Reviving a dying language (fwd link)

[phil cash cash]

Reviving a dying language

By CHRIS MERRILL
Star-Tribune staff writer
Wednesday, February 6, 2008 7:39 AM MST

ETHETE -- Seven preschoolers huddle around a small table.

They're 3, 4 and 5 years old, and they still have baby fat on their cheeks. A
couple of them are starting to replace their childhood teeth with permanent
ones, a fact made apparent every time they smile, showing the gaps.

All at once, they throw back their heads and belt out the song, "Are You
Sleeping?" in Arapaho.

They sing in a unison bellow, some slapping their palms on the table, "Koo hei
nookoo, koo hei nookoo!"

Two elders in the back of the room have a quick exchange in Arapaho, and they
laugh quietly together. Hundreds of pictures are behind them on the wall -- a
horse, a ball, a car -- all with the corresponding Arapaho words written
underneath.

Full article link below:
http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2008/02/07/news/wyoming/5a730f3b4eac40e2872573e70009c369.txt