Teaching Indian languages preserves heritage, too (fwd link)

[phil cash cash]

Originally published December 11, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Teaching Indian languages preserves heritage, too

As the number of elders whose native tongue is their first language pass on,
tribes are racing to preserve their languages. They are compiling the first
dictionaries for languages that were entirely oral; recording elders;
transcribing tapes; and especially, teaching the next generation of speakers.

By Lynda V. Mapes
Seattle Times staff reporter
USA

This classroom at first sounds like any other, as fourth- and fifth- graders
belt out the Pledge of Allegiance. But then they slip seamlessly into
Lushootseed, one of Washington state's native languages.

The kids want to show off what they have learned. Many have been getting 40
minutes of Lushootseed instruction a day at Tulalip Elementary, a public school
in Snohomish County.

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