scholarly journals 15. Indigenous Language Resurgence and the Living Earth Community

2020 ◽  
pp. 171-184
Author(s):  
Mark Turin
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Cultural Revitalization

Drawing attention to the contemporary resurgence of indigenous languages, Mark Turin describes the collaborative work of linguistic and cultural revitalization in response to the destruction of indigenous communities in settler colonial nations. While recuperating the vitality of languages, this process also facilitates the recuperation of the well-being of indigenous communities as well as the lands within which those languages and communities are embedded.

scholarly journals Consequences and Remedies of Indigenous Language Loss in Canada

Societies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
Masud Khawaja
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Language Loss ◽  
Intergenerational Knowledge

Many Indigenous languages in Canada are facing the threat of extinction. While some languages remain in good health, others have already been lost completely. Immediate action must be taken to prevent further language loss. Throughout Canada’s unacceptable history of expunging First Nations’ ways of life, systemic methods such as residential schools attempted to eradicate Indigenous cultures and languages. These efforts were not entirely successful but Indigenous language and culture suffered greatly. For Indigenous communities, language loss impaired intergenerational knowledge transfer and compromised their personal identity. Additionally, the cumulative effects of assimilation have contributed to poor mental and physical health outcomes amongst Indigenous people. However, language reclamation has been found to improve well-being and sense of community. To this objective, this paper explores the historical context of this dilemma, the lasting effects of assimilation, and how this damage can be remediated. Additionally, we examine existing Indigenous language programs in Canada and the barriers that inhibit the programs’ widespread success. Through careful analysis, such barriers may be overcome to improve the efficacy of the programs. Institutions must quickly implement positive changes to preserve Indigenous languages as fluent populations are rapidly disappearing.

Indigenous Languages: Their Threatened Extinction Is a Global Responsibility

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Cárdenas ◽  
Roxane de la Sablonnière ◽  
Donald M. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Bilingual Education ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Language Revitalization ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Reversal Theory ◽  
Global Responsibility

Indigenous languages are at the verge of extinction. For many indigenous communities, saving their languages means protecting one of the last-standing symbols of their cultural identity, a symbol that has survived a history of colonization and that can impact their well-being. If indigenous languages are to survive, language revitalization strategies need to be adopted by indigenous communities and governments. One such strategy is language revitalization planning, where communities and governments are actively engaged in changing the way group members use language. Language revitalization plans are often derived from two theoretical stands, either language reversal theory (which adopts a language-autonomy perspective) or language vitality (which focuses on the factors that favor a linguistic group’s survival). Language revitalization strategies also involve some form of bilingual education. Bilingual education in indigenous communities allows indigenous children to learn, and hence to gain competency in, both their indigenous language and the mainstream language. Strong forms of bilingualism, as opposed to weak forms of bilingualism, have great potential for nourishing competency in indigenous languages, because they give equal value to the indigenous language and the mainstream language. Language revitalization strategies also need to consider the collective functions of language, or how groups use their language. Language can be used by groups as a vehicle for cultural knowledge, as a symbol of identity, and as a tool for communicating in formal and informal settings. Strengthening the collective function of indigenous languages is essential to their survival. In the case of indigenous people, every single step taken to revitalize their languages (language planning, bilingual education, and the collective functions of language) is an affirmation of their continuous existence in the world, upholding their distinctiveness from colonizers. This “collective existential affirmation” of indigenous people may very well be the drive needed to achieve language revival.

Towards an Understanding of Knowledge Sharing in Indigenous Communities of Practice

2020 ◽  
pp. 208-232
Author(s):  
Esabel Maisiri
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Cultural Symbol ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Practice Knowledge

Knowledge sharing is broadly an act of communication, and in indigenous communities of practice, knowledge sharing can be viewed as a cultural symbol making process. This process is facilitated by indigenous language as the communication tool. The characteristics of indigenous languages that include being dynamic, constantly changing as people adjust to their life circumstances and being personal, tacit, and experiential renders it closely tied down to the person who knows the language. Thus, the most appropriate way to understand the use and exchange of such knowledge, that is, the communication phenomenon of indigenous knowledge, would be to extricate the personal experiences of individuals involved in the use and exchange of the indigenous knowledge. This can be done using van Manen's phenomenology of practice.

scholarly journals Decolonizing the digital landscape: the role of technology in Indigenous language revitalization

2021 ◽  
pp. 117718012110376
Author(s):  
Paul J Meighan
Keyword(s):  
Local Community ◽  
Language Revitalization ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Indigenous Language Revitalization ◽  
Digital Landscape

Due to colonization and imperialism, Indigenous languages continue to be threatened and endangered. Resources to learn Indigenous languages are often severely limited, such as a lack of trained or proficient teachers. Materials which follow external standards or Western pedagogies may not meet the needs of the local community. One common goal for Indigenous language revitalization initiatives is to promote intergenerational language transmission and use in multiple social domains, such as the home. Could the use of technology assist in Indigenous language revitalization? And what would be its role? This article, emerging from ongoing research, aims to synthesize some key takeaways on the role of digital and online technologies in Indigenous language revitalization over the past three decades since the foundation of the World Wide Web in 1989. The article highlights how Indigenous communities, content creators, scholars and visionaries have contributed to an ongoing decolonization of the digital landscape.

scholarly journals Language and culture in dimension

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 322-346
Author(s):  
Tereza Tayná Coutinho Lopes ◽  
Marília Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
The People

Onomastic studies in general—and the studies of the onomastic systems of indigenous languages in particular—require interdisciplinary investigations that address properly the diversity inherent in the field. In this vein, the present work discusses how linguistic concepts dialogue with anthropology and ethnography in the study of the onomastic system of Parkatêjê, an indigenous language spoken by the people of the same name, who currently inhabit the area called Reserva Indígena Mãe Maria (RIMM), close to the municipality of Marabá (Pará, Brazil). We will discuss aspects observed in the description of the anthroponyms known and used mostly by native speakers of the Parkatêjê language. The methodology of the study consisted of bibliographic research and ethnographic research with data collection in the indigenous area inhabited by the indigenous communities in question.

scholarly journals Languages in Danger: How Can Linguistic Diversity Be Preserved and Promoted in Nepal?

2020 ◽  
pp. 503-511
Author(s):  
Min Pun ◽  
Kamal Gurung
Keyword(s):  
Policy Development ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
The Government

This paper focuses on the decline and death of indigenous languages with special reference to sampled languages used by indigenous communities in Kaski district, arguing that the indigenous language communities should be supported by the government for giving official status to their native languages, focused on formulation and implementation of education policies, and encouraged to insist on speaking their native languages. Together, the indigenous language communities need to collaborate with the government to curb all the issues related to preserving and promoting linguistic diversity in Nepal. Based on the findings and discussion of the study, the following recommendations have been made to preserve and promote linguistic diversity in Nepal: 1) The findings of the study concluded that documentation is one of the most important ways to preserve and promote indigenous languages; 2) The findings of this study concluded that both formal and informal languages classes can be effective to cover all types of age group indigenous language speakers; 3) It is recommended that language teachers should be provided with appropriate trainings to be good indigenous language teachers; 4) It is recommended that indigenous language groups should put pressure on the government for policy development and political advocacy for the preservation of indigenous languages; 5) The study suggested that indigenous language groups should be given language awareness programs occasionally in order to motivate them to use their native languages and then to preserve the linguistic diversity in Nepal; and 6) The study suggested that indigenous language communities need to get help of language researchers to address the issues related to indigenous language revitalization strategies.

scholarly journals Hear Our Languages, Hear Our Voices: Storywork as Theory and Praxis in Indigenous-Language Reclamation

Daedalus ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 147 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa L. McCarty ◽  
Sheilah E. Nicholas ◽  
Kari A. B. Chew ◽  
Natalie G. Diaz ◽  
Wesley Y. Leonard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Abstract Entity ◽  
Hawaiian Language ◽  
Indigenous Ways Of Knowing

Storywork provides an epistemic, pedagogical, and methodological lens through which to examine Indigenous language reclamation in practice. We theorize the meaning of language reclamation in diverse Indigenous communities based on firsthand narratives of Chickasaw, Mojave, Miami, Hopi, Mohawk, Navajo, and Native Hawaiian language reclamation. Language reclamation is not about preserving the abstract entity “language,” but is rather about voice, which encapsulates personal and communal agency and the expression of Indigenous identities, belonging, and responsibility to self and community. Storywork – firsthand narratives through which language reclamation is simultaneously described and practiced – shows that language reclamation simultaneously refuses the dispossession of Indigenous ways of knowing and refuses past, present, and future generations in projects of cultural continuance. Centering Indigenous experiences sheds light on Indigenous community concerns and offers larger lessons on the role of language in well-being, sustainable diversity, and social justice.

scholarly journals INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES OF NEPAL: A STUDY OF PREVENTION BARRIERS AND PRESERVATION STRATEGIES

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 663-675
Author(s):  
Min Pun ◽  
Kamal Gurung
Keyword(s):  
Group Discussion ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Heritage Languages ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Inclusive Language ◽  
Language Revival ◽  
The Government

Purpose of the study: In Nepal, indigenous languages are in danger of disappearing and if the situation does not improve, the dying trend will continue to increase in the future. Thus, this paper aims to explore barriers to indigenous language activities and strategies for revitalizing these dying languages of Nepal. Methodology: To address this objective, the study adopted the qualitative research method, using the data collected from the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and secondary sources such as the existing literature through print and online sources. The results were presented thematically and discussed for qualitative analysis. Main findings: The overall results of the study indicated that an inclusive language policy should be adopted by the government to accommodate indigenous languages of Nepal, indigenous language communities should be encouraged by the government to insist on speaking their languages, and language communities are also required to collaborate with the government to address the issues related to improving the preservation and promotion of indigenous languages of Nepal. Applications of this study: The outcome of this particular research can be a beneficial act for engaging indigenous communities of Nepal in language revival and protecting threatened languages from extinction. It is the responsibility of the researchers that are expected by each of various indigenous language communities in particular and the Nepali society at large. Novelty/Originality of this Study: Indigenous languages are often considered by many as 'heritage languages' and are used to describe languages that are often in the endangered list. No studies are found on the use of indigenous languages and language revival efforts in the study area such as barriers that prevented indigenous language groups from participating in language activities and ways that can preserve and promote such dying languages in the study area.

scholarly journals Language is land, land is language: The importance of Indigenous languages

2021 ◽  
pp. 194277862110228
Author(s):  
Susan Chiblow ◽  
Paul J. Meighan
Keyword(s):  
Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Language Immersion ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Scottish Gaelic ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Ojibwe Language ◽  
Humanitarian Crises

This collaborative opinion piece, written from the authors’ personal perspectives (Anishinaabe and Gàidheal) on Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe language) and Gàidhlig (Scottish Gaelic language), discusses the importance of maintaining and revitalizing Indigenous languages, particularly in these times of climate and humanitarian crises. The authors will give their personal responses, rooted in lived experiences, on five areas they have identified as a starting point for their discussion: (1) why Indigenous languages are important; (2) the effects of colonization on Indigenous languages; (3) the connections/responsibilities to the land, such as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), embedded in Indigenous languages; (4) the importance of land-based learning and education, full language immersion, and the challenges associated with implementing these strategies for Indigenous language maintenance and revitalization; and (5) where we can go from here.

scholarly journals "Ceremonies of Renewal"

Museum Worlds ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Peers
Keyword(s):  
Culturally Relevant ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Museum Collections ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Indigenous Groups

Access to heritage objects in museum collections can play an important role in healing from colonial trauma for indigenous groups by facilitating strengthened connections to heritage, to ancestors, to kin and community members in the present, and to identity. This article analyzes how touch and other forms of sensory engagement with five historic Blackfoot shirts enabled Blackfoot people to address historical traumas and to engage in ‘ceremonies of renewal’, in which knowledge, relationships, and identity are strengthened and made the basis of well-being in the present. The project, which was a museum loan and exhibition with handling sessions before the shirts were placed on displays, implies the obligation of museums to provide culturally relevant forms of access to heritage objects for indigenous communities.

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