ELL: Endangered Languages Debate

[Sean O Seaghdha]

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								From: "Sean O
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								Procrastination
								Might Be Us
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								Date: Mon, 4
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								Subject: RE:
								ELL:
								Endangered
								Languages
								Debate
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								Ar 3 Oct 99,
								ag 23:40
								scr.obh Kelvin
								Massey
								f.n .bhar "RE:
								ELL:
								Endangered
								Languages
								Debat":

								> Henry,
								>
								> I agree with
								>you that the
								>acceptance of
								>Christianity
								>has for some
								>indigenous
								> peoples been
								>a means of
								>preserving
								>their
								>language and
								>culture.  The
								>Cherokees
								> in the
								>southeastern
								>U.S. are a
								>perfect
								>example.  The
								>most
								>courageous
								> non-Cherokee
								>defenders of
								>their rights
								>during the
								>last century
								>were
								> missionaries.
								>Two of these
								>missionaries
								>spent a year
								>in prison for
								>their
								> advocacy of
								>Cherokee
								>rights. Samuel
								>Worcester,
								>who was one
								>of those
								> imprisoned,
								>was
								>instrumental
								>in founding
								>the Cherokee
								>Phoenix (a
								>bilingual
								> newspaper)
								>as well as in
								>designing the
								>typescript
								>for the
								>Cherokee
								>syllabary.
								> He
								>continously
								>agitated for
								>the right of
								>Cherokee
								>people to
								>speak and
								>write in
								> their own
								>language, and
								>continued his
								>work in
								>Oklahoma
								>after their
								>forced
								> removal.
								>The
								>courageous
								>examples of
								>Worcester and
								>other
								>missionaries
								>are
								> probably why
								>so many
								>Cherokees
								>today are
								>Christians,
								>and why
								>Cherokee-language
								> churches are
								>seen as
								>embodiments
								>of
								>traditional
								>culture by
								>many
								>Cherokees
								> (there are
								>traditionalist
								>non-Christian
								>Cherokees as
								>well).

								But how much
								choice did the
								Cherokees
								really have
								about becoming
								christian?
								Surely it is
								at least
								possible that
								part of the
								reason
								the people you
								mention were
								*able* to
								fight for
								their people
								was that
								they were
								"good
								christians"
								and therefore
								had some
								credibility
								with
								the mainstream
								christian
								culture.
								Christian
								doctrines may
								also have
								inspired them
								in their fight
								and that's
								great, but I
								don't think it
								justifies
								evangelism at
								all.

								I think it
								pays to make a
								clear
								distinction
								between a
								"means of
								preserving
								their
								language" and
								a relatively
								benign
								cultural
								intervention.
								If
								christianity
								was such an
								effective
								means of
								preserving the
								language does
								that mean that
								non-christian
								Cherokees
								no longer
								speak the
								language?

								It seems to me
								that
								christianity
								was useful in
								this context
								because
								of its
								connection to
								the dominant
								culture rather
								than its
								inherent
								language-preserving
								qualities.

								`~:.,.:'^`~:.,.:'^`~:.,.:'^`~:.,.:'^`~:.,.:'^`~:.,.:'^`~:.,.:'^`~:.,.:'^`~
								 S e . n   .
								 S . a g h d h
								 a
								 sean at urania.apana.org.au

								 Is trom cearc
								 i bhfad.
								 Seanfhocal.

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