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Jim...what an incredible story...maybe I could use this one too in my
course, with your permission. I am still researching and developing the
course content. I have not found much on ancestral memory but have
found much that can relate to it.<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">-------
wahjeh
rolland nadjiwon</pre>
<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Jimrem@AOL.COM">Jimrem@AOL.COM</a> wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:d54.5fac1109.381f4680@aol.com" type="cite">
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<div><font style="background-color: transparent;" color="#000000"
face="Arial" size="2">>>Technology simply is a tool that one can
either choose to use or not. To say that technology can revitalize
language is like saying that a hammer can build a house.</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial"><font face="Verdana">I would agree, to a
point. While a hammer cannot build a house it certainly is a necessary
tool. It all depends on what use the person or people who want to
learn their language make use of available tools. If you just want to
learn how to count to ten and say "I love you" you will not become
fluent, but if the language is available in written and audio form and
you devote yourself to learning you can achieve a degree of fluency.</font></font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font size="2">Perhaps one of the best examples of both reviving
a language and dedication is the work being done by Daryl Baldwin of
the Miami Tribe. He became interested in his ancestral language, <st1:City><st1:place>Miami</st1:place></st1:City>,
over ten years ago.<span style=""> </span>He soon discovered there
were no longer any fluent speakers of the language, and no recordings
had been made, but it had been meticulously documented by linguists
over the years.<span style=""> </span>Of course linguists use an
abundance of technical terminology, and Daryl found it necessary to
take college courses in linguistics so he could master this language in
order to learn <st1:City><st1:place>Miami</st1:place></st1:City>.</font></div>
<div>
<p style="margin: 0pt; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0pt; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Once
he began to learn <st1:City><st1:place>Miami</st1:place></st1:City>,
he took the next step and began using the language with his four
children.<span style=""> </span>Originally it was a part of a home
schooling project where nothing but <st1:City><st1:place>Miami</st1:place></st1:City>
was used for an hour or two every day, but it now serves as the common
way to speak within the family.<span style=""> </span>The older
children pass the language on to the younger ones and prefer this
language to English when they are among themselves.<span style=""> </span>Daryl's
wife, who is not <st1:City><st1:place>Miami</st1:place></st1:City>, is
also learning the language to support the family effort.</p>
<p style="margin: 0pt; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p style="margin: 0pt; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span
style="">Several years ago I </span>had occasion to visit Daryl while
working on an interactive <st1:State><st1:place>Delaware</st1:place></st1:State>
language CD.<span style=""> </span>The oldest <st1:place>Baldwin</st1:place>
son was interested in the project and I was impressed with his
pronunciation of <st1:State><st1:place>Delaware</st1:place></st1:State>
although he had never before heard it, and also his comments on the
similarity of <st1:State><st1:place>Delaware</st1:place></st1:State>
and <st1:City><st1:place>Miami</st1:place></st1:City> words.<span
style=""> </span>Another linguist who has visited the <st1:place>Baldwin</st1:place>
family was struck by hearing the youngest daughter speaking <st1:City><st1:place>Miami</st1:place></st1:City>,
a language that has been without speakers for more than thirty years.</p>
<p style="margin: 0pt; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0pt; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Jim
Rementer</p>
<p style="margin: 0pt; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Lenape
Language Project</p>
<p style="margin: 0pt; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p style="margin: 0pt; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p><font
size="3"> </font></o:p></p>
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