Siraya update
Chun Jimmy Huang
huangc20 at UFL.EDU
Fri May 15 23:27:34 UTC 2009
Thank you Rudy for your encouraging words and the suggestion. Also
thanks all those who have provided valuable information concerning
precedents and/or indigenous multilingualism in the US. I will
forward the suggestion and information to the Siraya
Chairwoman/chief, Uma, in Taiwan.
Still while we Siraya recognize the symbolic value of language in
identity legalization (playing along the nation-state's laws and
regulations, yak!), (re)connection with our foremothers remains
the most important motivation behind our current language
revitalization efforts.
Chun/Jimmy
On Fri May 15 14:02:15 EDT 2009, Rudy Troike
<rtroike at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU> wrote:
> The government response to the peaceful Siraya demonstration is
> sad, and
> certainly inadequately informed. It would be useful to compile
> information
> on precedents in the US, where tribal groups have been
> recognized, even
> though they had completely lost their languages. This has
> happened at the
> state level in California and (I think, Texas) and at the federal
> level.
>
> Regrettably, with the continuing dormancy of indigenous languages
> worldwide,
> ethnic identity will be less and less based on linguistic
> criteria. The
> argument for legal identity of an ethnocultural community should
> not be
> dependent on current language use. This completely ignores the
> historic
> basis for the claim.
>
> Rudy
>
> Rudy Troike
>
>
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