Language suppression

[Mia Kalish]

Hi, Rudy & Claire, 

I know the power of resistance to oppression, and agree with you heartily. I
wonder if I would have some of my more "lovable" traits if my family hadn't
tried so hard to make me a "nice" lady (You know, husband, white picket
fence, children, grandchildren, never raise my voice). Wow. All that failed
:-). Today, I build software and love every minute of it. 

However, there is also the issue of prestige. I think (and hope and pray)
that by increasing the academic attention paid to a) languages; b) being
able to create everyday materials in those languages; c) getting tools into
the community for reading and writing in the languages, that we will be able
to change people's perspective on them, and so stem the tide. 

As an aside, I lived with my grandparents, but my father fought my learning
their multiple languages because he wanted me "to be American". The battle
became so fierce that, at 3 and a half, I stopped talking to him (on his
occasional visits) for 4 months. But the upshot was that my grandmother was
afraid of him and wouldn't teach me any more. 

Mia :-) 

-----Original Message-----
From: Indigenous Languages and Technology [mailto:ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU]
On Behalf Of Rudy Troike
Sent: Wednesday, March 15, 2006 4:32 AM
To: ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
Subject: [ILAT] Language suppression

Claire,

      That's exactly the ironic case with Yiddish. It survived for centuries
in the ghettos in Germany and Russia precisely because the Jews were
segregated and oppressed. When New York City became the largest community
of Yiddish speakers in the world, but without oppression, the language
began to disappear.

      Rudy