Phraselator- HIgh Tech Tool for Language Teaching

Thu Feb 8 08:58:35 UTC 2007

Dear Listeros,

     I read this account of the use of this language tool talked about in 
issue 881 of the Digest for IndigenousNewsNetwork at topica.com and wondered 
immediately whether it might be used in the teaching of Nahautl, or if maybe it has 
already been used.   Any opinions?

                                                            Tlazo'camati,
                                                            Henry Vasquez

Date: Sun, 28 Jan 2007 16:56:25 +0000
From: andre cramblit <andrekar at ncidc.org>
Subject: Phraselator (language)

info at ndnlanguage.com, 818.406.3555
www.ndnlanguage.com
American and Canadian Indian tribes using the most advanced tools and
methods to save their languages and culture

Banning, CA. (December 7th, 2006) - Over 47 tribes and tribal
organizations are now using a protected US Department of Defense
technology to put the beautiful sound of their language back into the
homes of tribal members.

Many American and Canadian Indian languages were lost from the 1930s to
the 1970s, when generations of Indians were sent to U.S. and Canadian
Government boarding schools where they were not allowed to speak their
native languages. Native students of that era who spoke their language
were severely punished. "My mother was part of that boarding school era
where Indian kids were made to be ashamed to be Indian," said Cherokee
businessman, Don Thornton. Now Thornton uses the handheld Phraselator, a
U.S. Government translation technology to help revitalize the native
languages that were decimated during that era.

The revolutionary Phraselator® P2, developed by defense contractor
Voxtec International in the aftermath of 9/11, is a handheld unit that
allows the user to instantly translate spoken English words and phrases
into any Native language." Over $12 million went into product research
and development, funded by DARPA, the research group that developed
innovative technologies such as GPS, virtual reality and the internet
itself. The Phraselator was created to heighten communication in combat
zones to save lives on both sides of the conflict.

Phraselator® P2 holds tens of thousands of phrases, words, stories and
songs in one machine. “You speak preprogrammed English phrases into it
and it translates instantly to Native languages. It’s like an entire
language program in the palm of your hand," said Thornton. “You don’t
need to be a linguist to operate it or program it,” said Thornton, “The
system is so simple to use I can teach anyone to use it in ten seconds.
We sell tools for the average tribal member who wants to learn their
language. There are no contracts to sign and no issues with ownership of
the recordings.” Since early 2005, over 45 American Indian tribes have
begun recording their languages onto the hi-tech machines. Many are
among the last speakers of their languages."

“We are working on combining Phraselator with a program of the Total
Physical Response”, said Thornton. “It’s a stress-free, classroom-proven
method to learn language. It’s a method that produces speakers”.
“Language is acoustical”, said Bertha Segal Cook, a world-renowned TPR
teacher and lecturer, “When we learn language as a child we hear the
sounds many times, then we understand it and we speak.”

Thornton Media, Inc., based in Banning, CA (www.ndnlanguage.com) is the
only language tool company in the world devoted to Native languages. TMI
is nearly sold out on its line of kids language toys. 85 percent of
their clients re-order within one year. They have traveled mainly to
reservations in California, Oklahoma, Montana, North Carolina, Alaska
and Canada to record among the last native speakers of their languages.
During their journeys, many heart-warming stories were told.

After I played with it I cried. This will help save our language," said
Jane Dumas, a Kumeyaay elder from Southern California. "I have been
waiting for such a tool all my life. Phraselator® P2 is what I need,"
said Terry Brokie, a Gros Vente language teacher in Montana. "I would
recommend anyone working with languages to get a Phraselator. It could
possibly save a language," said Ken Tuffy Helpeson, a Nakota language
teacher in Montana. "This is a very interesting tool with tremendous
potential. It has the ability to focus on our language and how precise
it is," said Keith Weasel Head, from the Kainai Board of Education in
Alberta, Canada.

Quinton Roman Nose, Director of Education for the Cheyenne and Arapaho
Tribe of Oklahoma and a Board Member of the National Indian Education
Association calls the revitalization of native languages “a top
priority” of NIEA in 2006. Both NIEA and The National Congress of
American Indians are sponsoring new legislation to fund native language
programs.

"It's ironic," said Thornton, "that this tool, created by the US
Government may help to save the languages that they attempted to wipe
out for generations. With Phraselator® P2 tribes can now have full
control over their languages without the help of outsiders. TMI don't
own a database of the recordings of any tribe. The only one I own was
recorded by my grandma, Lucinda Robbins, a master speaker of Cherokee."
For more information, please contact Kara at 818.284.1707 Thornton
Media, Inc.

Don Thornton (Cherokee) has been referred to by the Native American
Times as Indian Country’s “hi-tech guru”. He has worked as a filmmaker
in Southern California for 20 years and founded TMI in 1995 to create
positive images of American Indians. Thornton is also a former Indian
journalist who also worked in social services for many years. He created
and ran the cutting-edge American Indian Clubhouse in Los Angeles (from
1993 - 96), an after-school program for Indian kids in LA, which the
National Indian Review referred to as a "bright shining light in urban
Indian Country." An interest in neuroscience and Cherokee led Thornton
to adapt hi-tech language products to Native languages including a line
of children’s toys and Indian language cartoons.
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