LL-L "Language survival" 2011.07.01 (04) [EN]

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 L O W L A N D S - L - 01 July 2011 - Volume 04
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Language survival

Dear Lowlanders,

As you probably know, most Native American languages are endangered, very
many of them being moribund.

I was interested to learn that the Choctaw (Čahta') people (who live in
Mississippi and Oklahoma, formerly also in Alabama) regard proficiency of
their ancestral language as being one of the essential attributes of being
Choctaw.

http://youtu.be/UmRxPK_-EYQ

What are your opinions about this, also in the light of other ethnic groups
and their languages? Is it likely to safeguard the language? You might argue
that it excludes those that due to circumstance missed out on learning
Chactaw. You could respond to this saying that it would give such people an
incentive to learn the language.

Of course, this model assumes that ethnicity, culture and language are
essential parts of an individual's identity. What then about cases in which
a regional language does not come with a definite ethnicity, where a sense
of ethnicity has been watered down, such as in the case of Scots and Low
Saxon?

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
Seattle, USA

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