Dena'ina (and Tlingit, sorta) in the news

[William J Poser]

The real lexical barrier to revitalization is the attitude of speakers
that no innovation is permissible. With Carrier speakers, I have noticed
that hte middle-aged/younger older speakers are often the most puristic.
When asked how to say something that is not "traditional" they often
respond that there is no way to say that. Older elders, in contrast, tend
not to have this attitude. If they do not know a way to say it, they are
willing to think of one, or at least, will agree that there ought to be
a way to say it even if they have difficulty coming up with an expression
off-the-cuff.

I think that the difference is that the older elders conceive of the language
as a living, fully functional language, one that can be used to express
anything, without using English as a crutch. Not only are the older elders
often more fluent, but they have more memories of using the language
with people (e.g. their own parents) who did not speak English, and
more experience in adapting the language to changing technology. The
younger speakers often have limited or no experience of speaking with
people who did not know English and have themselves relied heavily on
English. As a result, they regard the language as fossilized. 

Bill