity > (esp. where the use of tech might be involved). > > I began to compose a follow up but am only now getting back to it. One > reason is an article I note in today's NY Times entitled "Bill Gates's > Charity Races to Spend Buffett Billions" > http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/13/us/13gates.html . The title is > scary. Or at least it does to me, having learned early on about > international development where people get promoted (or at least used > to) on the basis of how much money they move, small projects don't get > much attention, and terms like "burn rate" are part of the discourse > about funding. In the case of Gates/Buffett, the context of spending > may be a little different, but any time the priority is on spending, > it's almost inevitable that some good things get funded, some bad > things get funded, and some good things get overlooked. Language - > revitalization, localization, documentation, education - will likely > be among the areas overlooked. Unless...? > > Last month there was some discussion in this thread of the wisdom of > looking to the Gates Fndn for support fot language & technology > initiatives. There is a tendency to conflate Bill Gates + ICT + MS and > at least for the first two parts I was guilty of that too. But I do > think that a charitable foundation is not or should not be beholden to > any particular company (the third part, MS in this instance), even > when related in the sense of being the original source of wealth that > created it. So that, for example, a Ford Foundation grant that > involved a vehicle purchase wouldn't have to go to the Ford Motor > Company. Likewise we've even seen a little bit of evolution in the > approach of national agencies that finance international development > projects, away from insisting that everything possible (regardless of > adaptedness or cost) that is needed for a project be purchased in the > funding country. So, hopefully if the Gates/Buffett monies could in > some small but significant way be allocated to projects for community > language work, and if those projects involve ICT, this would (should) > not automatically mean use of a particular package of software > solutions. (i.e., Gates Fndn $ does not necessarily mean MS applications) > > At the same time, ICT these days is the message (per Marshall McLuhan) > in a lot of ways. It made Gates' fortune (though not Buffett's). It > offers new approaches to solving problems, including finding ways to > preserve languages, revitalize them, expand their use for other needs > (education, social & economic development), and employ them to help > people learn ICT (bringing things full circle). It is fundamental to > the rapidly evolving economy. Etc. > > So, with a lot of money intended for philanthropy in one corner, a lot > of questions and needs re language (survival of endangered tongues, > use & development of vernaculars for more effective communication & > development) in another corner, and ICT as a potent tool, it is > natural to look for connections (canals?). Why shouldn't Gates > Foundation - "turbocharged" it seems by major additional monies and > requirements for their disbursement - consider multilingual ICT, and > via that, broader support for language-related initiatives? > > The fact that the Gates Foundation already funded technology awareness > programs (per Phil's e-mail) is an obvious lead. Or seems to be. > Susan's caveat re the actual aims of the Foundation in those programs > and what it has *not* done (i.e., language revitalization, etc.) are > important to know. How can one build on and expand from such a tenuous > connection? > > Mia mentioned that Bill Gates in a recent interview said that "he is > interested in talking to people who are working on technical solutions > for learning/education." Well this nexus of issues re language is > right there, waiting. It may be of interest to add that Gates in a > speech last month in Cape Town spoke of technology as "a solution" to > development issues in Africa. At the same conference the issue of > localization of ICT in African languages came up. > > It's easy to get the impression that we are close to some serious > program breakthroughs wrt multilingual ICT and localization for > various purposes, but it's precisely at such a time that focused > effort is needed to create something tangible (what specific programs > to what specific ends with what specific resources when where & how?). > Whether this translates into potential programs (or a leadership > role??) for the Gates Fndn in this regard is a question. > > Whether that is what we'd want (if we look past the money) is another > question (per Charles and Mia). But what's at issue here, IMO, is more > than another source of funds for documenting endangered languages > (which has an important place). Or even for a wider range of specific > language-related projects. > > It's arguably more a matter of long-term vision and planning, and how > significant resources at a high level (along with targetted grants for > specific kinds of grassroots activities) can improve the environment > for linguistic diversity. This has many facets. For instance: > > 1. Language policy, planning, management. > 2. Opportunities for speakers of minority languages. (Various, that > relate to their mastery of the languages.) > 3. Development of materials and tools for education in minority > languages (that is more than mere translation from European languages) > 4. Training of teachers for work in minority language / bilingual > classrooms. > 5. Cutting edge ICT for various uses with/in minority languages. > (Things that market incentives alone will never generate investment for.) > 6. Linkages among diverse minority language projects around the world > (co-learning, exchanging experience). The fact that this will > necessitate resort to more widely spoken languages does not introduce > anything new. > > Maybe I'm just dreaming (in addition to rambling on here), but since > significant funds are being made available for worthy causes by this > particular Foundation, isn't there a way to get language on their agenda? > > Don Osborn > Bisharat.net > PanAfrican Localisation project > From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 17 21:42:07 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:42:07 -0700 Subject: Cherokee language initiative a welcome development (fwd) Message-ID: CITIZEN-TIMES.com Cherokee language initiative a welcome development http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060817/OPINION01/60816055/1194 As a steamy summer rolls on, the first hints of a change in seasons are beginning to appear. The temperature has backed off a few degrees, kids are heading back to school and harvests are coming in from fields and gardens across the region. Autumn is always welcomed because of relief from the heat but even more because it brings with it a renewal of many traditions. Football fans fire up their love for their favorite squads, connections to alma maters are rekindled and autumnal rites of all sorts are observed. We can?t understate the importance of the traditions that tie us to the land, to institutions and to one another. They?re important. Some are more important than others. Some go beyond tradition and cut straight to the core, to the very identity of a people. That?s why we are excited about a new initiative on the Qualla Boundary creating language immersion schools to preserve and revive the Cherokee language. It?s a language that belongs in these mountains, a language that has survived attempts to snuff it out completely. But it is still a language on the edge. The necessary steps to nurse it back to health are being taken. Speaker population aging Currently about 7 in 10 people who speak Cherokee fluently are past the age of 50. Renissa Walker, Kituwah Preservation and Education Program manager, noted that in a little over a year, ?we have probably lost over 30 fluent speakers. When you put a speaker in the ground, it?s not as though another is going to spring up in his place. So we have to be that seed of the language because that speaker has not been replaced.?? With more than 13,000 enrolled members, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee has only around 400 people in the area who speak the language. Resurrecting and preserving a language is a big challenge, but it?s one that is being tackled with a comprehensive plan. ? The Cherokee Preservation Foundation recently directed nearly $460,000 in support for the language initiative. The first steps are staffing and designing the Cherokee Language Academy. ? Around $200,000 of the funds secured by the Foundation are targeted for the hiring of a fluent Cherokee speaker as a language and community coordinator, and for a linguist as a language program developer, at Western Carolina University. In turn, a Kituwah Teaching Fellows Program is being developed. ? Immersion schooling will be aided by the Kituwah program. Already under way, the Eastern Band?s immersion program currently has more than a dozen children up to age 5 involved in a new immersion schooling initiative. In the program the language isn?t set aside and studied, but spoken and used in a variety of school subjects. The program is targeted to expand through sixth grade beginning in 2009. WCU graduate student Ben Frey, an Eastern Band member, is designing a Cherokee language class. ?Saving a language? WCU?s director of Cherokee studies, Jane Eastman, said, ?Immersing children in a language is the way to save a language. Native languages are so important. If we can do something to help revitalize the Cherokee language, it would be an honor to be part of the process of saving a language.?? Much is happening in this endeavor. Last week a Cherokee Language Revitalization Symposium, coordinated by the Tsalagi Aniwoni Committee and co-sponsored by WCU, was held to bring the community up to date of language revitalization efforts. Also at WCU, the United Cherokee Nations Anthem, adopted by the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes but never professionally recorded, was preserved for the first time in Project Songbird. Many good things are happening. However, the clock is running. A small group of people have to pass down the language, and a new group must learn and acquire the skills to hand it off to another generation. It will not be an easy feat. But thanks to the initiative of the Eastern Band and the efforts of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation and WCU, the feat is being undertaken. As Renissa Walker said, ?Without the language, many traditions and history would be lost.?? As autumn nears, we remember that tradition runs deep in these mountains. We hope this effort honors and preserves the traditions that have marked the passing of time here for thousands of years with the language that describes that passage best. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Copyright 2006 Asheville Citizen-Times. All rights reserved. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 17 21:46:54 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:46:54 -0700 Subject: New page turns for Alutiiq language (fwd) Message-ID: New page turns for Alutiiq language Article published on Wednesday, Aug 16th, 2006 By JENNIFER McCARTY Special to the Mirror http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/?pid=19&id=3517 The Native language of Kodiak is now an open book, thanks to a new publication introduced Tuesday at the Old Powerhouse Restaurant. The ?Kodiak Alutiiq Language Conversational Phrasebook,? by April Laktonen Counceller of the Alutiiq Museum was written as part of a master?s thesis. University of Alaska Fairbanks linguist Jeff Leer edited the book. A full house of supporters, including members of the Alaska Historical Commission and Lt. Gov. Loren Leman attended the book?s premier. Six Alutiiq Elders: Nick Alokli, Mary Haakanson, Dennis Knagin, Florence Pestrikoff, Phyllis Peterson and Sophie Katelnikoff Shepherd contributed their time and knowledge to the project. They are among the few remaining fluent speakers of Alutiiq and most of them were on hand at the event to sign books and to answer questions. The event drew about 100 attendees and featured performances by the Alutiiq Dancers and a serenade by St. Innocent?s Academy musicians. Laktonen Counceller explained the Alutiiq language is now in dire straits. With only 35 fluent speakers left, she said that even if all of the Native language apprentices learn the language and become fluent, their knowledge and speaking ability would only slow the already rapid decline by just a few years. The decline is noted in the Native language Eyak, that only has one speaker left. Laktonen Counceller mentioned several projects the Alutiiq Museum has created ? like an Alutiiq language daycare/early language program and providing children?s books to local preschools and primary grades ? that might help to revitalize the language. The public can contribute to the preservation effort. Anyone can join the Alutiiq Language Club, which meets every Wednesday at the Alutiiq Museum at noon. Eyak Elder, Mary Smith, is the last remaining speaker of the Eyak language. ?It?s sad to be the last speaker of your language. Please, turn back to your own and learn your language so you won?t be alone like me. ?Go to the young people. Let go of the hate in your hearts. Love and respect yourselves first. Elders, please give them courage and they will never be alone,? she said. ?Help our people to understand their identity.? From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 18 17:23:14 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 10:23:14 -0700 Subject: Call for Registration: FEL X Mysore - VITAL VOICES: Endangered Languages & Multilingualism Message-ID: fwd from [linganth] ~~~ The Foundation for Endangered Languages: Tenth Conference in association with the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore, India. 25-27 October 2006. Registration is now open, through downloadable forms which can be found at http://[1]www.ogmios.org[2] and at http://www.ciil.org/Main/Announcement/Abstracts/Registration.htm[3] For most, there is 10% DISCOUNT for registration (with payment) BY 10 SEPTEMBER. Details of the programme, including abstracts of accepted papers, and the deal offered to attendees, including visits to linguistic sites at CIIL, and local excursions, can found at http://www.ciil.org/Main/Announcement/Abstracts[4] The Foundation for Endangered Languages, in association with the Central Institute of Indian Languages, will hold its annual 2006 conference in India, home of more than a thousand languages and dialects, and a consciously multilingual policy stance by the Government of India. Although many of these languages enjoy political and economic patronage, others are struggling to survive. Among these strugglers are the languages of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where communities are not only tiny, but also some of the most anciently independent tribes on the planet. The viability of many such small languages is threatened. This year's conference concerns the effects of multilingualism on smaller languages. A crucial question for this conference is how far poorly-conceived language planning policies may actually contribute to environmental imbalance and instability, dangers that are often very little understood. As we understand the effort to revitalize languages, this is no more than the support they need to develop in the face of new demands, including the increased bi- and multi-lingualism coming from globalization, urbanization and language contact. ?VITAL VOICES? refers to the growing awareness that the survival and development of endangered languages are necessary for humanity?s future, however endangered they may look amidst the statistics generated for policy in our globalized economy. The programme will include a keynote lecture by Professor Lachman Khubchandani: LANGUAGES THREATENED IN A PLURAL FRAMEWORK: Dialectics of Speech Variation and Globalization Different sessions, with some 30 talks over three days, will focus on: Outlining the Danger Development and Changes Effects of Contact Roles for Religion Literacy Choices & Documentation Extreme Endangerment Majority-Minority Relationships Emerging Complexity Cooperation with Neighbour Languages Community Response for Language Support THE CONFERENCE VENUE The CENTRAL INSTITUTE OF INDIAN LANGUAGES, Mysore, (CIIL) was set up by the Government of India in July 1969. It is a large institute with seven regional centers spread all over India, and is engaged in research and training in Indian languages other than English and Hindi. It helps to evolve and implement India?s language policy and coordinate the development of Indian languages. MYSORE is a city in the Southern Indian[5] state of Karnataka[6]. The former capital of the princely state of Mysore, ruled by the Wodeyar dynasty since the 14th century, it is now the administrative seat of Mysore District[7], the second largest in Karnataka, 135 km[8] from Bangalore[9], the state capital. The city is known for its palaces and many other attractions. One of these is the Brindavan Gardens laid out beside the Krishnarajasagar dam (19km), particularly beautiful at night. There are also the Royal Palace, the Chamundi Hills, Srirangapatnam Temple, Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary, Oriental Research Institute, and Museums of Folklore, and of Art and Archeology. The conference dates (25-27 October) will allow participants, if they wish, to witness Diwali (the festival of lights) on 23 October before coming to Mysore. A language-related excursion is planned for 28-29 October after the conference. TRANSPORT BUS: Mysore has inter-city and sub-urban public bus transportation. RAIL: Mysore is connected to Bangalore[10] to the northeast via Mandya[11], and to Hassan[12] to the northwest, to Chamarajanagar[13] via Nanjangud[14] to the southeast. AIR: The nearest accessible airport is at Bangalore[15]. -- Foundation for Endangered Languages Registered Charity: England and Wales 1070616 172 Bailbrook Lane, Bath BA1 7AA, England +44-1225-852865 nostler at chibcha.demon.co.uk[16] http://www.ogmios.org[17] Links: ------ [1] http:/// [2] http://www.ogmios.org/ [3] http://www.ciil.org/Main/Announcement/Abstracts/Registration.htm [4] http://www.ciil.org/Main/Announcement/Abstracts [5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India [6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karnataka [7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysore_District [8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilometre [9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore [10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore [11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandya [12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassan [13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamarajanagar [14] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjangud [15] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangalore [16] mailto:nostler at chibcha.demon.co.uk [17] http://www.ogmios.org/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From AEROWE at AOL.COM Fri Aug 18 17:54:29 2006 From: AEROWE at AOL.COM (Ann Rowe) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 13:54:29 EDT Subject: Call for Registration: FEL X Mysore - VITAL VOICES: Endangered Lan... Message-ID: Hello, everyone. May I ask something? If anyone on the listserv is planning to attend, might they be willing to report on the conference for the rest of us? These are among the most important issues for language survival and revitalization. It is a far simpler matter to preserve and language and teach it to people than it is to conserve the language within its own culture. What I see happening is that, while we recognize the loss of languages as a real threat, we are not coming up with good ideas about how to conserve the language in situ, within the culture. Part of the problem is, of course, that for many languages, their cultures have already been absorbed, or as some call it "colonized." How then is the conservation to be done? Who is going to be included in the culture - all of the speakers of the culture's language or only those speakers who have a blood relationship to the culture? Will cultures lose certain advantages or perhaps disadvantages depending upon point of view (political, economic, whatever) depending upon which "community" of speakers they choose? My sense is that we are being pushed toward less diversity and more globalized, homogenous culture. We need to figure out if that is what we want before it is all we have.... Thank you, Ann -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 18 18:07:58 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 11:07:58 -0700 Subject: “Communications Technologies and the Impacts on Indigenous Languages and Cultural Identity in the Americas” (fwd) Message-ID: ANNUAL CONFERENCE ?Communications Technologies and the Impacts on Indigenous Languages and Cultural Identity in the Americas? February 14-16, 2007 University of Florida Gainesville, Florida http://www.latam.ufl.edu/news/Newsconf%2007.html DESCRIPTION The mission of this conference is to examine from multidisciplinary perspectives how communications technologies have affected indigenous language and cultural identity in the Americas, with a focus on cultural continuity in a changing world. Since the middle of the 20th Century, indigenous communities throughout the Americas have gained considerable demographic, political and cultural presence in their respective national arenas. From the Zapatista movements in Mexico, the civil war, peace accords and Rigoberta Menchu?s Nobel Prize in Guatemala, to the toppling of presidents in Ecuador and Bolivia and Evo Morales?s presidency, organized indigenous communities have become cultural and political references to understanding national and continental possibilities and problems. Such increasing invigoration of indigenous communities has depended, to a large extent, on the conscious revitalization of their native languages, their traditional cultures, and the skillful and widespread use of communications technologies (from sound recordings and video taping to electronic mail and the Internet). This conference will focus on the impact and potential of global technologies of communication on Indigenous languages, cultures and identities in the Americas. We hope that this approach will bring together a variety of participants from diverse disciplines and cultures. FORMAT In addition to plenary addresses and individual papers, the 56th Conference will host up to nine roundtables designed to encourage interaction between conference participants working in and outside of academia. CALL FOR PAPERS: Submissions are invited for papers on original, unpublished research on any area related to the conference topics, including but not limited to the following: Impacts of communications technologies on indigenous languages (linguistics, language pedagogy, e-learning, instructional design), cultures (oral traditions, native knowledge, spirituality, traditional clothing, arts) and identity (political movements, concepts of identity and history). We will accept proposals for alternative-format presentations. Presentations may be given in English or Spanish. Translations of the presentations will be made available to conference participants. SUBMISSIONS: Please submit your proposal electronically in Word format by September 30th, 2006. Please include the following information: * Paper title. * Name, affiliation, mailing address, phone and fax numbers, email address. * 150-200 word abstract. Please submit abstracts as a single email attachment and not in the body of the email to elowe at ufl.edu[1] Acknowledgement of receipt of the abstract will be sent by e-mail as soon as possible. Notice of acceptance or rejection will be sent by October 31, 2006, along with pre-registration materials. For further information, please contact: ELIZABETH LOWE, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR CENTER FOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 319 GRINTER HALL GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA 32605 ELOWE at UFL.EDU[2] TEL 352-392-0375 FAX 352-392-7682 ? Links: ------ [1] mailto:elowe at ufl.edu [2] MAILTO:ELOWE at UFL.EDU -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 18 18:16:43 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 11:16:43 -0700 Subject: ED-MEDIA 2007 (fwd link) Message-ID: ED-MEDIA--World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia/call.htm CALL FOR PARTICIPATION SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE: DECEMBER 19 June 25-29, 2007 Vancouver, BC Canada[1] [topics] 7. Indigenous Peoples & Technology:? This topic provides information on the issues and applications related to indigenous peoples and technology. Submissions are invited on the following non-exclusive list of topics * The Internet's effects on linguistic diversity * Promoting indigenous language development via discussion & chat? * Multimedia support of language & culture * Exploring language with digital resources * Cultural attitudes and technology acceptance * Modifying computers to meet minority language requirements * Oral tradition meets voice dictation * Voice over IP, net meetings and collaborative thinking * Asynchronous, reflective discourse * On-line dictionaries and language development Links: ------ [1] http://www.aace.org/conf/Cities/Vancouver/default.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cspaulding at ROSETTASTONE.COM Fri Aug 18 18:31:51 2006 From: cspaulding at ROSETTASTONE.COM (Spaulding, Craig) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 14:31:51 -0400 Subject: ED-MEDIA 2007 (fwd link) In-Reply-To: A<20060818111643.ab3vj7hcocskogc4@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: I think that FLT should send two people and their spouses to this conference! ;-) ________________________________ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of phil cash cash Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 2:17 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: [ILAT] ED-MEDIA 2007 (fwd link) ED-MEDIA--World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia/call.htm Call for Participation Submissions Deadline: December 19 June 25-29, 2007 Vancouver, BC Canada [topics] 7. Indigenous Peoples & Technology: This topic provides information on the issues and applications related to indigenous peoples and technology. Submissions are invited on the following non-exclusive list of topics * The Internet's effects on linguistic diversity * Promoting indigenous language development via discussion & chat * Multimedia support of language & culture * Exploring language with digital resources * Cultural attitudes and technology acceptance * Modifying computers to meet minority language requirements * Oral tradition meets voice dictation * Voice over IP, net meetings and collaborative thinking * Asynchronous, reflective discourse * On-line dictionaries and language development -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mbittinger at ROSETTASTONE.COM Fri Aug 18 18:50:52 2006 From: mbittinger at ROSETTASTONE.COM (Marion Bittinger) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 14:50:52 -0400 Subject: ED-MEDIA 2007 (fwd link) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: very funny! Would you send Dorothy to the conference presentations??? On 8/18/06 2:31 PM, "Spaulding, Craig" wrote: > I think that FLT should send two people and their spouses to this conference! > ;-) > > > > From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] > On Behalf Of phil cash cash > Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 2:17 PM > To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU > Subject: [ILAT] ED-MEDIA 2007 (fwd link) > > ED-MEDIA--World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & > Telecommunications > http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia/call.htm > > > Call for Participation > Submissions Deadline: December 19 > June 25-29, 2007 > Vancouver, BC Canada > > [topics] > 7. Indigenous Peoples & Technology: > This topic provides information on the issues and applications related to > indigenous peoples and technology. Submissions are invited on the following > non-exclusive list of topics > * > * > * > * The Internet's effects on linguistic diversity > * > * > * > * > * Promoting indigenous language development via discussion & chat > * > * > * > * > * Multimedia support of language & culture > * > * > * > * > * Exploring language with digital resources > * > * > * > * > * Cultural attitudes and technology acceptance > * > * > * > * > * Modifying computers to meet minority language requirements > * > * > * > * > * Oral tradition meets voice dictation > * > * > * > * > * Voice over IP, net meetings and collaborative thinking > * > * > * > * > * Asynchronous, reflective discourse > * > * > * > * On-line dictionaries and language development > -- Marion Bittinger Senior Project Manager Endangered Language Program Language Production Department Fairfield Language Technologies 135 West Market Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (800) 788-0822 (540) 432-6166 ext. 3331 fax (540) 437-2829 www.RosettaStone.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Fri Aug 18 19:17:40 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 12:17:40 -0700 Subject: Kids find the words (fwd) Message-ID: The Herald - Everett, Wash. - www.HeraldNet.com Published: Friday, August 18, 2006 Kids find the words Tulalip children learn an ancient language that all but vanished. By Krista J. Kapralos Herald Writer http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/08/18/100loc_a1language001.cfm TULALIP - Some of the students in the Lushootseed Language Class at the Tulalip Indian Reservation are as young as 5 years old, but their teachers have given them an important mission. "I let my students know that their families don't know Lushootseed," teacher Rebecca Posey said. "They should go home and try to teach their families. If that continues, then we'll get our language back." This week, about 50 young tribal members are attending Lushootseed Language Camp. They are learning with game show-style quizzes, with computer programs developed by the Tulalip Tribes, and by practicing a play that uses English and Lushootseed phrases. They will perform the play this morning at the Tulalip Amphitheatre. Only a decade ago, Lushootseed, an ancient language used by Coast Salish American Indian tribes along the northern coast of Washington, was a mystery to most Tulalip tribal members. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, tribal children were forbidden to speak their native language when they were sent to boarding schools, a federal experiment designed to absorb Indians into mainstream culture. Knowledge of tribal languages dwindled until the words were only distant memories. In the 1950s, linguist Leon Metcalf traveled to American Indian reservations in northwest Washington to record tribal elders speaking their native language. Metcalf recorded whatever they remembered of Lushootseed and also offered to deliver recorded messages to their friends on other reservations, said Toby Langen, a linguist who works for the Tulalip Tribes' Language Department. "That way, he got a lot of conversational Lushootseed," Langen said. In the 1960s, linguist Thom Hess picked up where Metcalf left off. Hess compiled Lushootseed grammar, which was published by the Tulalip Tribes in 1995, Langen said. "That's the basis of what we have." Hess devised an alphabet for Lushootseed, which had never been a written language. Now the Tulalip Tribes own rights to a computer font for that alphabet. There is much more work left to do, Langen said. She would like to conduct a widespread project that gathers extended families to learn together. Once families begin using Lushootseed in their homes, the hope is that the language will come to life. The tribes' Language Department doesn't have enough staff to do that themselves, Langen said. But it's a dream. "That's the goal," she said. "People here want to see that in their lifetimes." According to research conducted by Northern Arizona University, only 20 tribal languages of the 300 or more once spoken in North America are fully vital, and used by tribal members of all ages. Even those languages, including Navajo and Crow, are at risk of dying because younger generations have lost interest in them. "Our main focus is to keep all these kids interested," Lushootseed teacher Natosha Gobin said as children at the language camp swarmed a makeshift stage to practice their lines. At Posey's table, children shouted out answers to questions she asked in Lushootseed. "Salmon!" "Springtime!" "Orca!" "In Lushootseed," Posey insisted. "Remember, this is our language." The children closed their eyes or looked at the ceiling, thinking, then said the words in Lushootseed. They remembered. Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@ heraldnet.com. Copyright ?1996-2006. The Daily Herald Co. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. From annier at SFU.CA Fri Aug 18 19:50:38 2006 From: annier at SFU.CA (annie ross) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 12:50:38 -0700 Subject: Kids find the words (fwd) Message-ID: An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed... Name: not available URL: From cspaulding at ROSETTASTONE.COM Fri Aug 18 20:30:46 2006 From: cspaulding at ROSETTASTONE.COM (Spaulding, Craig) Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2006 16:30:46 -0400 Subject: ED-MEDIA 2007 (fwd link) In-Reply-To: A Message-ID: Please forgive this little interchange with my colleague. I hit reply" instead of "forward". It was not meant to go to the whole list. It was wishful thinking that we could both attend the conference in beautiful British Columbia and enjoy the area and outdoors as well! Craig ________________________________ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of Marion Bittinger Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 2:51 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: Re: [ILAT] ED-MEDIA 2007 (fwd link) very funny! Would you send Dorothy to the conference presentations??? On 8/18/06 2:31 PM, "Spaulding, Craig" wrote: I think that FLT should send two people and their spouses to this conference! ;-) ________________________________ From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU] On Behalf Of phil cash cash Sent: Friday, August 18, 2006 2:17 PM To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU Subject: [ILAT] ED-MEDIA 2007 (fwd link) ED-MEDIA--World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia/call.htm Call for Participation Submissions Deadline: December 19 June 25-29, 2007 Vancouver, BC Canada [topics] 7. Indigenous Peoples & Technology: This topic provides information on the issues and applications related to indigenous peoples and technology. Submissions are invited on the following non-exclusive list of topics * * * * The Internet's effects on linguistic diversity * * * * * Promoting indigenous language development via discussion & chat * * * * * Multimedia support of language & culture * * * * * Exploring language with digital resources * * * * * Cultural attitudes and technology acceptance * * * * * Modifying computers to meet minority language requirements * * * * * Oral tradition meets voice dictation * * * * * Voice over IP, net meetings and collaborative thinking * * * * * Asynchronous, reflective discourse * * * * On-line dictionaries and language development -- Marion Bittinger Senior Project Manager Endangered Language Program Language Production Department Fairfield Language Technologies 135 West Market Street Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (800) 788-0822 (540) 432-6166 ext. 3331 fax (540) 437-2829 www.RosettaStone.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Sun Aug 20 05:31:03 2006 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2006 22:31:03 -0700 Subject: Ancient Tongue (language) Message-ID: ? The Herald - Everett, Wash. - www.HeraldNet.com Published: Friday, August 18, 2006 Kids find the words Tulalip children learn an ancient language that all but vanished. By Krista J. Kapralos Herald Writer ? TULALIP - Some of the students in the Lushootseed Language Class at the Tulalip Indian Reservation are as young as 5 years old, but their teachers have given them an important mission. "I let my students know that their families don't know Lushootseed," teacher Rebecca Posey said. "They should go home and try to teach their families. If that continues, then we'll get our language back." This week, about 50 young tribal members are attending Lushootseed Language Camp. They are learning with game show-style quizzes, with computer programs developed by the Tulalip Tribes, and by practicing a play that uses English and Lushootseed phrases. They will perform the play this morning at the Tulalip Amphitheatre. Only a decade ago, Lushootseed, an ancient language used by Coast Salish American Indian tribes along the northern coast of Washington, was a mystery to most Tulalip tribal members. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, tribal children were forbidden to speak their native language when they were sent to boarding schools, a federal experiment designed to absorb Indians into mainstream culture. Knowledge of tribal languages dwindled until the words were only distant memories. In the 1950s, linguist Leon Metcalf traveled to American Indian reservations in northwest Washington to record tribal elders speaking their native language. Metcalf recorded whatever they remembered of Lushootseed and also offered to deliver recorded messages to their friends on other reservations, said Toby Langen, a linguist who works for the Tulalip Tribes' Language Department. "That way, he got a lot of conversational Lushootseed," Langen said. In the 1960s, linguist Thom Hess picked up where Metcalf left off. Hess compiled Lushootseed grammar, which was published by the Tulalip Tribes in 1995, Langen said. "That's the basis of what we have." Hess devised an alphabet for Lushootseed, which had never been a written language. Now the Tulalip Tribes own rights to a computer font for that alphabet. There is much more work left to do, Langen said. She would like to conduct a widespread project that gathers extended families to learn together. Once families begin using Lushootseed in their homes, the hope is that the language will come to life. The tribes' Language Department doesn't have enough staff to do that themselves, Langen said. But it's a dream. "That's the goal," she said. "People here want to see that in their lifetimes." According to research conducted by Northern Arizona University, only 20 tribal languages of the 300 or more once spoken in North America are fully vital, and used by tribal members of all ages. Even those languages, including Navajo and Crow, are at risk of dying because younger generations have lost interest in them. "Our main focus is to keep all these kids interested," Lushootseed teacher Natosha Gobin said as children at the language camp swarmed a makeshift stage to practice their lines. At Posey's table, children shouted out answers to questions she asked in Lushootseed. "Salmon!" "Springtime!" "Orca!" "In Lushootseed," Posey insisted. "Remember, this is our language." The children closed their eyes or looked at the ceiling, thinking, then said the words in Lushootseed. They remembered. Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@ heraldnet.com. Copyright ?1996-2006. The Daily Herald Co. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: red_logo.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1923 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: spacer.gif Type: image/gif Size: 42 bytes Desc: not available URL: From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Mon Aug 21 16:40:58 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 09:40:58 -0700 Subject: Wiradjuri Language resource launch (fwd) Message-ID: Wiradjuri Language resource launch Monday, 14 August 2006 http://parkes.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=general&story_id=501808&category=General&m=8&y=2006 Parkes Shire library has acquired a number of books and CDs which form a Wiradjuri Language resource. The collection consists of a Wiradjuri Dictionary and kits on learning Wiradjuri and Wiradjuri language songs for children of all ages. It is hoped that this collection will provide out of school resources to assist both students and adults who might wish to explore or learn the Wiradjuri language. Last Wednesday, the Wiradjuri Language resource was launched in front of a crowd of approximately 100 people. Guests included Deputy Mayor Cr Ken Keith, Cr Barbara Newton and elders and members of the local Wiradjuri community. Stan Grant (snr) one of the authors of the books was to be a special guest but he was unable to attend because of illness so Dr John Rudder co-author accepted the invitation to attend. The launch was part of NAIDOC celebrations and was co-hosted by Parkes Shire Library, Parkes Multi-Purpose Aboriginal Corporation and Yoorana-Gunya Family Violence Healing Centre Aboriginal Corporation (Forbes). Guests were welcomed by the sound of the didgeridoo played by Ron Wardrop and were given the opportunity to place their handprint on canvas as a record of attendance at the launch. Gary Clarke from the Parkes Multi Purpose Aboriginal Corporation then gave the "Welcome to Country" assisted by Taylor Williams from Forbes North School who welcomed the guests in Wiradjuri. Deputy Mayor Cr Ken Keith responded on behalf of the Parkes community and spoke about the State Government's commitment to assist Aboriginal communities in revitalising their languages. He went on to quote from the Board of Studies Aboriginal Languages K-10 Syllabus document that "Aboriginal languages are fundamental to strengthening the identity of Aboriginal people and their connections to country. Recognition of the interdependence of language, identity and land underpins the syllabus. `The syllabus recognises that these are the original languages of NSW and are not available as the languages of communities anywhere else in the world". Noni Greenwood from Yoorana-Gunya Family Violence Healing Centre Aboriginal Corporation and Michele Herbert Assistant Principal from Forbes North Public School and co-ordinator of the Wiradjuri Language Program gave a talk on the importance of the language program and implementing it in the schools. Cr Keith and Noni Greenwood then cut the ribbon to launch the resource. Special guest Dr John Rudder spoke about the history of the project; the difficulty of finding word lists and the compilation of a working alphabet which was a true Wiradjuri alphabet. He went on to talk about speaking Wiradjuri - how some sounds in Wiradjuri do not have corresponding sounds in English and some sounds in English do not have corresponding sounds in Wiradjuri. Guests were entertained by the Wogambilla dancers from Peak Hill Central School, who performed traditional Aboriginal dances and the students from Forbes North Wiradjuri Language Program who performed a number of songs in the Wiradjuri Language. The afternoon concluded with afternoon tea with many guests staying on to chat with Dr John Rudder about his work. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Wed Aug 23 01:27:54 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 18:27:54 -0700 Subject: Akaka announces $1,784,150 in federal funds to go toward Native Hawaiian education programs (fwd) Message-ID: Akaka announces $1,784,150 in federal funds to go toward Native Hawaiian education programs >From Sen. Akaka's office 8/22/2006 12:52:12 PM http://www.molokaitimes.com/articles/6822125212.asp Honolulu, HI - Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) today is pleased to announce the U.S. Department of Education has awarded funds to the Waianae District Comprehensive Health and Hospital Board, the Pacific American Foundation, and College Connections. Senator Akaka said, ???I applaud the Department of Education for recognizing the importance of Native Hawaiian programs that provide the necessary incentive and support to develop initiatives that use language and culture as learning tools.??? College Connections in Honolulu is being provided $197,543 for its Native Hawaiian Scholars Program, which is a statewide project aimed to prepare Hawaiian teens to complete high school and succeed in college by combining academic support with cultural enrichment. The Pacific American Foundation, also based in Honolulu, is being awarded $496,443 for its Native Hawaiian at-risk youth and leadership program. The Foundation is also receiving $520,504 for its Malama Kaho`olawe: Native Hawaiian Culture-and Place-Based Curriculum Addressing Math and Science project. The Waianae District Comprehensive Health and Hospital Board, Ho`olokahi, was selected to receive $569,660 in funding for the development and expansion of its non-traditional educational programs at the Waianae Health Academy. "I congratulate those who make these programs possible and wish them continued success in shaping our keiki to seek greater opportunities in life for the betterment of their families and communities.??? Senator Akaka, a constant advocate of incorporating cultural values in education, has introduced several bills this session in a continued effort to highlight these educational interests. They include, S. 2674, the Native American Languages Act Amendments Act of 2006; S. 1521, the Teacher Acculturation Act of 2005; S. 1089, the National Foreign Language Coordination Act of 2005; and S. 2450, the Homeland Security Education Act. For more information regarding these bills, please visit http://akaka.senate.gov. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Wed Aug 23 01:33:20 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 18:33:20 -0700 Subject: KU Linguist Documents Dying Mayan Language (fwd) Message-ID: Tuesday, August 22, 2006 KU Linguist Documents Dying Mayan Language Posted Monday, August 21, 2006 :: infoZine Staff With $315,000 federal grant Lawrence, Kan. - infoZine - Ch'utyaty. Uj-ch'uj?a'. Chan. These words for sun, moon and sky may sound unusual to native English speakers, but for children living in Tila, Mexico, the Chol language is first nature. The language is at least 1,000 years older than English, but it is dying along with an estimated 3,500 other human languages. To begin efforts to document those languages, Clifton Pye, professor of linguistics at the University of Kansas, has received a $314,999 grant from the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Documenting Endangered Languages project will allow Pye to use video and sound technology to record Chol and two other languages spoken by children in Mayan communities in Guatemala: Mam, in San Ildefonso Ixtahuacan, and Q'anjob'al, in Santa Eulalia. "The documentation of children learning these endangered languages will preserve a unique product of human intellectual achievement as well as support a deeper understanding of how children acquire language," Pye said while on expedition in Guatemala. Pye said those communities are undergoing rapid political and economic changes. Those modern influences are leading to the extinction of their language. "At present, many men between 17 and 40 years of age have migrated to the United States from towns and villages throughout Mexico and Guatemala," said Pye. "The last decade has brought a greater intrusion of Spanish into remote Mayan communities in the form of satellite and cable television programming." Pye said the research presents challenges for him and his group of researchers, often in danger of bandits and major storms. "We persist in this endeavor because each investigator recognizes the inherent scientific importance of documenting language development for the first time in their communities," he said. The National Science Foundation and National Endowment for the Humanities gave more than $5 million in awards in 12 fellowships and 22 institutional grants to document more than 50 languages. Article link: http://www.infozine.com/news/stories/op/storiesView/sid/17230/ From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 24 17:19:55 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 10:19:55 -0700 Subject: Technology helps to preserve Indian languages (fwd) Message-ID: Technology helps to preserve Indian languages http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=5319101 WHITE EAGLE, Okla. Technology is allowing Suzanne White Eagle to hear her native tongue -- the Ponca language -- spoken back to her. White Eagle, a 71-year-old Ponca tribal citizen, and 80-year-old Henry A. Lieb Junior are among a handful of people who speak the Ponca language. The native speakers recordrf their language today with the help of the Phraselator P-2. It's a handheld device capable of recording and playing back thousands of phrases, words, songs and stories. Tribes in Oklahoma whose languages have been recorded are the Choctaw Nation, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, Comanche Nation, Ponca Tribe and the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribe of Oklahoma. About a dozen tribes have already recorded their speakers and have purchased the Phraselator. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. From nflrc at HAWAII.EDU Fri Aug 25 21:51:55 2006 From: nflrc at HAWAII.EDU (National Foreign Language Resource Center) Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2006 11:51:55 -1000 Subject: 2nd Call for Proposals: 2007 Pragmatics & Language Learning Conference (in Hawaii) Message-ID: Our apologies for any cross-postings . . . The National Foreign Language Resource Center, in conjunction with the National Resource Center - East Asia (NRCEA) and the Department of Second Language Studies (SLS), at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa are pleased to announce the . . . 17TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PRAGMATICS & LANGUAGE LEARNING Hawai'i Imin International Conference Center Honolulu, Hawai'i, USA March 26-28, 2007 http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/prodev/pll/ The conference will address a broad range of topics in pragmatics, discourse, interaction, and sociolinguistics in their relation to second and foreign language learning, education, and use, approached from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives. PLENARY SPEAKERS: * Junko Mori, University of Wisconsin-Madison * Steven Talmy, University of British Columbia INVITED COLLOQUIA: * Study Abroad Experiences from a Language Socialization Perspective (Convener: Haruko Cook, University of Hawai'i) * Negotiating the Self in Another Language: Discourse Approaches to Language Learning as Cross-cultural Adaptation (Convener: Christina Higgins, University of Hawai'i) INVITED WORKSHOPS: * Using Questionnaires in Research on Pragmatics (Facilitator: Kenneth Rose, City University Hong Kong) * Pragmatics in Computer-mediated Communication CALL FOR PROPOSALS (DEADLINE - SEPTEMBER 30, 2006): Proposals for presentation are welcome on topics such as * L2 talk and text * Developmental L2 pragmatics * Pragmatics in language education * Pragmatics in language assessment * Pragmatics in computer-mediated communication * Theory and methodology in pragmatics Proposals may be submitted for PAPERS (20 minutes for presentation, 10 minutes for discussion) and POSTERS. Abstracts for all presentation formats undergo blind peer review. ONLINE ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS: DEADLINE - SEPTEMBER 30, 2006 For more information about the conference or to submit a proposal online, visit our website at: http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/prodev/pll/ ************************************************************************* N National Foreign Language Resource Center F University of Hawai'i L 1859 East-West Road, #106 R Honolulu HI 96822 C voice: (808) 956-9424, fax: (808) 956-5983 email: nflrc at hawaii.edu VISIT OUR WEBSITE! http://www.nflrc.hawaii.edu ************************************************************************* From andrekar at NCIDC.ORG Sun Aug 27 14:51:23 2006 From: andrekar at NCIDC.ORG (Andre Cramblit) Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 07:51:23 -0700 Subject: Endangered languages of our ancestors can flourish again Message-ID: Endangered languages of our ancestors can flourish again By Richard B. Williams Endangered languages of our ancestors can flourish again - By Richard B. Williams Indian Country faces a historically unparalleled affront to our cultural survival. Of the 300 Native languages spoken at the time of European contact, it is estimated only 20 of these languages will still be viable in 2050. View Full Story Indian Country faces a historically unparalleled affront to our cultural survival. Of the 300 Native languages spoken at the time of European contact, it is estimated only 20 of these languages will still be viable in 2050. The rest will be irrevocably lost, and with them will go the traditional knowledge that has sustained our people since time immemorial. The impact will not be limited to Indian Country alone. The loss of cultural, spiritual, medicinal and historical indigenous knowledge has ramifications for all. If we continue to ignore these truths, this loss will come to pass just as certainly as the sun continues to rise and set in the sky. Yet, just as an eclipse shows us that sometimes the inevitable patterns of nature can be altered, so do we have the ability to change our future when it comes to saving our languages. But we cannot wait. Fortunately, we are blessed to have the solution to language recovery in our hands. Offered to us by our indigenous brothers and sisters from around the globe, the language-immersion education programs developed by the Maori of New Zealand and Native Hawaiians have shown us that we can reverse the rapid loss of our languages. From them, we know that it is possible for our languages to flourish again. Not that long ago, the Maori and Native Hawaiians faced exactly the same scenario that we now face. Fluent speakers had dwindled to only a mere handful of elders. Children not only struggled to grasp their cultural identity, but they also struggled to find success or meaning in education. But then, a small group of dedicated parents started gathering to teach their children the languages that they were unwilling to let die. They gathered in living rooms, garages, backyards or wherever they could find space. As people began to notice the children speaking their languages, more parents flocked to these "language nests." With time, the living rooms became classrooms and the nests became fully developed immersion education systems. Today, Maori and Hawaiian speakers number in the thousands. Children are no longer lost in the educational system. They are unafraid to succeed and thrive. As one Maori educator told me when I visited New Zealand in 2004, they are "fiercely Maori." I dream of a day when we will have "fiercely Native" children succeeding at every level of education, speaking their languages and knowing who they are and from where they came. I believe in my heart that immersion education is the path that will lead us there. Language immersion education is the only effective method to produce large numbers fluent speakers. Additionally, contrary to some people's fears, language immersion education actually improves Native students' academic achievement, rather than hinders it. The combination of mental acuity developed by becoming bilingual and the academic confidence engendered when Indian culture is embraced in the classroom has proven remarkably successful for Indian children. Congress is currently considering Senate Bill 2674, which, if enacted, will promote language immersion education and provide much- needed funding for these programs. We must stand united to support this bill. Still, my experience with the Maori demonstrated to me that we cannot wait for Congress to sanction what we already know we must do. We must follow the lead of the Piegan Institute in Montana and the Akwesasne Immersion School in New York state, which have already begun critical immersion work. We must support the fledgling immersion programs at Colville, Gros Ventre and others to build their own language nests and create new generations of Native leaders that will bring us out of poverty and despair. And we must all recognize that Native languages not only connect us with our ancestors and our traditional ways, but also with each other. They provide a window to the rich cultural heritage of Native people, a heritage that is woven throughout the beautiful tapestry that is this society as a whole. From coyotez at UOREGON.EDU Sun Aug 27 15:00:25 2006 From: coyotez at UOREGON.EDU (David Lewis) Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 11:00:25 -0400 Subject: Endangered languages of our ancestors can flourish again In-Reply-To: Message-ID: And Interesting article. What is most interesting is the perspective of the author. Who is the proverbial "we" who is apparently ignoring the truths of language loss? I don't think this perspective is taking into account the fact that tribes/individuals/universities across the Americas are engaged in efforts to save native languages and are well aware of the cultural issues pointed out in the article. David Andre Cramblit wrote: > Endangered languages of our ancestors can flourish again > > By Richard B. Williams > > > Endangered languages of our ancestors can flourish again - By > Richard B. Williams source=email> > > Indian Country faces a historically unparalleled affront to > our cultural survival. Of the 300 Native languages spoken at the time > of European contact, it is estimated only 20 of these languages will > still be viable in 2050. View Full Story www.denverpost.comnull/ci_4242689?source=email> > > Indian Country faces a historically unparalleled affront to our > cultural survival. Of the 300 Native languages spoken at the time of > European contact, it is estimated only 20 of these languages will > still be viable in 2050. The rest will be irrevocably lost, and with > them will go the traditional knowledge that has sustained our people > since time immemorial. > > The impact will not be limited to Indian Country alone. The loss of > cultural, spiritual, medicinal and historical indigenous knowledge > has ramifications for all. > > If we continue to ignore these truths, this loss will come to pass > just as certainly as the sun continues to rise and set in the sky. > Yet, just as an eclipse shows us that sometimes the inevitable > patterns of nature can be altered, so do we have the ability to > change our future when it comes to saving our languages. But we > cannot wait. > > Fortunately, we are blessed to have the solution to language recovery > in our hands. Offered to us by our indigenous brothers and sisters > from around the globe, the language-immersion education programs > developed by the Maori of New Zealand and Native Hawaiians have shown > us that we can reverse the rapid loss of our languages. > > From them, we know that it is possible for our languages to flourish > again. > > Not that long ago, the Maori and Native Hawaiians faced exactly the > same scenario that we now face. Fluent speakers had dwindled to only > a mere handful of elders. Children not only struggled to grasp their > cultural identity, but they also struggled to find success or meaning > in education. > > But then, a small group of dedicated parents started gathering to > teach their children the languages that they were unwilling to let > die. They gathered in living rooms, garages, backyards or wherever > they could find space. As people began to notice the children > speaking their languages, more parents flocked to these "language > nests." With time, the living rooms became classrooms and the nests > became fully developed immersion education systems. > > Today, Maori and Hawaiian speakers number in the thousands. Children > are no longer lost in the educational system. They are unafraid to > succeed and thrive. As one Maori educator told me when I visited New > Zealand in 2004, they are "fiercely Maori." > > > I dream of a day when we will have "fiercely Native" children > succeeding at every level of education, speaking their languages and > knowing who they are and from where they came. I believe in my heart > that immersion education is the path that will lead us there. > > Language immersion education is the only effective method to produce > large numbers fluent speakers. Additionally, contrary to some > people's fears, language immersion education actually improves Native > students' academic achievement, rather than hinders it. The > combination of mental acuity developed by becoming bilingual and the > academic confidence engendered when Indian culture is embraced in the > classroom has proven remarkably successful for Indian children. > > Congress is currently considering Senate Bill 2674, which, if > enacted, will promote language immersion education and provide much- > needed funding for these programs. We must stand united to support > this bill. Still, my experience with the Maori demonstrated to me > that we cannot wait for Congress to sanction what we already know we > must do. > > We must follow the lead of the Piegan Institute in Montana and the > Akwesasne Immersion School in New York state, which have already > begun critical immersion work. We must support the fledgling > immersion programs at Colville, Gros Ventre and others to build their > own language nests and create new generations of Native leaders that > will bring us out of poverty and despair. > > And we must all recognize that Native languages not only connect us > with our ancestors and our traditional ways, but also with each other. > > They provide a window to the rich cultural heritage of Native people, > a heritage that is woven throughout the beautiful tapestry that is > this society as a whole. > From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 27 22:12:43 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 15:12:43 -0700 Subject: Microsoft unveils Incan version of Windows (fwd) Message-ID: Microsoft unveils Incan version of Windows Sat Aug 26, 2006 4:09 AM IST147 By Eduardo Garcia http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2006-08-26T035857Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-264935-1.xml&archived=False SUCRE, Bolivia (Reuters) - Microsoft launched a version of its software in the Incan language of Quechua on Friday, boosting Bolivian President Evo Morales' quest to promote Bolivia's native tongues. Some 200 people, many of them Quechuan Indians clad in ponchos, joined local Microsoft executives to unveil the version of the Windows operating system and Office software in Bolivia's constitutional capital. "Open" is replaced by "Kichay" and "Save" by "Waqaychay" in the version in Quechua -- a language spoken by more than 2.5 million people in Bolivia, and some 10 million throughout South America. Since taking power in January, Morales, an Aymara Indian, has sought to promote Indian culture and end discrimination against indigenous peoples in South America's poorest country. Government officials said they were excited about the new software but concerned it could be costly for many in Bolivia's poor indigenous majority. "We congratulate Microsoft for having facilitated the use of computers in our own languages, but we have to advance towards systems that are more open because we still have to pay a license fee (to use the software) to Microsoft," Bolivia's Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca said. Windows and Office In Quechua can be downloaded free from the Internet, but only by those who already own licensed versions of the software packages. Maritza Yapu, a 28-year-old Quechua teacher, thinks the new version will help Quechua speakers breach the digital divide with Spanish speakers in Bolivia. "Quechua is experiencing a revival, some university teachers read their courses in Quechua, and now the (education) Ministry is including the language in primary education," said the teacher. The Quechua translation was carried out by academics from three Peruvian universities in coordination with the Education Ministry in Peru -- where Quechua is also spoken -- and Microsoft. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 27 22:23:15 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 15:23:15 -0700 Subject: Technology News (fwd) Message-ID: Technology News http://www.canadaeast.com/cp/science/article.php?articleID=37342 WHITE EAGLE, Okla. (AP) - Suzanne White Eagle never dreamed in her 71 years she would see her native tongue - the Ponca language - speak back at her the way it did with new technology. White Eagle, a Ponca tribal citizen and Henry Lieb, 80, are two of the few people who speak the Ponca language. The Ponca Tribe has only about two dozen fluent speakers among its 3,000 tribal members, said Dan Jones, tribal chairman. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 27 22:28:41 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 15:28:41 -0700 Subject: Handheld 'Phraselator' helps preserve North American native languages (fwd) Message-ID: Handheld 'Phraselator' helps preserve North American native languages Christina Good Voice Canadian Press Sunday, August 27, 2006 http://www.canada.com/topics/technology/news/gizmos/story.html?id=c6945d61-849d-4be6-85d4-d9eb30fb0948&k=86402 WHITE EAGLE, Okla. (AP) - Suzanne White Eagle never dreamed in her 71 years she would see her native tongue - the Ponca language - speak back at her the way it did with new technology. White Eagle, a Ponca tribal citizen and Henry Lieb, 80, are two of the few people who speak the Ponca language. The Ponca Tribe has only about two dozen fluent speakers among its 3,000 tribal members, said Dan Jones, tribal chairman. With the help of the Phraselator P2, a handheld device capable of recording and playing back thousands of phrases, words, songs and stories, White Eagle and Lieb recorded their native language Wednesday. The Phraselator was developed for the U.S. military after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks but Don Thornton, a Cherokee citizen from California, knew this device could be useful for more than just national security. "My mother was part of that boarding school era, where Indian kids were made to be ashamed to be Indian," Thornton said. After a couple of years of endless requests, Thornton finally was able to purchase the Phraselator from defence contractor Voxtec International to be used for native language-revitalization. He said he spent about $12 million developing the device for use by tribes. The Phraselator costs about $3,300. "It's the only thing invented for communication," Thornton said. "The inventor of the device never imagined it could be used for language-revitalization." Thornton and his wife, Kara, run Thornton Media Inc., which is based in Banning, Calif. They spend most of their time travelling around the country and Canada recording the language of many different tribes. Some of the tribes in Oklahoma whose languages have been recorded are the Choctaw Nation, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, Comanche Nation, Ponca Tribe and the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribe of Oklahoma. About a dozen tribes have already recorded their speakers and have purchased the Phraselator. Thornton said the next couple of stops to record with tribes include the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and tribes in Montana and Alberta. The Ponca speakers said they can't believe they are going to have this sort of help in preserving their language. White Eagle has lived most of her life in White Eagle, which is about eight kilometres south of Ponca City and has the namesake of her husband's grandfather. She moved away for about 15 years while her husband was in the military. White Eagle said even before she left home she felt her tribe's language was "fading away." "It scared me - to see our language slipping away," White Eagle said. "So I said: 'Let's get started. Let's teach our language."' White Eagle said despite her determination and willingness to help teach the language, she knew it was going to take much more than just her. "So I thought: 'I'm going to pray about this,"' White Eagle said. Tuesday, White Eagle's prayers were answered. The Thorntons recorded with White Eagle and Lieb for two days and by mid-afternoon Wednesday, the two had recorded several hundred words and phrases. "It will take a couple of years - it'll happen when it's meant to be," Jones said. "Then we'll have it forever." Lieb, a well-known tribal elder and language instructor said he is a fluent speaker, if he can find someone to talk with. "English is my second language. I was born on a reservation - the language is all I know," Lieb said. Lieb's been pushing for the tribe to begin language courses since 1998. He's a Ponca language instructor at Frontier high school and he teaches a community course to Ponca men once a week. White Eagle teaches a course for Ponca women because men and women speak the language slightly different from one another. Lieb has developed a language program which he hopes to have in place by fall 2007. Jones said the Phraselator means a lot to the tribe because it will speed up the learning process. The tribal chairman said the tribe recently purchased two Phraselators from Thornton Media Inc. and also bought 25 language apparatuses aimed at children as young as four. "From everything I've learned, it's the easiest age to learn a foreign language," Jones said. "They're so much more able to adapt in learning it." The language device for the children is called the Little Linguist and it's a round kid-friendly device that has two large buttons on it. The device comes with several separate pieces in the forms of animals, trees and mountains. When a child places the toy into the device, it speaks the word in whatever language is on the small disk that's inserted into its side. "It's ironic," Thornton said. "That this tool, created by the U.S. government may help to save the languages that they attempted to wipe out for generations. With Phraselator tribes can now have full control over their languages without the help of outsiders." ? The Canadian Press 2006 From nwarner at U.ARIZONA.EDU Sun Aug 27 23:25:06 2006 From: nwarner at U.ARIZONA.EDU (Natasha L Warner) Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 16:25:06 -0700 Subject: Handheld 'Phraselator' helps preserve North American native languages (fwd) In-Reply-To: <20060827152841.j0z6sk04ows0g048@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: Hi, does anyone know what the functions of this "Phraselator" are in more detail than what's described in the newspaper article? The article describes a handheld recording device that can record and play back large numbers of brief recordings. (The one they describe for kids seems to have an additional system for specifying what to play back by means of picture tokens.) Why would they need to go to a defense contractor for that? It seems like it must do something else that isn't described. If someone is going around to lots of tribes and using it for many languages, what is it this device is doing? Thanks, Natasha ******************************************************************************* Natasha Warner Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics University of Arizona PO Box 210028 Tucson, AZ 85721-0028 From wjposer at LDC.UPENN.EDU Sun Aug 27 23:54:15 2006 From: wjposer at LDC.UPENN.EDU (William J Poser) Date: Sun, 27 Aug 2006 19:54:15 -0400 Subject: Handheld 'Phraselator' helps preserve North American native languages (fwd) In-Reply-To: Message-ID: I've seen some information about this. What distinguishes it from any old digital audio player is the interface, which lets you select the utterance that you want to play. The reason that a defense contractor is involved is that the US military is using these things in Iraq. Since most soldiers speak little or no Arabic, they can find the utterance that they need, e.g. "Hands in the air!", and play it back in real Iraqi Arabic. If you just had a long list to scroll through as on many music players, somebody would be dead by the time you found the right phrase. As a means of documenting endangered languages these are not of much interest since they they are much more expensive than regular digital recorders. For language learning again it is cheaper and more versatile to put the recordings on a regular computer. The putative virtue of these things is that language learners can use them to have real conversations. I suspect that they aren't worth the cost. Even with several hundred or thousand utterances on them, they can't cover a very wide range of things that one wants to say, especially in languages with elaborate morphology. My impression is that they get people excited because they can carry around with them some "real language", but that they are actually not very useful. I think that the people pushing this probably have good intentions, but it looks like more "eye candy" to me. Bill From rzs at TDS.NET Mon Aug 28 16:20:08 2006 From: rzs at TDS.NET (Richard Smith) Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:20:08 -0700 Subject: Handheld 'Phraselator' helps preserve North American native languages In-Reply-To: <20060827235415.CF52DB2899@lorax.ldc.upenn.edu> Message-ID: The Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma has a device similar to what you described Though not portable. Slide a card with a word or phrase through it and it ?speaks? the word. The thing may have a function for preserving pronunciation, But I'm beginning to see first hand That language itself will not return because of any cool technology. Technology tends to beget more complex technology Technology has in many ways shattered community Now we no longer NEED one another. We no longer NEED to pray together. Ceremonies are becoming ?our Indian culture events? Something we can ADD to our life,if we choose to do so. We used to be a tight interdependent unit looking out It almost seems we are now on the outside looking in. Our own language sounds foreign uncomfortable in our Latin-based thinking processes. I?ve heard it referred to as ?talkin? ndn? Our Language will return only when there is a NEED to become true and separate community again And we just have to be ready when or if that time comes We work with HOPE into an uncertain future A time when we are rebonded once more till we won?t even think we?re ?talkin? ndn? Richard Zane Smith Wyandotte, Oklahoma On 8/27/06 4:54 PM, "William J Poser" wrote: > I've seen some information about this. What distinguishes it > from any old digital audio player is the interface, which lets you > select the utterance that you want to play. The reason that a > defense contractor is involved is that the US military is using > these things in Iraq. Since most soldiers speak little or no Arabic, > they can find the utterance that they need, e.g. "Hands in the air!", > and play it back in real Iraqi Arabic. If you just had a long list > to scroll through as on many music players, somebody would be dead > by the time you found the right phrase. > > As a means of documenting endangered languages these are not > of much interest since they they are much more expensive than > regular digital recorders. For language learning again it is cheaper > and more versatile to put the recordings on a regular computer. > The putative virtue of these things is that language learners can use > them to have real conversations. I suspect that they aren't worth the > cost. Even with several hundred or thousand utterances on them, they > can't cover a very wide range of things that one wants to say, > especially in languages with elaborate morphology. My impression is > that they get people excited because they can carry around with them > some "real language", but that they are actually not very useful. > I think that the people pushing this probably have good intentions, > but it looks like more "eye candy" to me. > > Bill -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Wed Aug 30 01:21:37 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 18:21:37 -0700 Subject: Assistant Professor to Testify on Native American Language Preservation (fwd) Message-ID: August 29, 2006 Assistant Professor to Testify on Native American Language Preservation http://www.unm.edu/~market/cgi-bin/archives/001390.html Christine Sims will testify before a congressional committee in Albuquerque. The U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce will hold a hearing on ?Recovery and Preservation of Native American Languages? Thursday, Aug. 31 at 2:30 p.m. at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th Street NW in Albuquerque. Photo: Assistant Professor Christine Sims The hearing will examine the decline in Native American languages. Chairman Rep. Howard P. ?Buck? McKeon, (R-CA) will be joined in leading the committee by Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM). Also serving on the committee are Rep. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI). Sims teaches in the Department of Language, Literature and Sociocultural Studies and is from the Pueblo of Acoma. Her work at UNM emphasizes the importance of teaching Native language as an essential part of the education of American Indian children. This hearing will examine the decline in Native American languages. The committee also will explore Native American language immersion programs as a solution to language preservation and will review the Native American Languages Preservation Act, legislation introduced by Rep. Wilson in February 2006 to secure the preservation of Native American languages. Across the country, Native American languages are in rapid decline. It is estimated that only twenty indigenous languages will remain viable by the year 2050. As a result of the rapid deterioration of Native languages, Native communities across the country have made language recovery and preservation one of their highest priorities. Media Contact: Greg Johnston, (505) 277-1816; e-mail: gregj at unm.edu From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Wed Aug 30 01:26:46 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2006 18:26:46 -0700 Subject: State's tribes devote resources to preserving their languages (fwd) Message-ID: State's tribes devote resources to preserving their languages By S.E. RUCKMAN World Staff Writer 8/29/2006 http://www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=060829_Ne_A1_State30252 [photo inset - Euchee tribe members Josephine Keith (left) and Maggie Marsey participate in a recent Euchee Language Project class in Sapulpa. Oklahoma tribes are taking various steps to ensure the survival of their languages. JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World] For more Listen to Maggie Marsey read Psalm 23 in Euchee, here. SAPULPA -- Henry Washburn would say it's a "de che ne," or battle, to keep his native tongue alive. "This is a hard language; I guess there's no other one like it anywhere," the Euchee elder said, chuckling. "Seems like it was only yesterday that I was a young boy, listening to my elders speak Euchee to me." Learning the Euchee language is painstaking. As an isolated American Indian language, it takes a special determination to learn because it is not linked to an existing language group. Another trick is recognizing slight variations between the way men and women speak the language. One is "women's talk" and the other is "man's talk." To speak outside of their proper context is not only incorrect but potentially embarrassing. A group of like-minded Euchees gathers daily to labor over the language of their ancestors. They are part of a small program, the Euchee Language Project. Launched in the 1990s, the program faces an uncertain future because a federal Administration for Native Americans grant was not renewed, said the program's coordinator, Richard Grounds. With the loss of the $175,000 grant, the group will look mostly to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, which helps fund the Euchee lingual effort. It focuses on daily classes for adults and weekly classes for children. "I think the language issue is the most critical in Indian Country," Grounds said. "We need to realize the other problems we have in tribes will be there in 10 years; our languages won't be." According to the Intertribal Wordpath Society, only 27 of Oklahoma's 38 tribes have language speakers left. Some tribes, such as the Ottawa, Otoe, and Delaware, have an estimated speaker count of less than five each, the society says. Grounds said those who are attempting to save a tribal language, especially in smaller tribes, face two critical hurdles -- financial and cultural resources. "Sometimes, we go to language preservation seminars and we cannot relate to them on the same page, because there are such big differences in what they can do and what we can realistically do," he said. A successful gaming operation can bolster a tribe's language efforts. The Cherokee Nation allocated $1.4 million to its language revitalization program in fiscal year 2005 and increased that amount to $2.5 million in fiscal year 2006, officials said. Larger tribal census numbers also mean more fluent speakers in a group. The Miami Tribe in Miami has no fluent speakers left, said Julie Olds, the tribe's cultural preservation officer. That means the 3,000-member tribe does not qualify for most grants to preserve language. The tribe shoulders the cost of its Miami Project, allocating money in its annual budget for language revitalization. It too is made possible with gaming profits, Olds said. The Miamis have made signifiBalance = 20.0 ptscant gains from having no fluent speakers since the early 1900s, officials said. The tribe printed its first Miami language dictionary in 2005. It subsequently mailed a copy to every enrolled Miami member. "We have tribal members who live all across the country, so it went everywhere," Olds said. Mary Linn, the curator of native languages at the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma, said the Miamis' achievements were epic in regard to saving their language. "Smaller tribes have something working for them that larger tribes don't and that is immediacy," she said of language preservation. "People tend to work better when the crisis is there. They are more unified." As some tribes search for funding, the 3,000-member Pawnee Nation is banking on a language immersion class that will start in January. It will focus on children, ages preschool to 5. Immersion is almost nonexistent among the state's smaller tribes, mainly because of the cost. But immersion should be viewed as a solution for tribes who want to save a language, said a native languages linguist, Cedric Sunray. A tribe has a better chance to restore fluency by surrounding members' children with the language, he said. The Pawnee Nation used its federal ANA grant to fund the new immersion program, which includes drafting a new pronunciation manual based on phonetics and not linguistics. The goal is to make the Pawnee language familiar, Sunray said. "When you're around it every day, your fluency level goes through the roof," he said. "We want to see the fireman's kid, the tribal employee's kid . . . the whole Pawnee tribe get out of the mold." Linn said Oklahoma has more spoken tribal languages than any other state. "What a boring world it would be if everyone spoke the same language," she said. "Just imagine if you could not speak to anyone in the language you grew up using, like English. This is why saving tribal languages is so important." S.E. Ruckman 581-8462 se.ruckman at tulsaworld.com From scoronel at PRINCETON.EDU Wed Aug 30 19:37:10 2006 From: scoronel at PRINCETON.EDU (Serafin M Coronel-Molina (scoronel@Princeton.EDU)) Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 15:37:10 -0400 Subject: Inca Language-Microsoft Message-ID: Title: CNN.com - Inca language gets jumpstart on Microsoft - Aug 25, 2006 CNN.com will expire this article on 09/24/2006. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/08/25/inca.microsoft.ap/index.html Also available at: http://www.cbc.ca/cp/technology/060825/z082510.html http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Aug25/0,4670,BoliviaMicrosoft,00.html SUCRE, Bolivia (AP) -- You have to press "Qallariy" to begin. Pronounced "KAH-lyah-ree," the word replaces "Start" on Microsoft Windows' familiar taskbar in a new Quechua translation of the program, which gets its Bolivian debut Friday. President Evo Morales, the South American nation's first Indian leader, has found an ally in the U.S. software giant as he promotes the native tongues of his country's indigenous majority. Some 2.6 million Bolivians -- nearly one third of the country -- speak the Incan language, and Morales sees empowering these people as his primary mission. Among the first users of Quechua software will be Indian members of a constituent assembly meeting in this colonial city to rewrite the nation's constitution. First launched in Peru in June and now freely available for download online, the software is a simple patch that translates the familiar Microsoft menus and commands. Microsoft Corp. teamed up with several universities in Peru's Quechua-speaking south to create the translation program, joining 47 other versions of Windows in such languages as Kazakh, Maori and Zulu. "More than anything, I was surprised," said 21-year-old Dilma Arancibia, a Quechua speaker invited to a Thursday preview of the program. "If they hadn't done this with Quechua, and if we don't teach it to our children, the language would definitely cease to exist." And while few of the estimated 10 million to 13 million Quechua speakers in South America have regular access to a computer, the project is paying dividends for Microsoft: The company recently won a contract from the Peruvian government for 5,000 Quechua-equipped computers. "Technology should be available to all," Microsoft said in a statement in response to e-mailed questions about the translation. "It helps improve the lives of people." Linguistics professors spent nearly three years reconciling 22 dialects of the language -- many without a formal written form -- to compile a vocabulary fit for Microsoft's programs. For "file," they chose "kipu" (KEE-poo), borrowing the name of an ancient Incan practice of recording information in an intricate system of knotted strings. "Internet" became "Llika" (LEE-ka), the Quechua word for spider web. The Quechua translation also includes many English words, as well as a few in Spanish. The greatest challenge was likely finding a balance between the use of foreign words and the creation of new terms, said Serafin Coronel-Molina, a linguist at Princeton University and native Quechua speaker. Borrowed words "are one way that a language evolves," he said. "But you can't just fill up a language with borrowed words, because then what have you got?" It seems the computers are also still trying to figure out Quechua. Sandra Picha was one of a dozen Quechua speakers invited to type out a letter to Morales at Thursday's preview. As she filled the screen with Quechua words, Microsoft's automatic spell-checker underlined every single one in red. From cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU Thu Aug 31 04:12:11 2006 From: cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU (phil cash cash) Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 21:12:11 -0700 Subject: software note: FMP Message-ID: fyi, File Maker Pro is now in unicode, see link below: FileMaker Pro in Simplified, Traditional Chinese http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0608/S00069.htm pcc From donaghy at HAWAII.EDU Thu Aug 31 04:30:30 2006 From: donaghy at HAWAII.EDU (Keola Donaghy) Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2006 18:30:30 -1000 Subject: software note: FMP In-Reply-To: <20060830211211.kpxa84s4osgososg@www.email.arizona.edu> Message-ID: Aloha Phil, yes, has been for a while now (I believe since 7- something). I've done some databases with the Hawaiian language keyboard that ships with OS X, and works well. I've had a terrible time with FMP for serving web dabases since it first shipped with the web plugin and the CDML markup language (about FMP 3 or 4). It's much easier to develop databases that can be served via the web than it used to be, but I the server does seem to go deaf (i.e., not respond to web requests) even under a moderate load. I was told that FMP no longer uses that web plugin architecture and that the web server capability was completely re-written, but the behavior is exactly the same as I experienced previously. If you use access it over the web with FMP application itself it works great, but not with a web browser. At least my personal experience ;-) Keola ======================================================================= Keola Donaghy Assistant Professor of Hawaiian Studies Ka Haka 'Ula O Ke'elikolani keola at leoki.uhh.hawaii.edu University of Hawai'i at Hilo http://www2.hawaii.edu/~donaghy/ ======================================================================= On 30 ?Au. 2006, at 6:12 PM, phil cash cash wrote: > File Maker Pro is now in unicode, see link below: > > FileMaker Pro in Simplified, Traditional Chinese > http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0608/S00069.htm