Native American Languages Could Count For Class Credit (fwd link)

[Natasha L Warner]

Hi,

someone may have said this and I missed it.  University of Arizona has
classes in Navajo (2 years of it), Tohono O'odham, and at least used to
have classes in Hopi.  U of A people, did I miss any languages on this?
I apologize very much if I did--I can't get our new course catalog web
page to work in order to check.

All of those count for the language requirement.  The language requirement
is called the "second language" requirement, not a "foreign language
requirement."  If someone's first language is Navajo and their second
language is English, they would still be in the strange position of using
their first language to fulfil their "second language" requirement, but it
wouldn't be called "foreign."  Also, we test students for language
proficiency in a great many languages that aren't taught at the
university, so if a student is already proficient in any Native American
language, they could test in that for their language requirement.

Thanks,
Natasha

On Thu, 19 Jan 2012, Marnie Atkins wrote:

> He'ba'lo' All,
>
> I know this is happening at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.
>  Sahaptin is taught (http://wla.uoregon.edu/sahaptin.html) as a regular
> course and Lushootseed and Tolowa Dee-ni' are taught as Self-study language
> classes.  All three are offered through the World Languages Academy.  At
> this time, Sahaptin does qualify for the "foreign language" (can you hear
> the sarcasm as I type?) requirement for undergraduates.
>
> Further, the Yurok language has been offered at Humboldt State University
> in the past.  However, I'm not sure if it qualifies for satisfying the
> "foreign language" requirement.  Maybe someone else knows?
>
> Does anyone know of other K-12, colleges, or universities that offer Native
> American languages that satisfy the "foreign language" requirement for
> students?  If so, please share.
>
> Čawokš,
> Marnie
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jan 19, 2012 at 12:40 PM, Phillip E Cash Cash <
> cashcash at email.arizona.edu> wrote:
>
> > Native American Languages Could Count For Class Credit
> >
> > By Carol Berry January 19, 2012
> > USA
> >
> > Goodbye, French and German. Hello, Dine, Lakota and other Native
> > American languages—with some qualifications.
> >
> > Under a proposed new program in Colorado, European and Asian tongues
> > would remain options for foreign language credit in high school, but
> > Native languages from federally recognized tribes could also be
> > offered for that purpose.
> >
> > The plan is described in a bill filed January 13 for submission to the
> > Colorado General Assembly by Sen. Suzanne Williams (D-Aurora), a
> > member of the Comanche Nation, and co-sponsor Sen. J. Paul Brown
> > (R-Ignacio).
> >
> > Access full article below:
> >
> > http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/01/19/native-american-languages-could-count-for-class-credit-73223
> >
>

*******************************************************************************
Natasha Warner
Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics
University of Arizona
PO Box 210028
Tucson, AZ 85721-0028
U.S.A.