Fw: endangered language article

[Mark J Awakuni-Swetland]

Aloha all,
My student came across the following link to a Menominee language article.
Uthixide

"Ttenixa uxpathe egoN" a biama, winisi akHa.
----- Forwarded by Mark J Awakuni-Swetland/UNLAS/UNL/UNEBR on 03/17/2009 
11:01 AM -----


Wagonze

This came across a listserve I'm on, thought it may be of interest.

“Menominee Tribe Tries to Keep Language Alive,” Meg Jones, Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel.March 16, 2009. © 2009 Cleveland Live, Inc.All
Rights Reserved. Full Text Available at:
http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2009/03/menominee_tribe_tries_to_keep.html


“The future of the Menominee tribal language had just awakened from naps.
Seated at a small table, bare except for a label taped to the top that
read atuhpwan -- the Menominee word for table -- the tiny students
spoke what sounded to an untrained ear like gibberish. Using a booklet
of flashcards held up by their teacher, the 2-year-olds pointed and
repeated the words kuapenakaehsaeh (cup), aemeskwan (spoon) and paeces
kahekan (fork). At home they've been known to ask their families for a
snack using the Menominee words for crackers and fruit instead of
English. ‘Their minds are like sponges,’ said their teacher, Candy
Mahkimetas, after quizzing them on the words for bear, dog and cat.
‘This is the crucial age for them to start speaking.’ The survival of
the Menominee language -- which has only an estimated 35 fluent
speakers -- depends on these tots at Menominee Day Care Center
learning the language their ancestors have spoken for centuries. Last
month, UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, released a new world atlas of endangered languages --
almost 2,500 that are at risk of becoming extinct or have recently
disappeared. Menominee, along with languages of two other Wisconsin
tribes -- Oneida and Potawatomi -- is listed as critically
endangered…”


David A. Nesheim
PhD Candidate, History
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
dnesheim2 at unl.edu
www.unl.edu/dnesheim

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