“Half of the 6,000 plus sp oken languages today =?windows-1252?Q?_wil_l_disappear_by_the_e_n_d_of_t_he_century.=94_?=(fwd link)

[Keola Donaghy]

The author of this sent a copy to myself and Keiki Kawai‘ae‘a at UH-Hilo after the article was published. I believe it overstates the interest in the Hawaiian community, though I must admit we did get a lot of inquiries from people who wanted to buy a Rosetta Stone for Hawaiian. 

We investigated the possibility of developing RS under their ELP a few years ago, and decided not to for reasons that I expounded upon in an email to the list about that time. There *is* interest in software based learning solutions, but for us, we decided that Rosetta Stone was not it. Obviously I'm not speaking for everyone involved in Hawaiian language revitalization, and perhaps some other group that I'm not aware of has expressed strong interest. 

Briefly: 1) RS was not flexible enough for us to teach things in the order and manner that we preferred, 2) development of level 1 was something around $200,000 and that's not chump change for any indigenous group, 3) it would have required a considerable investment in time from many of our most knowledgeable and talented people, diverting them from projects we felt were higher priorities, and 4) we were not convinced that RS was producing a significant number of people with a high degree of fluency/facility in *any* language, much less an endangered one. That's how we measured our success, at least at UHH.

BTW, I don't think I communicated this to the list previously, but I am no longer at UH-Hilo. I was hired as a faculty member in the music department at UH-Maui College over the summer. While I have not lost my passion for ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i, I am focusing in more on Hawaiian music with an emphasis on language use, and deemphasizing my participation in various technology initiatives. I have remained subscribed to the list, will continue to follow developments, and chirp in when necessary.

Mahalo,

Keola

On 2012 Kep. 3, at 06:02, Mary Hermes wrote:

> Agree Lindsay,
> This is the sound bite news that is really ill informed, someone needs to send Mr. Walsh the report on Rosetta Stone,
> published at his own university. And really, Hilary Clinton is going to fund Rosetta Stone to do this in Hawaii?
> wow.
> 
> 
> --------------------------------------------
> 
> 
> 
> Mary Hermes, PhD
> Associate and Visiting Professor, 2011-12
> Curriculum and Instruction
> University of Minnesota
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Sep 3, 2012, at 10:53 AM, Lindsay Marean wrote:
> 
>> Did I misread this article?  Did the author really just write that the solution to language endangerment abroad is for the United States to swoop in with funding for Rosetta Stone products?  I wonder how much awareness the author has of the state of indigenous languages right here in the good ol' US of A?  
>> 
>> Good eye as always, Phil, for news of language endangerment/revitalization in the media.  Did this article catch anyone else in their cranky shoes, or just me?
>> 
>> Lindsay
>> 
>> On 9/2/12 2:30 PM, Phillip E Cash Cash wrote:
>>> “Half of the 6,000 plus spoken languages today will disappear by the end of the century.” 
>>> 
>>> By Eddie Walsh
>>> September 2, 2012
>>> 
>>> According to UNESCO, “half of the 6,000 plus spoken languages today will disappear by the end of the century” if the world fails to take action to preserve endangered languages.
>>> 
>>> The situation in the Pacific is particularly troubling. The Statistics section under the “Resources” tab of the Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger shows that well over a hundred native languages are listed as vulnerable or endangered in           Pacific ACP (African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States) countries. If one considers the larger Pacific Islands Forum           region, the number soars to several hundred, with 108 vulnerable and endangered languages in Australia alone.
>>> 
>>> Access full article below:
>>> http://thediplomat.com/sport-culture/2012/09/02/saving-endangered-pacific-languages/
>> 



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Dr. Keola Donaghy                     http://www.keoladonaghy.com/                                           
Music Department                      mailto:donaghy at hawaii.edu
University of Hawai'i Maui College    http://maui.hawaii.edu/ihm

"Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam."  (Irish Gaelic saying)
A country without its language is a country without its soul.
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