scholarly journals Portal Indigenous languages on Wikimedia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar ◽  
Constanza Verón
Keyword(s):  
Learning Curve ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Video Presentation ◽  
Knowing How ◽  
Privileged Position ◽  
Access Information

Video-presentation about the portal “Indigenous languages on Wikimedia”- Wayuu community.The Wayuu or Guajiro language is spoken by about 400,000 indigenous people in the Guajira Peninsula between Colombia and Venezuela, and is the most widely spoken indigenous language in both countries. But this does not place the language in a privileged position; on the contrary, it is among the region's endangered indigenous languages, with less and less Guajiro children learning to speak, let alone write the language. There is currently no Wikipedia in Wayuunaiki language, so speakers have to access information through Wikipedia in other languages. Although there is no Wikipedia in Wayuunaiki, there is an "incubator" of Wikipedia and Wiktionary.The "Indigenous Languages on Wikipedia" portal aims to be a place to collaborate and add knowledge of the Wayúu culture to the Wikimedia projects, as well as a space for learning about the language, its culture, traditions, and history. The portal has 3 sections, (1) to learn the Wayuunaiki language, (2) to collaborate in Wikimedia projects, and (3) talk page. Knowing how difficult it is to collaborate on Wikimedia platforms, especially for projects in the incubator, we plan to use the portal as a bridge to reduce the learning curve and centralize efforts to create, modify and improve information in and for speakers of the language. Finally, we seek to promote a friendly online space dedicated to a safe and constructive community exchange in order to strengthen the confidence of the Wayuu community in the Wikimedia networks.

The Bible and Indigenous Language Translations in the Americas

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linford D. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Native Americans ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Translational Activity ◽  
John Eliot ◽  
Sample Range

Scholarship on Native Americans and the Bible has often focused on the 1663 Indian Bible produced under the direction of John Eliot, the English missionary. This chapter expands the purview of European translational activity in the Americas between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries by focusing on a fuller sample range of translations into indigenous languages. Doing so reveals the astonishing range of Bible related translations undertaken by Catholic missionaries in the Americas. Such a study demonstrates the ways in which alphabetic literacy was only one form of communicating biblical truths, while it also highlights the important roles indigenous people played in the translation process.

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.

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.

Strengthening Indigenous languages in the digital age: social media–supported learning in Sápmi

2018 ◽  
Vol 169 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Outakoski ◽  
Coppélie Cocq ◽  
Peter Steggo
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
European Council ◽  
Language Loss

This article presents and discusses Sámi social media initiatives for strengthening languages. The Sámi are the Indigenous people of Europe. All Sámi languages are endangered, and the lack of resources for maintaining, promoting and teaching the languages has been underscored on several occasions by the European Council and the Sámi parliaments. Social media has become an arena where resources are created and shared, enabling communities of speakers to support each other and promote their languages. YouTube, blogs, Twitter and language learning applications are here discussed as public domains and community-grounded media. Based on a few examples and on our expertise as instructors within Sámi studies, we suggest strategies for developing long-lasting and innovative models for revitalizing threatened languages and cultures, and for counteracting language loss through social media. This contribution shares examples of innovative uses of social media in Sámi of relevance for other Indigenous contexts.

A Literary Standard and Its Discontents

2020 ◽  
pp. 115-142
Author(s):  
Kathryn E. Graber
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Linguistic Resources ◽  
Language Standardization ◽  
Hard Time ◽  
Crucial Component

This chapter analyzes Buryat language standardization as an example of truncated standardization, a problem that characterizes many minority languages in postcolonial contexts. It discusses why indigenous languages like Buryat are more likely to be surrounded by a different lingua franca, such as Russian, and used between speakers of different dialects to reduce the immediate need for a standardized indigenous language. It assesses how media makers and other language elites persist in trying for standardization in an effort to create and maintain a strong literary standard as a crucial component of the Buryat modernizing project. The chapter also talks about contemporary audiences who control colloquial forms of Buryat but have a hard time understanding Buryat-language media, particularly news media. It investigates linguistic resources, such as dialects and Russian–Buryat mixed forms, that are not part of the literary standard but serve important social functions in certain contexts.

Exploring the Use of Indigenous Languages in Antenatal Care Sessions Among Mothers in Lagos State

2020 ◽  
pp. 19-44
Author(s):  
Oludare Ebenezer Ogunyombo ◽  
Semiu Bello
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Antenatal Care ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Safe Motherhood ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Lagos State ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Yoruba Language

This chapter examines the use of indigenous languages during antenatal care (ANC) sessions among mothers in Lagos state. Authors investigate factors that influence the use of indigenous languages, the most preferred mode of presentation, and how the languages affect reception, participation, and knowledge of mothers on safe motherhood practices. Using in-depth interviews with nurses and observations during the ANC sessions, the study found that indigenous languages engender participation and are effective in building self-esteem, trust, and confidence of mothers. Songs in the indigenous language, particularly Yoruba language, help mothers retain and recall safe motherhood messages easily. Mothers generally demonstrate their understanding during the question and answer sessions, while also serving as agents of information reinforcement among themselves using indigenous languages. In view of the occasional need for interpreters, the study recommends that health workers should be encouraged to take courses in indigenous languages within their region as a second language.

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.

Designing Indigenous Language Revitalization

2012 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Hermes ◽  
Megan Bang ◽  
Ananda Marin
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Language Revitalization ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Culturally Relevant Curriculum ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
Indigenous Language Revitalization

Endangered Indigenous languages have received little attention within the American educational research community. However, within Native American communities, language revitalization is pushing education beyond former iterations of culturally relevant curriculum and has the potential to radically alter how we understand culture and language in education. Situated within this gap, Mary Hermes, Megan Bang, and Ananda Marin consider the role of education for Indigenous languages and frame specific questions of Ojibwe revitalization as a part of the wider understanding of the context of community, language, and Indigenous knowledge production. Through a retrospective analysis of an interactive multimedia materials project, the authors present ways in which design research, retooled to fit the need of communities, may inform language revitalization efforts and assist with the evolution of community-based research design. Broadly aimed at educators, the praxis described in this article draws on community collaboration, knowledge production, and the evolution of a design within Indigenous language revitalization.

Early lexical acquisition in the Wichi language

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 1052-1072
Author(s):  
Andrea S. TAVERNA ◽  
Sandra R. WAXMAN
Keyword(s):  
Vantage Point ◽  
Lexical Acquisition ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
Parental Report ◽  
Acquisition Process ◽  
Privileged Position ◽  
Linguistic Input ◽  
Early Effects ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Noun Advantage

AbstractThis research brings new evidence on early lexical acquisition in Wichi, an under-studied indigenous language in which verbs occupy a privileged position in the input and in conjunction with nouns are characterized by a complex and rich morphology. Focusing on infants ranging from one- to three-year-olds, we analyzed the parental report of infants’ vocabulary (Study 1) and naturalistic speech samples of children and their caregivers (Study 2). Results reveal that: (1) although verbs predominate in the linguistic input, children's lexicons favor nouns over verbs; (2) children's early noun-advantage decreases, coming into closer alignment with the patterns in the linguistic input at a MLU of 1.5; and (3) this early transition is temporally related to children's increasing productive command over the grammatical categories that characterize the morphology of both nouns and verbs. These findings emphasize the early effects of language-specific properties of the input, broadening the vantage point from which to view the lexical acquisition process.

scholarly journals PERGESERAN BAHASA DAERAH LAMPUNG PADA MASYARAKAT KOTA BANDAR LAMPUNG

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Nandita Wana Putri
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous People ◽  
Language Shift ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Know How ◽  
Sumatra Island ◽  
The City

<p>Lampung is one of the provinces in Indonesia which is located strategically. It is located at the Southern of Sumatra Island that makes Lampung as the only gateway for those who want to go to Sumatra Island. The complexity of the society in Lampung, especially in Bandar Lampung city, has an impact on the survival of indigenous people of Lampung itself. One of the effects is the waning of the indigenous languages of Lampung in the city. The aim of this study is to find out the reasons why Lampung is starting to be abandoned, to know how to use Lampung Language, to know what areas still survive in the use of Lampung Language, and to describe what efforts have been made to preserve the Lampung language in the Bandar Lampung city. The qualitative approach is used in this study. The data are obtained by applying the methods of observation, interview and document analysis. This study found that in Bandar Lampung city Lampung language experience a language shift which then will be extinction if not preserved optimally.</p>

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