Biloxi update

[rwd0002 at unt.edu]

Quoting "R. Rankin" <rankin at ku.edu>:

> The Biloxis had a fellow named Day who is an archaeologist/anthropologist
> working for them for awhile.  I don't believe he's there any longer, but he
> phoned me once and asked for copies of what I'd written and I sent him some
> things.  They may be in the possession of the Tunica-Biloxi tribe or Dr. Day
> himself.
>
> Language retention is one thing.  Language revival is quite another.  Be
> very
> careful about making promises (or things people might perceive as promises
> even
> if you don't) that can't be kept.  About all you could do is provide some
> reference and maybe a few learning materials.  The rest is up to them, and
> when
> people find out just how hard it is to master a language they know nothing
> about, very, very, very few of them have the time, patience and motivation
> to
> follow through (after all, most of them have to put food on the table!).
> Then
> some of them will start looking around for someone to "blame" for the
> general
> lack of success of the program, and guess who they'll turn to. . . .   This
> doesn't mean linguists shouldn't try: it justs means you need to be very
> careful
> about what you claim or even suggest can be done.  There are "action
> linguists"
> who make a reputation going around the country giving pep talks to tribes
> about
> language revival.  "You can do it if you just have the will!!" is the
> message.
> But then they leave town and YOU get to take it in the ear if people don't
> have
> the 6 hours a day to put into language study, and coming in for a couple of
> hours every Wednesday night somehow doesn't do the trick.
>
> Sorry to sound like such a curmudgeon, but the success rate of the revival
> programs isn't impressive so far.  We all try to do our best, but some of us
> don't have a clear idea of the possible.
>
> Bob

I must agree with Bob on this.  I have been thinking about this language
resuscitation business myself.  Another unpleasant consequence is that sooner
or later you're asked to complete or add to the language, you are asked to
Esperantize, so to speak.  As for artificial languages, this can get tricky if
two different scholars are doing it.  This seems to be a problem with the
relatively successful revival of Cornish (Celtic language without native
speakers since beginning of the 19th century), where there are two camps
arguing on how it should be done, and writing unpleasant things on the internet
about each other.

If I was asked, I'd say yes, but it would be similar to teaching kids how to
read Cesar or Cicero in the original Latin in order to learn more about Western
Culture.  It would be nice to have children of Biloxi descent being interested
in learning to read the Biloxi texts.  Anything more might be promising too
much.

Same of course would work even better with Tunica, because we have a superb
grammar, texts, and dictionary by Mary Haas.

Willem