UAF gets $1.2 million to record Native languages (fwd link)

[phil cash cash]

UAF gets $1.2 million to record Native languages
Some are on the verge of extinction

By Robinson Duffy
Published Tuesday, February 26, 2008

A researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has been awarded $1.2 million
by the National Science Foundation to document the endangered languages of
Alaska and other areas of the Arctic.

“If it’s ever going to be done, it has got to be done now,” said Michael Krauss,
professor emeritus of linguistics at UAF. “Making a record, as much as we can,
of a language while it is still there is vital to the future of the language
and the people.”

On Jan. 21, Marie Smith Jones died at the age of 89. Her death, Krauss said,
marked a “tragic new phase of history” in Alaska because she was the last
remaining speaker of Eyak. The language may be extinct, but Krauss will
continue his work to document it. The grant, funded from the National Science
Foundation, will enable the detailed documentation of Eyak and 10 other
languages. A number of linguists will be working with speakers of various
languages from across Alaska and the Arctic.

Full article link below:
http://newsminer.com/news/2008/feb/26/uaf-gets-12-million-record-native-languages/