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<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2
face=Arial>>>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><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </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="mso-spacerun: yes"> </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="mso-spacerun: yes"> </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="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0pt" 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="mso-spacerun: yes"> </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="mso-spacerun: yes"> </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="mso-spacerun: yes"> </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="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0pt"
class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="mso-tab-count: 1">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="mso-spacerun: yes"> </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="mso-spacerun: yes"> </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="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0pt" class=MsoNormal> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0pt" class=MsoNormal>Jim Rementer</P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0pt" class=MsoNormal>Lenape Language
Project</P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0pt"
class=MsoNormal> </P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0pt" class=MsoNormal><o:p><FONT
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