Keeping the Hopi language alive (fwd link)

[Phil Cash Cash]

10/22/2013 4:00:00 PM

*Keeping the Hopi language alive*

*First Things First and Hopi language specialists to develop new program
aimed at connecting young Hopi children to native language in critical
early years*

Navajo-Hopi Observer

What was the first word your baby spoke? Was it mama, papa or was it yuuyu
or taata?

In many Hopi communities, Hopi is not the first language spoken by children
because it is not spoken in the home.

According to Cynthia Pardo, parent awareness and community outreach
coordinator with First Things First, studies show that as English becomes
the primary language, the Hopi language, the tribe's oral history, cultural
identity and strong early literacy skills are at stake.

First Things First (FTF) Coconino Regional Council in partnership with the
Hopi Tribe and the villages sponsored the Hopi Lavayi Early Childhood
Assessment Project, which aimed to increase the understanding of early
language concerns that village members have about Hopi children birth to
five-years-old. This assessment included suggestions for revitalizing Hopi
language with sustainable and realistic approaches.

Access full article below:
http://www.nhonews.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=794&ArticleID=15784
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