An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples. This language is from a linguistically distinct community that originated in the area. Indigenous languages are not necessarily national languages but they can be; for example, Aymara is an official language of Bolivia. Also, national languages are not necessarily indigenous to the country.
Indigenous languages are disappearing for various reasons, including the mass extinction of entire speaker communities by natural disaster or genocide, aging communities in which the language is not passed on, and oppressive language planning policies that actively seek to eradicate languages.[3] In North America since 1600, at least 52 Native American languages have disappeared. There may be more than 7,000 languages that exist in the world today, though many of them have not been recorded because they belong to tribes in rural areas of the world or are not easily accessible. It is estimated that 6,809 "living" languages exist in the world today, with 90% having fewer than 100,000 speakers. That means that roughly 6,100 languages are facing a risk of eventual extinction. Some languages are very close to disappearing:
Forty six languages are known to have just one native speaker while 357 languages have fewer than 50 speakers. Rare languages are more likely to show evidence of decline than more common ones.[4]
Oklahoma provides the backdrop for an example of language loss in the developed world. It boasts the highest density of indigenous languages in the United States. That includes languages originally spoken in the region, as well as those of Native American tribes from other areas that were forcibly relocated onto reservations there.[5] The US government drove the Yuchi from Tennessee to Oklahoma in the early 19th century. Until the early 20th century, most Yuchi tribe members spoke the language fluently. Then, government boarding schools severely punished American Indian students who were overheard speaking their own language. To avoid beatings and other punishments, Yuchi and other Indian children abandoned their native languages in favor of English.
In 2005, only five elderly members of the Yuchi tribe were fluent in the language. These remaining speakers spoke Yuchi fluently before they went to school and have maintained the language despite strong pressure to abandon it.[6]
The situation was not limited to Oklahoma. In the Northwest Pacific plateau, there are no speakers left of the indigenous tribal languages from that area all the way to British Columbia.
Oregon's Siletz reservation, established in 1855, was home to the endangered language Siletz Dee-ni. The reservation held members of 27 different Indian bands speaking many languages. In order to communicate, people adopted Chinook Jargon, a pidgin or hybrid language. Between the use of Chinook Jargon and the increased presence of English, the number of speakers of indigenous languages dwindled.[6]
Other tribes of Native Americans were also forced into government schools and reservations. They were also treated badly if they did not become "civilized," which meant they were to go to Christian churches and speak English. They were forced to give up their tribal religious beliefs and languages. Now, Native Americans are trying to regain some of their lost heritage. They gather at "pow-wow" to share culture, stories, remedies, dances, music, rhythms, recipes and heritage with anyone who wants to learn them.
In January 2008, in Anchorage, Alaska, friends and relatives gathered to bid their last farewell to 89 year old Marie Smith Jones, a beloved matriarch of her community. "As they bid her farewell, they also bid farewell to the Eyak language as Marie was the last fluent speaker of the language."[7]
LearningEdit
Hundreds of indigenous languages around the world are taught by traditional means, including vocabulary, grammar, readings, and recordings.[8]
About 6,000 others can be learned to some extent by listening to recordings made for other purposes, such as religious texts for which translations are available in more widely-known languages.[9][10]
"Treasure language"Edit
The term "treasure language" was proposed by the Rama people of Nicaragua as an alternative to heritage language, indigenous language, and "ethnic language" since those names are considered pejorative in the local context.[11] The term is now also used in the context of public storytelling events.[12]
The term "treasure language" references the desire of speakers to sustain the use of their mother tongue into the future:
[The] notion of treasure fit the idea of something that had been buried and almost lost, but was being rediscovered and now shown and shared. And the word treasure also evoked the notion of something belonging exclusively to the Rama people, who now attributed it real value and had become eager and proud of being able to show it to others.[11]
Accordingly, the term may be considered to be distinct from endangered language for which objective criteria are available, or heritage language, which describes an end-state for a language for which individuals are more fluent in a dominant language.[13]
See alsoEdit
Challenges and needs for developing content in Indigenous Languages, PDF in Wikimedia projects
^See pp. 55-56 of Zuckermann, Ghil‘ad, Shakuto-Neoh, Shiori & Quer, Giovanni Matteo (2014), Native Tongue Title: Proposed Compensation for the Loss of Aboriginal Languages, Australian Aboriginal Studies 2014/1: 55-71.
^United Nations General Assembly, 71st session, Third Committee, 16 November 2016 [1]
^Connor, Steve. "Alarm Raised on World's Disappearing Languages." 15 May 2003. Common Dreams. Org. 21 February 2009 [2].
^Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages. "Disappearing Languages - Enduring Voices-Documenting the Planet's Endangered Languages." 2009. National Geographic. 19 February 2009 . National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-07-08. Retrieved 2010-07-08..
^ abLiving Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages. "Disappearing Languages - Enduring Voices-Documenting the Planet's Endangered Languages." 2009. National Geographic. 19 February 2009 . National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-07-08. Retrieved 2010-07-08..
^Glavin, Maywa and Montenegro, Terry. "In Defense of Difference." 7 October 2008. Seed Magazine. 29 January 2009 2009 .
^"Reviews of Language Courses". Lang1234. Retrieved 11 Sep 2012.
^"Countries of the World". Global Recordings Network. Retrieved 11 Sep 2012.
^"GEOGRAPHIC LANGUAGE MUSEUM". ForeignLanguageExpertise.com. Retrieved 11 Sep 2012.
^ abGrinevald, Colette; Pivot, Bénédicte (2013). "On the revitalization of a 'treasure language': The Rama Language Project of Nicaragua". In Jones, Mari; Ogilvie, Sarah (eds.). Keeping Languages Alive: Documentation, Pedagogy and Revitalization. Cambridge University Press. pp. 181–197. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139245890.018. ISBN9781139245890.
^"Languages Treasured but Not Lost". East Bay Express. Oakland. 2016-02-17. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
^Hale, Kenneth; Hinton, Leanne, eds. (2001). The Green Book of Language Revitalization in Practice. Emerald Group Publishing.
BibliographyEdit
Frawley, William, & Hill, Kenneth C. (2002) Making Dictionaries: preserving indigenous languages of the Americas. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Harrison, K. David. (2007) When Languages Die: the extinction of the world's languages and the erosion of human knowledge. New York and London: Oxford University Press.
Singerman, Robert. (1996) Indigenous languages of the Americas: a bibliography of dissertations and theses. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press
Wurm, S. A. & Heyward, Ian (eds.) (2001) Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger of Disappearing. Paris: UNESCO Pub.
External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Indigenous languages.
Alaska Native Language Center (ANLC)
Indigenous Language Institute
Aboriginal Languages of Australia
Austlang: the Australian Indigenous Languages Database at AIATSIS
The Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas (SSILA)
October 24, 2023
indigenous, language, examples, perspective, this, article, deal, primarily, with, united, states, represent, worldwide, view, subject, improve, this, article, discuss, issue, talk, page, create, article, appropriate, june, 2017, learn, when, remove, this, tem. The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject You may improve this article discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new article as appropriate June 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message An indigenous language or autochthonous language is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples This language is from a linguistically distinct community that originated in the area Indigenous languages are not necessarily national languages but they can be for example Aymara is an official language of Bolivia Also national languages are not necessarily indigenous to the country Many indigenous peoples worldwide have stopped passing on their ancestral languages to the next generation and have instead adopted the majority language as part of their acculturation into the majority culture Furthermore many indigenous languages have been subject to linguicide language killing 1 Recognizing their vulnerability the United Nations proclaimed 2019 the International Year of Indigenous Languages to draw attention to the critical loss of indigenous languages and the urgent need to preserve revitalize and promote indigenous languages 2 Contents 1 Disappearance 2 Learning 3 Treasure language 4 See also 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 External linksDisappearance EditIndigenous languages are disappearing for various reasons including the mass extinction of entire speaker communities by natural disaster or genocide aging communities in which the language is not passed on and oppressive language planning policies that actively seek to eradicate languages 3 In North America since 1600 at least 52 Native American languages have disappeared There may be more than 7 000 languages that exist in the world today though many of them have not been recorded because they belong to tribes in rural areas of the world or are not easily accessible It is estimated that 6 809 living languages exist in the world today with 90 having fewer than 100 000 speakers That means that roughly 6 100 languages are facing a risk of eventual extinction Some languages are very close to disappearing Forty six languages are known to have just one native speaker while 357 languages have fewer than 50 speakers Rare languages are more likely to show evidence of decline than more common ones 4 Oklahoma provides the backdrop for an example of language loss in the developed world It boasts the highest density of indigenous languages in the United States That includes languages originally spoken in the region as well as those of Native American tribes from other areas that were forcibly relocated onto reservations there 5 The US government drove the Yuchi from Tennessee to Oklahoma in the early 19th century Until the early 20th century most Yuchi tribe members spoke the language fluently Then government boarding schools severely punished American Indian students who were overheard speaking their own language To avoid beatings and other punishments Yuchi and other Indian children abandoned their native languages in favor of English In 2005 only five elderly members of the Yuchi tribe were fluent in the language These remaining speakers spoke Yuchi fluently before they went to school and have maintained the language despite strong pressure to abandon it 6 The situation was not limited to Oklahoma In the Northwest Pacific plateau there are no speakers left of the indigenous tribal languages from that area all the way to British Columbia Oregon s Siletz reservation established in 1855 was home to the endangered language Siletz Dee ni The reservation held members of 27 different Indian bands speaking many languages In order to communicate people adopted Chinook Jargon a pidgin or hybrid language Between the use of Chinook Jargon and the increased presence of English the number of speakers of indigenous languages dwindled 6 Other tribes of Native Americans were also forced into government schools and reservations They were also treated badly if they did not become civilized which meant they were to go to Christian churches and speak English They were forced to give up their tribal religious beliefs and languages Now Native Americans are trying to regain some of their lost heritage They gather at pow wow to share culture stories remedies dances music rhythms recipes and heritage with anyone who wants to learn them In January 2008 in Anchorage Alaska friends and relatives gathered to bid their last farewell to 89 year old Marie Smith Jones a beloved matriarch of her community As they bid her farewell they also bid farewell to the Eyak language as Marie was the last fluent speaker of the language 7 Learning EditHundreds of indigenous languages around the world are taught by traditional means including vocabulary grammar readings and recordings 8 About 6 000 others can be learned to some extent by listening to recordings made for other purposes such as religious texts for which translations are available in more widely known languages 9 10 Treasure language EditThe term treasure language was proposed by the Rama people of Nicaragua as an alternative to heritage language indigenous language and ethnic language since those names are considered pejorative in the local context 11 The term is now also used in the context of public storytelling events 12 The term treasure language references the desire of speakers to sustain the use of their mother tongue into the future The notion of treasure fit the idea of something that had been buried and almost lost but was being rediscovered and now shown and shared And the word treasure also evoked the notion of something belonging exclusively to the Rama people who now attributed it real value and had become eager and proud of being able to show it to others 11 Accordingly the term may be considered to be distinct from endangered language for which objective criteria are available or heritage language which describes an end state for a language for which individuals are more fluent in a dominant language 13 See also Edit nbsp Challenges and needs for developing content in Indigenous Languages PDF in Wikimedia projectsAustralian Aboriginal languages Formosan languages Language education Linguistic imperialism Minority language Language revitalization International Day of the World s Indigenous Peoples Stratum linguistics References Edit See pp 55 56 of Zuckermann Ghil ad Shakuto Neoh Shiori amp Quer Giovanni Matteo 2014 Native Tongue Title Proposed Compensation for the Loss of Aboriginal Languages Australian Aboriginal Studies 2014 1 55 71 United Nations General Assembly 71st session Third Committee 16 November 2016 1 Crystal David Language Death ProQuest Retrieved 2019 02 06 Connor Steve Alarm Raised on World s Disappearing Languages 15 May 2003 Common Dreams Org 21 February 2009 2 Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages Disappearing Languages Enduring Voices Documenting the Planet s Endangered Languages 2009 National Geographic 19 February 2009 Enduring Voices Project Endangered Languages Map Facts Photos Videos National Geographic National Geographic Society Archived from the original on 2010 07 08 Retrieved 2010 07 08 a b Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages Disappearing Languages Enduring Voices Documenting the Planet s Endangered Languages 2009 National Geographic 19 February 2009 Enduring Voices Project Endangered Languages Map Facts Photos Videos National Geographic National Geographic Society Archived from the original on 2010 07 08 Retrieved 2010 07 08 Glavin Maywa and Montenegro Terry In Defense of Difference 7 October 2008 Seed Magazine 29 January 2009 2009 3 Reviews of Language Courses Lang1234 Retrieved 11 Sep 2012 Countries of the World Global Recordings Network Retrieved 11 Sep 2012 GEOGRAPHIC LANGUAGE MUSEUM ForeignLanguageExpertise com Retrieved 11 Sep 2012 a b Grinevald Colette Pivot Benedicte 2013 On the revitalization of a treasure language The Rama Language Project of Nicaragua In Jones Mari Ogilvie Sarah eds Keeping Languages Alive Documentation Pedagogy and Revitalization Cambridge University Press pp 181 197 doi 10 1017 CBO9781139245890 018 ISBN 9781139245890 Languages Treasured but Not Lost East Bay Express Oakland 2016 02 17 Retrieved 2017 05 09 Hale Kenneth Hinton Leanne eds 2001 The Green Book of Language Revitalization in Practice Emerald Group Publishing Bibliography EditFrawley William amp Hill Kenneth C 2002 Making Dictionaries preserving indigenous languages of the Americas Berkeley University of California Press Harrison K David 2007 When Languages Die the extinction of the world s languages and the erosion of human knowledge New York and London Oxford University Press Singerman Robert 1996 Indigenous languages of the Americas a bibliography of dissertations and theses Lanham MD Scarecrow Press Wurm S A amp Heyward Ian eds 2001 Atlas of the World s Languages in Danger of Disappearing Paris UNESCO Pub External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Indigenous languages Alaska Native Language Center ANLC Indigenous Language Institute Aboriginal Languages of Australia Austlang the Australian Indigenous Languages Database at AIATSIS The Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas SSILA Canadian Indigenous Languages and Literacy Development Institute CILLDI Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Indigenous language amp oldid 1137402161, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
