LL-L "Language contacts" 2003.05.11 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 11.May.2003 (05) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: "Roger Thijs, Euro-Support, Inc." <roger.thijs at euro-support.be>
Subject: Language contacts

Is there any dictionary listing influences of native American languages
on
US English and its varities, as e.g. of Creek on Oklahoma English (cf.
exerpt below pasted grom the Okmulgee Daily Times News website)?
Or is there or has there been no influence?

Regards,

Roger

---

Love of Creek language inspires teacher to share

By KEITH DINWIDDIE / The Norman Transcript

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- In the American Indian language of Creek, the word
mvhayv (pronounced mu-high-ya) means teacher. On the University of
Oklahoma
campus, Margaret Mauldin is much more than that.

Mauldin, affectionately known as "Mvhayv" to her students at OU, is one
of
the world's foremost authorities on the Creek language. In the fall of
1995,
Mauldin became OU's first Creek language instructor. In her first
semester
as a university-level Creek instructor, Mauldin said she had only
limited
homemade materials to use.

"OU had been experimenting with several tribal languages, such as Kiowa,
Choctaw and Cherokee, but before that time there was no Creek language
course offered for college credit," Mauldin said. "But all of these
languages, including Creek, were at the beginning level."

Mauldin's love affair with the Creek language can be traced to her
childhood. As a Native American, Mauldin grew up in a home where English
was
not the first language. In Mauldin's childhood home in Okemah, Creek was
the
language spoken most frequently between family and friends.

In fact, Mauldin's mother, who died two years ago at the age of 94,
spoke
only Creek her entire life.

Mauldin, who is now 63, said growing up in a Creek-speaking home gave
her an
appreciation and love for the language she has carried with her
throughout
her life. Before becoming a teacher, Mauldin spent several years driving
18-wheelers across the United States.

During her years on the road, Mauldin said she found herself missing the
Creek language. Once she returned home to Okemah, she discovered fewer
and
fewer people were speaking Creek.

"It struck me that I wasn't hearing the language as frequently as I used
to," Mauldin said. "I kept wondering why 'they' weren't doing anything
about
it, and then I thought why aren't I doing anything about it. I decided
then
that I could make a difference, and I would make a difference."

Mauldin said she gave up all employment and began working on a plan to
keep
the Creek language alive and growing. She said the first step in the
process
was evaluating how fluent she actually was in the language and finding
out
how well she could read what little written material there was
available.

She said the only real reading source she could find was the Creek
version
of the New Testament, making the book her source material of sorts when
it
came to spelling and grammar.

In 1991, she began teaching Creek language classes in her home in
Okemah.
Mauldin said she was initially surprised at how many people wanted to
learn
the language.

"I advertised the classes in the Okemah newspaper, and people just
came,"
Mauldin said. "I originally wanted to teach the language to two people
in
the same family or two people who spoke to each other frequently. That
way
these people could practice the language together on a daily basis. I
still
believe language learning should be done by families. That's the most
effective method of learning a language."

Mauldin's first step in bringing the Creek language to the OU campus
also
came in 1991. After hearing Mauldin speak in Creek at a tribal meeting
in
Okemah, John Moore, OU anthropology chairperson at the time, contacted
Mauldin and asked her to do some translation work for OU.

Eventually, the translation job led to a position as a consultant for
anthropological linguistics classes at the school.

Realizing Mauldin's familiarity and knowledge of Creek language were
virtually unparalleled, OU offered her a position as an instructor of
curriculum development in the Creek language in the department of
anthropology/Native American studies. Today, Mauldin is joined by her
daughter Gloria McCarty as OU's two Creek language instructors.
Together,
the mother and daughter teach six courses at three levels.

"The Creek language program today compared to what it was when we
started it
in 1995 is like night and day," Mauldin said. "While we've come a long
way,
we're really just now taking step two. We're now gathering data and
materials for a textbook, and we want our textbook to be just as good,
attractive and shiny as the textbooks for most other classes."

While the Creek language program has operated without a textbook for its
first eight years at OU, students in the curriculum do at least have
access
to a Creek dictionary, thanks to Mauldin.

In 2000, Mauldin, along with linguist Jack Martin, published a Creek
dictionary. It was only the second Creek language dictionary ever
published
and the first since 1890.

As part of her Creek curriculum at OU, Mauldin teaches her students a
number
of classic Creek songs and hymns, giving students a chance to harken
back to
what it was like for Mauldin growing up in a Native American home in
rural
Oklahoma.

All of the songs Mauldin includes in her classes have been transcribed
entirely from her memory.

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