<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><HTML><FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Geneva" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SIZE="2">Dear Listeros,<BR>
<BR>
I read this account of the use of this language tool talked about in issue 881 of the Digest for IndigenousNewsNetwork@topica.com and wondered immediately whether it might be used in the teaching of Nahautl, or if maybe it has already been used. Any opinions?<BR>
<BR>
Tlazo'camati,<BR>
Henry Vasquez<BR>
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Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2007 16:56:25 +0000<BR>
From: andre cramblit <andrekar@ncidc.org><BR>
Subject: Phraselator (language)<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
info@ndnlanguage.com, 818.406.3555<BR>
www.ndnlanguage.com<BR>
American and Canadian Indian tribes using the most advanced tools and<BR>
methods to save their languages and culture<BR>
<BR>
Banning, CA. (December 7th, 2006) - Over 47 tribes and tribal<BR>
organizations are now using a protected US Department of Defense<BR>
technology to put the beautiful sound of their language back into the<BR>
homes of tribal members.<BR>
<BR>
Many American and Canadian Indian languages were lost from the 1930s to<BR>
the 1970s, when generations of Indians were sent to U.S. and Canadian<BR>
Government boarding schools where they were not allowed to speak their<BR>
native languages. Native students of that era who spoke their language<BR>
were severely punished. "My mother was part of that boarding school era<BR>
where Indian kids were made to be ashamed to be Indian," said Cherokee<BR>
businessman, Don Thornton. Now Thornton uses the handheld Phraselator, a<BR>
U.S. Government translation technology to help revitalize the native<BR>
languages that were decimated during that era.<BR>
<BR>
The revolutionary Phraselator® P2, developed by defense contractor<BR>
Voxtec International in the aftermath of 9/11, is a handheld unit that<BR>
allows the user to instantly translate spoken English words and phrases<BR>
into any Native language." Over $12 million went into product research<BR>
and development, funded by DARPA, the research group that developed<BR>
innovative technologies such as GPS, virtual reality and the internet<BR>
itself. The Phraselator was created to heighten communication in combat<BR>
zones to save lives on both sides of the conflict.<BR>
<BR>
Phraselator® P2 holds tens of thousands of phrases, words, stories and<BR>
songs in one machine. “You speak preprogrammed English phrases into it<BR>
and it translates instantly to Native languages. It’s like an entire<BR>
language program in the palm of your hand," said Thornton. “You don’t<BR>
need to be a linguist to operate it or program it,” said Thornton, “The<BR>
system is so simple to use I can teach anyone to use it in ten seconds.<BR>
We sell tools for the average tribal member who wants to learn their<BR>
language. There are no contracts to sign and no issues with ownership of<BR>
the recordings.” Since early 2005, over 45 American Indian tribes have<BR>
begun recording their languages onto the hi-tech machines. Many are<BR>
among the last speakers of their languages."<BR>
<BR>
“We are working on combining Phraselator with a program of the Total<BR>
Physical Response”, said Thornton. “It’s a stress-free, classroom-proven<BR>
method to learn language. It’s a method that produces speakers”.<BR>
“Language is acoustical”, said Bertha Segal Cook, a world-renowned TPR<BR>
teacher and lecturer, “When we learn language as a child we hear the<BR>
sounds many times, then we understand it and we speak.”<BR>
<BR>
Thornton Media, Inc., based in Banning, CA (www.ndnlanguage.com) is the<BR>
only language tool company in the world devoted to Native languages. TMI<BR>
is nearly sold out on its line of kids language toys. 85 percent of<BR>
their clients re-order within one year. They have traveled mainly to<BR>
reservations in California, Oklahoma, Montana, North Carolina, Alaska<BR>
and Canada to record among the last native speakers of their languages.<BR>
During their journeys, many heart-warming stories were told.<BR>
<BR>
After I played with it I cried. This will help save our language," said<BR>
Jane Dumas, a Kumeyaay elder from Southern California. "I have been<BR>
waiting for such a tool all my life. Phraselator® P2 is what I need,"<BR>
said Terry Brokie, a Gros Vente language teacher in Montana. "I would<BR>
recommend anyone working with languages to get a Phraselator. It could<BR>
possibly save a language," said Ken Tuffy Helpeson, a Nakota language<BR>
teacher in Montana. "This is a very interesting tool with tremendous<BR>
potential. It has the ability to focus on our language and how precise<BR>
it is," said Keith Weasel Head, from the Kainai Board of Education in<BR>
Alberta, Canada.<BR>
<BR>
Quinton Roman Nose, Director of Education for the Cheyenne and Arapaho<BR>
Tribe of Oklahoma and a Board Member of the National Indian Education<BR>
Association calls the revitalization of native languages “a top<BR>
priority” of NIEA in 2006. Both NIEA and The National Congress of<BR>
American Indians are sponsoring new legislation to fund native language<BR>
programs.<BR>
<BR>
"It's ironic," said Thornton, "that this tool, created by the US<BR>
Government may help to save the languages that they attempted to wipe<BR>
out for generations. With Phraselator® P2 tribes can now have full<BR>
control over their languages without the help of outsiders. TMI don't<BR>
own a database of the recordings of any tribe. The only one I own was<BR>
recorded by my grandma, Lucinda Robbins, a master speaker of Cherokee."<BR>
For more information, please contact Kara at 818.284.1707 Thornton<BR>
Media, Inc.<BR>
<BR>
Don Thornton (Cherokee) has been referred to by the Native American<BR>
Times as Indian Country’s “hi-tech guru”. He has worked as a filmmaker<BR>
in Southern California for 20 years and founded TMI in 1995 to create<BR>
positive images of American Indians. Thornton is also a former Indian<BR>
journalist who also worked in social services for many years. He created<BR>
and ran the cutting-edge American Indian Clubhouse in Los Angeles (from<BR>
1993 - 96), an after-school program for Indian kids in LA, which the<BR>
National Indian Review referred to as a "bright shining light in urban<BR>
Indian Country." An interest in neuroscience and Cherokee led Thornton<BR>
to adapt hi-tech language products to Native languages including a line<BR>
of children’s toys and Indian language cartoons.<BR>
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