Fw: language

[ROOD DAVID S]

On Tue, 27 Nov 2007, Saltanaviciute, Jurgita wrote:




>
> Interesting description of language fluency. It made me doubt if I know 
> even my native Lithuanian, because whatever I say in it has been said by 
> somebody else or can be as easily said by somebody else.

Aha!  The crucial part of your statement is "or can be as easily said by 
somebody else".  That's part of the difference between a living language 
and one that's moribund.  YOu and many other people know not only the 
vocabulary of the language but also its grammatical rules; you can 
assemble the pieces in novel ways.  People who are trying to revive 
moribund languages often have only the vocabulary and not the tools for 
making up new statements, and no matter how many words or phrases they 
learn, the possibility of being creative will be missing.


>
>
> Just a bit of caution about this article.  The reporter is herself
> Wichita, though of course not a speaker, and she did indeed interview me.
> I asked her if I could see the article before it was published but she
> said that was against newspaper policy, so, of course, I am somewhat
> misquoted.  My cliched description of language knowledge doesn't have
> anything to do with "how" one talks. What I like to say is "You don't know
> a language until you can say things that you have never heard anyone else
> say."  Other than that, I think her portrayal of Doris is very sensitive
> and accurate, and I'm pleased to see Doris getting the kind of recognition
> she deserves.
>
> I have no idea where those lists of languages at the end came from, but I
> agree with Willem that one should be careful about citing it.
>
>
> David S. Rood
> Dept. of Linguistics
> Univ. of Colorado
> 295 UCB
> Boulder, CO 80309-0295
> USA
> rood at colorado.edu
>
> On Tue, 27 Nov 2007, willemdereuse at unt.edu wrote:
>
>> Interesting article. Thank you Jimm. I hope David Rood comments as well.
>>
>> Caution about the lists of Oklahoma languages at the end.  Concerning
>> Chiricahua Apache, among others.  I have it from a reliable source that there
>> are no fluent speakers of Chiricahua in Oklahoma. (There might well be more
>> than 10 fluent speakers of Chiricahua on the Mescalero Reservation in New
>> Mexico.)
>>
>> Quoting Jimm GoodTracks <goodtracks at peoplepc.com>:
>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: Pat Benabe
>>> To: Jimm Goodtracks
>>> Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 8:56 AM
>>> Subject: language
>>>
>>>
>>> http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=071126_1_A1_ahref1651
>>> 8
>>>
>>> Tribal language fading away
>>>
>>> by: SE RUCKMAN, World Staff Writer
>>> 11/26/2007 1:37 AM
>>>
>>> Doris Jean Lamar is the last fluent speaker of the Wichita and Affiliated
>>> Tribes.
>>>
>>> (...)>
>>> *****
>>>
>>> Fluent, but for how long?
>>>
>>> Indian languages with fewer than five fluent speakers:
>>>
>>> Chirachua Apache
>>> Osage
>>> Otoe
>>> Ottawa
>>> Plains Apache
>>> Quapaw
>>> Wichita
>>>
>>> Indian languages with zero remaining fluent speakers:
>>>
>>> Alabama
>>> Cayuga
>>> Delaware (Lenape)
>>> Hitchiti, Mikasuki
>>> Kaw (Kansa)
>>> Kitsai
>>> Koasati
>>> Mesquakie (Fox)
>>> Miami, Peoria
>>> Modoc
>>> Natchez
>>> Seneca
>>> Tonkawa
>>> Wyandotte
>>>
>>
>>
>