Every other week the last speaker of an endangered language is dying, and with him/her the language, too. This blog wants to send out a positive signal that we care about the people(s) and languages. From time to time, we will present and share an endangered language and resources for it. So, people can learn some basics and can make texts, videos, audios etc. that we'd be happy to share.
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I'm white/a settler, can I learn a Native American language?
Of course, people can learn any language they can find resources for. So with this question, people are mostly looking for moral permission. Would it be harmful for me to learn one? Do I have the right to learn one?
The short answer: It depends. It depends on a lot of factors. Key things this post will focus on are:
Which one do you want to learn?
Why do you want to learn it?
How do you plan on learning it?
What are you going to do with it once you do get some fluency?
Some tribes feel very differently about outsiders learning it than others do. And individuals within tribes have an even wider opinion range.
There is no "one" correct answer, and I think if white people go about seeking to get a direct clear cut yes or no answer, that by itself is a sign that they are not very educated in Native American language activism and the needs of Natives.
To explore this topic, I organized a survey for Native people to share their thoughts. It involved questions about how they personally feel, how their tribe as a whole tends to feel, and how their opinion varies between white people vs other Indigenous people not from their own tribe. 53 respondents participated, and 3/53 choose to not disclose their tribe. Throughout the rest of this post, I use "Native" for short. Please see below the cut for all the results and exploration! Note: this is very long. But for all allies / people interested in learning these languages, it is well worth your time to read and learn from Natives.
The General Opinion
In total, only around 9% were in total support of white people learning a Native language, and around 4% were neutral. The remaining 87% had varying levels of concerns and discomfort.
The group that had concerns was further divided by their degree of discomfort:
Around 28% of all responses were firmly against white people learning their languages.
Around 17% of all responses also expressed extreme discomfort with white people learning, but they acknowledged certain circumstances they felt it could be okay.
Around 42% of all responses said they were mostly okay with white people learning, but they still had concerns and discomfort. Many people in this category also said they only were okay with it out of fear of the language dying out. Even if they felt white people could potentially help, they still felt extremely bitter and disliked it, especially since white people are the reason why the languages are in danger in the first place.
To contrast this with how respondents felt about other Indigenous people from different cultures learning their language, the results were around: 57% in total support, 24% mostly okay, 11% mostly against, 4% totally against, and again, 4% remained neutral.
Even people who did support white people learning Native languages, either fully or mostly, almost every single one expressed that they felt more comfortable with other Indigenous peoples learning them, as they would be more likely to respect the language.
These statistics by themselves mostly show that the general opinion is that of caution and unease around white people learning Native languages. Yet, as stated above and shown by the statistics, its not a clear cut yes or no. Now we will explore our more specific questions and results relating to those from the survey.
1) Which one are you interested in?
Since this portion focuses on trends within specific tribes, the responses from the 3 people who chose to not disclose their tribe is not considered. The 50 responses with tribes come from 25 tribes, though only a few are explicitly explained here.
The biggest group of responses came from Ojibwe / Anishinaabe people, with 10 responses total. Of those 10 responses, in reference to how they personally feel about white people learning, the results were: 6/10 mostly okay, 1/10 mostly against, 2/10 firmly against, and 1/10 neutral.
To contrast with this, when these same 10 Ojibwe / Anishinaabe people talked about how their tribe as a whole feels about white people learning their language, regardless if they agree or disagree, the results were: 1/10 totally okay, 2/10 mostly okay, 2/10 mostly against, 1/10 firmly against, 4/10 neutral or did not know.
Some important context for the Ojibwe / Anishinaabe case, is that they are one of, if not the, largest tribe north of Mexico. Despite having these numbers, it does not make the top 3 Native American languages in terms of reported number of speakers.
Which brings me to the next case study, Navajo, which is the Native American language in the U.S. with the most amount of speakers. This one is also an important case study because this language has something no other U.S. American Native language has: a Duolingo course. Albeit a very small one, it exists. 3 respondents were Navajo.
None of the 3 responses reported being totally okay with white people learning it, both in terms of personal feelings and from the tribe as a whole. One person reported both themselves and the tribe as a whole as firmly against it, one person felt more okay personally but said the tribe was more against, and one person was more neutrally aligned and believed it was best decided on a case by case basis. When discussing the Navajo experience of learning the language, all 3 expressed how while there are abundant resources, many of them are not adequate enough to actually teach the language properly, demonstrated by the extremely small Duolingo course and the inaccessibility of other resources. 2/3 respondents talked about how the language's history in WWII negatively contributed to white people's treatment of the language.
The final case study I want to highlight isn't so much one language, but the languages that people reported being firmly against outsiders learning. These are sorted by individuals not wanting white people to learn (I-W), individuals not wanting other Indigenous people to learn (I-O), responses saying the tribe is against white people learning (T-W), and responses saying the tribe is against other Indigenous people learning (T-O). Those tribes/languages are as follows:
Ojibwe: 2 (I-W), 1 (T-W), 1 (T-O)
Michif: 2 (I-W)
Zapotec: 1 (I-W)
Nahua: 1 (I-W)
Washoe: 1 (I-W), 1 (I-O)
Cherokee: 1 (I-W)
Cree: 2 (I-W), 1 (T-W)
Blackfoot: 1 (I-W)
Mi'kmaw: 1 (I-W)
Navajo: 1 (I-W), 1 (T-W), 1 (T-O)
Hopi: 1 (I-W), 1 (I-O), 1 (T-W), 1 (T-O)
Oneida: 1 (I-W)
Taino: 1 (T-W), 1 (T-O)
Lakota: 1 (T-W), 1 (T-O)
Atikamekw: 1 (T-W), 1 (T-O)
Paiute: 1 (T-W), 1 (T-O)
From these, only Hopi was expressed to be firmly against anyone who isn't Hopi learning it across the board, with Ojibwe and Navajo having firmly against in 3/4 opinion categories.
What I hope people have gotten from this section is that opinions deeply deeply vary. This does not mean that you should ask around until someone inevitably says yes, and then you go wild. It means that this is an on-going conversation that never ends, and that if you go through with it, you have to respect that many people are not going to be comfortable about it, and don't owe you anything. And if every single person you talk to says "no", perhaps that is a sign that you are better off finding other ways to involve yourself.
2) Why do you want to learn it?
The primary concern people had about white people learning their languages was motive. Within the survey, respondents were given the chance to discuss both good and bad motives for white people learning Native languages. The answers were very consistent across all responses, and all reported ones are listed here.
Reported bad motives include:
Colonial reasons like missionary work or anthropology
Just because they can, because they "like it", find it "fun", as it is an extensive of their white privilege to be able to learn these while actual Natives struggle to do so
Because they think its "exotic" and fetishize it
To falsely claim being Indigenous, to seem more like an ally without doing anything else, or just speak over Native people in general
Because they view it as a "challenge", to seem smarter/unique
Anything for a profit (teaching, for a brand, etc) - profit being either literal money, personal / social status, etc
Out of white guilt, as a way to try and get out of being held accountable for colonialism
Reported good motives include:
To communicate with Natives in their own language to displace usage of colonial languages like English, French, Spanish, etc
Learning for Native family members, romantic partners, friends, or if they have Native children to help ensure the child grows up speaking it
People invited to learn to do volunteer work / activism under the guidance of Natives and elders
Some motives had mixed views:
Learning the Native language of where you live. Those in favor viewed it as contributing to decolonizing by restoring that language's priority to the land. Those against viewed it as robbing opportunities from actual Natives to learn their own language and white people trying to "indigenize" themselves.
"Appreciating" the culture. Since appreciation and appropriation have such fine lines that white people readily cross often, this motive by itself can be a mixed bag.
Learning it as a person in power like a doctor, academic, lawyer, social worker, etc. Some say this can enable people to contribute and better support Natives, some think it will only further contribute to white people stealing our languages and making it harder for Natives to learn, or will enable white people in power to more easily abuse Natives.
Wanting to "save" the language. This topic will actually be explored in another post of mine in the future, so I won't say much on it now. To summarize it: Native languages thrive when Natives speak them, not when white people speak them.
From this section, the main thing to be considered is that Native languages cannot be treated like other languages, and mere "curiosity" isn't necessarily a compliment. The history white people have with them is not in the past, and these issues are very much still abound today. Bad motives for learning can be just as deadly as "ignoring" Native languages. Even in Europe, these motives paired with peoples' lack of literal interaction with Natives, can create an atmosphere of disrespect, even if unintentional.
3) How will you learn it?
Like motives, the respondents were given a chance to discuss both respectful methods of learning and disrespectful methods of learning. The good and bad reported reasons were mostly inverses of each other, and all responses could be sorted in 6 overarching answers of good/bad pairs.
Learning from Natives, and not white people. Any sources created by white people are inherently culturally inaccurate at best or outright colonialist and exploitative at worst. Any classes attended and resources consulted should be made and approved by the respective tribes.
Paying to learn, and not just using free sources. Considering that white people are the reason these languages are dying, many responses expressed that paying for the right to learn is the LEAST white people can do. Paying for education supports Native academics and communities, and shows respect, as using free resources just feeds into white entitlement.
Learning within a community, and not with other white people or by yourself. Many expressed that even if you buy a reputable textbook from a Native author, that isn't enough. Responses expressed that white people should be immersed within a Native community as they learn, since this is the only way to ensure they not only learn the language accurately, but so that they learn proper respect and cultural context. Many people did explicitly cite online programs like Duolingo as NOT being a good way for white people to learn. Even just learning with one Native friend is leagues better than self-study.
Learning in a way rooted in tradition, and not colonial values. By prioritizing oral usage, exploring cultural stories (that Natives choose to share willingly), and not pushing western concepts like standardization onto the languages, the languages are better respected and understood. As stated above, meeting this expectation requires connections to Native communities.
Learning with humility, and not prioritizing yourself. Not taking up limited space or copies of resources away from other Natives, not demanding to be taught more than what is shared, and being able to accept "no" as an answer is the bare minimum amount of respect and care.
Prioritizing decolonization over linguistic endeavors. White people who choose to learn a Native language should not only treat it as a fun language-learning hobby. Learning a language should be a secondary pursuit on top of the main cause of supporting and contributing to decolonization.
Much like the last section, a main thing to take away from this is that Native languages much be approached by white people in different ways than they might approach European languages. This section may particularly frustrate white people who are interested, especially if they feel they can't afford to pay for opportunities to learn. Yet working through that frustration, and putting in the work to learn in a respectful way, is necessary if one wants to be a good ally and to not assume a position of entitlement with these languages.
4) What will you do with your language knowledge?
This topic of debate does not end once you know some/much of the language. Assuming you learned a language with the right motives, and you learned in a respectful way, you now have the responsibility to not abuse and exploit what was given to you. And if those two assumptions were truly met, I would hope you don't want to abuse your knowledge! Much like the methods of learning, good/bad ways of using language knowledge formed inverse pairs. Response are summarized here:
Using it to give back to Natives, not white people. This isn't your new fun party trick to share with your white friends. If you reach a level of fluency, and then suddenly stop all engagement with the community and turn inward to your white circle, it was wasted on you.
Sharing with others when acceptable, not at your own discretion. Creating your own educational resources is not respectful, but sharing what you were given with other Natives of that tribe freely can be a way for you to use your privilege to give back. Many responses expressed that the primary time a white person should take on a position of "teaching" a Native language is if they have a Native child they are raising with it, and even then, they should always defer to their Native partner and their child's community to lead and guide that endeavor.
Integrating into the community, without taking on authority. As stated above, teaching of your own accord is not appropriate. If you are invited to help with teaching efforts, go for it! But in general, assuming the position of "language expert", correcting other Natives, and other such behaviors is never acceptable. That's not to say people can't make careers/livelihoods out of Native language advocacy - only to say that any such decisions should be made with and guided by connections to the respective community.
Letting it shape your understanding of the land, without claiming it as your own. Learning the original names for local landmarks, places, foods, and animals can help displace the normalcy of colonial-imposed languages. As always, language knowledge should motivate and guide people into activism for Natives in all areas, not just language-activism. And a major part of this is constantly checking yourself, your privilege, and unlearning every harmful notion taught by the colonial power. Having the honor to see the world in a new way can be a great tool for doing so.
The best way to summarize not only this section, but this entire grand topic as a whole, is that its not about a language. Its about healing a community, healing the land, and righting the wrongs of colonialism. For white people, their relationship to that endeavor is a very strong and very loaded one.
I'm sure this post will make certain white people very mad at me. And of course, the data for this came from a rather small sample size, and other Natives are more than welcome to add onto this. As stated numerous times, the goal of this post was not to say "yes you can" or "no you can't". The goal was to give insight to the wide variety of views, and to give guidance on ways to become involved that maintain the respect and autonomy of Natives. If you view this as me shattering your dreams of learning xyz Native language, then you have deeply misunderstood the message here. Respectful questions are more than welcome, yet I will be turning anon off just for my own safety. Any racism will be blocked.
“For me, te reo adds another dimension to being Māori. It enables one to feel a sense of belonging and connection to their culture and I want to be able to experience that privilege.”
Check out this video about Geneva Hakaraia who’s working to make te reo Māori accessible to non-speaking people through augmentative and alternative communication devices!
Gayogo̱hó:nǫʼ nid:wa:wę:nó:dę: or Gayogo̲ho:nǫhnéha:ˀ
Cayuga is a Northern Iroquoian language closely related to the Seneca language and is spoken in Ontario, Canada on Six Nations and in New York State, U.S on the Cattaraugus reservation. Majority of native speakers live in Ontario. Cayuga is critically endangered with only 30 native speakers left but revitalization efforts are in place. There are two varieties of Cayuga. The Lower Cayuga dialect is spoken by those of the Lower End of Six Nations and the Upper Cayuga are from the Upper End. The main difference between the two is that the Lower Cayuga use the sound [ɡj] and the Upper use the sound [dj]. For example, the number nine is pronounced as gyo̲hdǫ: in Lower Cayuga, and as dyohdǫ: in Upper Cayuga. Lower Cayuga also has devoiced (whispered) vowels, such as the <o̲> in gyo̲hdǫ:. Devoiced vowels occur in odd-numbered syllables containing <h>. Similarly, in odd-numbered syllables containing a glottal stop, Lower Cayuga speakers either omit the glottal stop or pronounce it simultaneously with other segments in the syllable: for example, in the word de̲ˀóyanreˀ “it is not good”, the first syllable <de̲ˀ> has an ejective [t’] followed by an [e] with creaky voice pho-nation or with a single glottal catch. Other pronunciation changes are due to something other than dialect differences. For example, the prefix meaning you (singular) can be pronounced either as English <sh> before <r> (spelled <sr> in Cayuga), as in dasrá:tęh “you climb over here!”, or as <d> before <r>, as in dadrá:tęh “you climb over here!” The <d> pronunciation is an historical reflex of θ. As well, some people pronounce certain words with an <o> where others use the rarer <u> sound. It’s not clear what this difference stem from. Examples include dago:s / dagu:s “cat”, swayóˀtsˀageh / swayúˀtsˀa-geh “on your chins”, and ohyoˀtí:yeht / oh-yuˀtí:yeht “it is sharp.”
Cayuga, like most Native American languages, is polysynthetic. Like other Iroquoian languages, the verbal template contains an optional prepronominal prefix, a pronominal prefix (indicating agreement), an optional incorporated noun, a verbal root, and an aspectual suffix. The nominal template consists of an agreement prefix (usually neuter for non-possessed nouns), the nominal root, and a suffix.
Greeting someone (Dędwadatnóhonyo:)
Hello (peace) - Sgę:no’
Are you at peace? - Sgę:no’ gęh?
Yes, I have peace - Ęhę’ sgę:no’
How’s it going? - Dę’niyǫhdoo̱hǫgye’?
Its going good - Oyányragye’
I’m fine, healthy - Agadagaí:de’
Its not going good - Dę’oyányragye’
I’m sad - Dwaknigǫhę’oh
What about you? - Nę di’ní:s?
I’m taking it easy - Sgę:nu:’uh niwagagyę’
I’m just sitting around - Gitsgǫdagye’s tso:
What is your name? - Dęhǫ’dę sya:sǫh?
My name is - Ni’ gyá:sǫh
I’m learning Cayuga - Gayogo̱ho:nǫ gadéwayę:sta’
Where do you live? - Gaę:nhǫ:weh snagre’?
I live in - Knagre
Where did you come from? - Gaę nǫdahse:’
I came from - Node:ge:
(Yes) I understand - Ęhę:’ aknigǫhaę:da’s
I’m sorry - Sagadatre:waht
I don’t understand - Tę’d’eaknigǫhaę:da’s
Thank you - Nya:węh
I’m so thankful - I:so’ degadęnǫhǫnyǫh
You’re welcome - Nyoh
What is your nation? - Dęho’dę’ nisǫhwęjo’dę’?
Mohawk is my nation - Ganyęgēhó:nǫ’ niwagǫhwęj’odę’
Stephen Henhawk, teaches Cayuga at Cornell University. I recommend taking 3 minutes out of your day to watch this.
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The Potawatomi language belongs to the Central Algonquian language family and is closely related to Ojibwe with numerous loanwords from the Sauk language. The language is spoken in Michigan, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Kansas and Indiana in the United States and in Southern Ontario and Manitoulin Island in Canada. The language is known to its speakers as Neshnabémwen or Bodéwadmimwen.
No standard orthography has been agreed upon by Potawatomi communities. The system most commonly used is the “Pedagogical System” developed by the Wisconsin Native American Languages Program (WNALP). As the name suggests, it was designed to be used in language teaching. The system is based on the Roman alphabet and is phonemic, with each letter or digraph representing a contrastive sound. The letters used are: a b ch d e é (ë) (ê) (ė) g ’ h i j k m n o p s sh t w y z zh.
In Kansas, a different system called BWAKA is used. It too is both based on the Roman alphabet and phonemic, with each letter or digraph representing a contrastive sound. The letters used are: ’ a b c d e e’ g h i I j k m n o p s sh t u w y z zh.
Historically, Potawatomi was written using a form of syllabic script. Odawa, Sac, Fox and Ho-Chunk communities also used this. It’s derived from the Roman alphabet and it resembles handwritten Roman text. However, unlike the Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics or Cherokee syllabics, it has not yet been incorporated into Unicode standards. This form of syllabics is referred to as Great Lakes Syllabics and it’s an alphabet with separate letters for consonants and vowels. However, it is written in syllabic blocks, like Korean. Moreover, the vowel /a/ is not written unless it forms a syllable by itself. That is, the letter [k] transcribes both the consonant /k/ and the syllable /ka/. In most Great Lakes syllabics, the letter for the vowel /i/ has been reduced to its dot, which has become a diacritic on the consonant of the syllable.
Ho-Chunk Great Lakes syllabics:
Hello - Bozho
Come in - Byé bidgén
What is your name? - Ni je ezhnekasyen?
My name is - Ndezhnëkas
What is your clan? - Ni je gdodém?
My clan - Ndodém
Where do you come from? - Ni pi je wéch byayen?
Where do you live? - Ni pi je eje dayen?
I live… - Ėdayen
How are you? - Ni je na?
Feeling good, ok - Anwe she shena
I’m happy - Nnejiwénmo
I’m sad - Nnetages
I don’t know - Mėtsëna
Call me - Byé shêgnoshen
How is the weather? - Ni je enomgek?
It’s hot - Gzhaté
Its cold - Gsenyamget
Its lightening - Wawasmowêk
Its thundering - Jigwékya
Its a good day - Mnogizhget
How old are you? - Ni je epitziyen?
See you later - Bama pi
I’ll see you again later - Bama pi miné gwi wabmen
If you fancy learning a bit more about one of Japan’s lesser known (and sadly endangered) languages, try taking a looking at some of @yonagunilanguageblog’s resources, both here on Tumblr and on Wordpress:
Yonaguni writing
Yonaguni numbers
Yonaguni language resources
Yonaguni is one of the Ryukyuan languages (or dialects, as classified by Japan), with about 400 remaining speakers and based in the westernmost part of Japan, close to Taiwan, as shown at (1) in this dialect map from The Languages of Japan (Shibatani, 1990):
1970s - reversal of the ban; Kven begins to be taught in school again
1987 - first anthology
Writing system and pronunciation
These are the letters that make up the script: a b c d ð e f g h i j l l m n o p q r s š t u v w x y z ä ö.
Vowel length is indicated by doubling the letter, similarly to how gemination is expressed.
Grammar
Nouns are marked for number (singular and plural), and case (nominative, genitive, partitive, inessive, illative, elative, adessive, abessive, allative, essive, translative, and comitative).
Personal pronouns have two variants in the third person, one of which is used to quote what another person has said.
Verbs are marked for tense, mood, person, and number. The third-person plural verb ending is formed using the passive form.
These are the letters that make up the script: a ch ch’ d dl dz e g gw gh ghw h i j k kw k’ k'w khw kh’ l ł ł’ n s s’ sh t t’ tł tł’ ts ts’ u w x xw x’ x'w xh xh’ y.
There are two tones: high and low. The former is marked with an acute accent. Some dialects feature a third, mid tone. Words never begin with a vowel.
Grammar
Nouns are marked for possession and number. However, the plural suffix is not usually used. Nominal roles in the sentence are expressed by postpositions, which act like suffixes.
There are three classes of object pronouns: verbal object, nominal object, and postpositional object. Subject pronouns are incorporated into the verb.
Verbs are marked for tense, mood, aspect, person, and number. In addition to the common three persons, there are two additional persons: indefinite human and indefinite nonhuman.
Dialects
Tlingit used to have five dialects, Northern, Transitional, Southern, Inland, and Tongass, but the latter became extinct in the 1990s.
Linguistic Diversity Challenge: Languages of Asia | 2/7 | Dhivehi (d̪iˈʋehi)
What is the language called in English and the language itself?
– In English, this language is more commonly referred to as Maldivian, but in the language itself, it’s called ދިވެހި (Dhivehi). Other names / spellings it has are Dhivehi, Mali, Malikh and Malki.
– There are many dialects of Dhivehi due to the fact that it spreads over many different islands; however, the mainstream dialect is Malé. Other dialects are Huvadhu, Maliku, Haddhunmathee, (Foa) Mulaku and Addu.
Where is the language spoken?
– Dhivehi is spoken in the Maldives and in parts of the Lakshadweep, union territory of India (islands off to the southwest of mainland India).
How many people speak the language?
– About 340,000 people speak this language as of 2012
Which language family does it belong to? What are some of its relative languages?
– Dhivehi is classified as Indo-European > Indo-Iranian > Indo-Aryan > Southern Zone > Sinhalese-Maldivian. Its relative languages are Sinhalese and Mahl.
What writing system does the language use?
– Dhivehi uses the Thaana alphabet. However, the Mahl dialect in Minicoy is written in the Devanagari script. Thaana has a set of base consonants, and vowel sounds are denoted by the characters above and below each consonant. The following charcters are Dhivehi’s vowel markers: ި ީ ު ޫ ެ ޭ ޮ ޯ ަ ާ
– The following is written Thaana taken from saruna.mnu.edu.mv ސަރުނައަކީ ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ ފުރިހަމަ މިނިވަން އިސްލާމީ ޤައުމެއްގެ ގޮތުގައި އަބަދަށް ދަމަހައްޓަން ބޭނުންވާ، އަދި ޤައުމުގެ ޘަޤާފީ، އިޖްތިމާޢީ، އިޤްތިޞާދީ ތަރައްޤީއަށާއި، ފަރުދުންގެ ކުރިއެރުމަށް ބޭނުންވާ ޢިލްމާއި ހުނަރު އުފައްދައި، ހޯދައި، ރައްކާތެރިކޮށް، ފެތުރުމަށް އެހީވެދިނުމުގެ ގޮތުން އުފައްދާ. ޑިޖިޓަލް ރިޕޮޒިޓަރީއެކެވެ
What kind of grammatical features does the language have?
– Dhivehi has 3 levels of speech (most to least formality: maaiy bas, reethi bas, aadhaige bas), 3 persons, 2 numbers, 3 tenses (present, preterite, and future), 3 moods (indicative, imperative, and conditional), definiteness (definite, indefinite, or unspecified), and grammatical case (nominative, dative, ablative, genitive, locative, instrumental and emphatic). As for intonation, stress tends to fall on the first syllable.
How to identify the language?
– Dhivehi is the only language written in the Thaana script, so if you can learn to recognize the script, you’ve learned to recognize Dhivehi!
What does the language sound like?
What do you personally find interesting about the language?
– In the past, Dhivehi used a different script called Dhivehi Akuru, and this shift to Thaana caught my attention. In this switch, the direction of writing changed also from right-to-left into left-to-right. It seems like such a monumental shift to me that I can hardly imagine how they went about it.
Extra stuff:
– here is an example of the language being spoken
– here is an academic paper detailing the language
– language learning resources: thatmaldivesblog, languagephrases, memrise (unofficial course), languageexchange, glosbe
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Linguistic typology: agglutinative, VOS/VSO, ergative-absolutive
Language family: Mayan, Yucatecan, Yucatec-Lacandon
Number of dialects: ?
History
3rd century BCE-16th century CE -use of the Mayan script
16th century - development of a version of the Latin alphabet
1898 - first dictionary
1984 - new orthography
Writing system and pronunciation
These are the letters that make up the script: a b ch ch’ d e i j k k’ l m n o p p’ r s t t’ ts ts’ u w x y ’.
There are two tones: high and low. The former is marked with an acute accent, while the latter is represented with a grave one. Vowels are doubled to show that they are long.
Stress is normally found on the first syllable that has a long vowel. If there is none, the last syllable is stressed.
Grammar
Nouns are marked for number (singular and plural). Gender is not explicitly marked but can be expressed using prefixes. Inanimate nouns do not distinguish gender.
There are no articles. Personal pronouns are classified into two sets, one of which is used to indicate only the subject, while the other can be used for both subject and object. Third-person pronouns do not make a gender distinction.
Verbs are marked for mood, aspect, person, and number, but not for tense, which is expressed by a combination of aspect, inherent lexical aspect, and context.
Dialects
Pronunciation differences have been reported, but there is no official dialect classification.
Language family: Uto-Aztecan, Southern Uto-Aztecan, Nahuan
Number of dialects: 3 main groups
History
7th-16th centuries - lingua franca in Mesoamerica
1570 - Nahuatl becomes the official language of the colonies of New Spain
16th-17th centuries - Classical Nahuatl
1696 - ban on the use of any language other than Spanish in the Spanish Empire
1770 - publication of a decree to eliminate indigenous languages
Writing system and pronunciation
These are the letters that make up the script: a ch e i h k kw l m n o p s t tl ts u x y.
Depending on the variety, a macron, a colon, or a double vowel may be used to mark long vowels, which are contrastive with respect to short vowels.
Stress falls on the penultimate syllable.
Grammar
Nouns are marked for number (singular and plural) and possession, but some dialects distinguish animacy. Unpossessed nouns generally take an absolutive suffix.
Nahuatl generally uses postpositions, but has also introduced prepositions as a result of the influence of Spanish.
Verbs are marked for tense, aspect, mood, person, and number. Prefixes indicate the person of the subject and the person and number of the direct and indirect objects, while suffixes indicate tense, aspect, mood, and subject number.
Dialects
There are three main dialect groups: Central and Northern varieties, Eastern varieties, and Western varieties.
One of the true ancestors of the Asians that migrated to the so called Americas
The Nenets (Nenets: ненэй ненэче, Russian: ненцы), also known asSamoyeds, are an indigenous people in northern arctic Russia. According to the latest census in 2010, there are 44,857 Nenets in the Russian Federation, most of them living in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrugand Nenets Autonomous Okrug. They speak either the Tundra or Forestvarieties of Nenets.
History and way of life
A group of Nenets in Dudinka
Nenets family
There are two distinct groups of Nenets stricto sensu based on their economy: the Tundra Nenets (living far to the north) and the Khandeyar or Forest Nenets. A third group of Nenets (Yaran people) has emerged as a result of intermarriages between Nenets and the Izhma tribe of the Komi peoples.
The Samoyedic languages form a branch of the Uralic language family. They moved (from farther south in Siberia) to the northernmost part of what later became Russia before the 12th century.
They ended up between the Kanin and Taymyr peninsulas, around the Ob and Yeniseyrivers, with only a few of them settling into small communities like Kolva. Their main subsistence comes from hunting and reindeer herding. Using reindeer as a draft animal throughout the year enables them to cover great distances. Large-scale reindeer herding emerged in the 18th century. They bred the Samoyed dog to help herd their reindeer and pull their sleds, and European explorers later used those dogs for polarexpeditions, because they have adapted so well to the arctic conditions. Tundra wolvescan be a source of considerable economic loss, as they prey on the reindeer herds which are the livelihood of some Nenets families. Alongside with reindeer meat, fish is a major component in the Nenets’ diet. Nenets housing is conical yurt(mya).
They have a shamanistic and animistic belief system which stresses respect for the land and its resources. They had a clan-based social structure. The Nenets shaman is called a Tadibya.
After the Russian Revolution, their culture suffered due to Soviet collectivisation policy. The government of the Soviet Union tried to force the nomadic Samoyeds to become sedentary. They were forced to settle in villages and their children were educated in state boarding schools, which resulted in erosion of their cultural identity. Many, especially in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug lost their mother tongue and became assimilated. Since the 1930s, a few Nenets have come to express themselves through professionalized cultural media. For instance, Tyko Vylkaand Konstantin Pankov became well-known painters. Anna Nerkagi is one of the most celebrated Nenets writers. Yuri Vella, though living as a reindeer herder, has become the first writer in the Forest Nenets language.
Environmental damage is significant due to the industrialisation of their land. Because of the expansive gas and oil industry, the reindeer pastures are shrinking and overgrazing of certain areas in some regions (Yamal Peninsula) have further endangered the Nenets way of life. It has also been documented that climate change is causing problems for nomadic Nenets reindeer herders, as certain parts of the land they need to cross is only accessible in winter - which now comes later and leaves earlier. The Arkhangelsk-based medical doctor Leonid Zubov has documented that this sometimes causes Nenets people to lose access to medical facilities, as they are “stuck” in the wilderness for longer periods of time (waiting for the snow) and have to leave the villages earlier (before the snow melts)
Nenets people of Siberia
Reindeer meat is the most important part of the Nenets’ diet. It is eaten raw, frozen or boiled, together with the blood of a freshly slaughtered reindeer, which is rich in vitamins. They also eat fish such as white salmon and muksun, a silvery-colored whitefish and gather mountain cranberry during the summer months
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Elders are creating and telling stories in Dena’ina to imparting their knowledge onto language learners.
Incorporating storytelling into their language revitalization efforts, elders are creating and telling stories in Dena’ina to imparting their knowledge onto language learners.
Joel Isaak, artist and Dena’ina language professor with Kenai Peninsula College, spoke about the project at Tuesday’s Alaska Native Studies Symposia, put on by the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Isaak apprentices with Helen Dick, a Dena’ina elder. Since COVID-19 hit, they’ve been Zoom-ing daily to record Dena’ina stories.
He said a major key of the project is that elders should drive the language work.
“And so what we’ve striven to do is surround the elder we’re working with with the support she needs and we need her to be able to be speaking every day. And for us as language learners that aren’t as proficient, this gives her a way to talk with us and for us to listen, and also a structure for how to teach students who want to learn language, as well,” he says.
At first, they were translating work from English to Dena’ina.
“When we were first starting off the project, we were trying to figure out, ‘How do we develop resources?’ […]” Isaak said.
They ended up creating a series of stories and have amassed hundreds, keeping track of them in a table of contents accompanied by detailed notes. They also work on breaking the pieces down and analyzing their grammar.
“We’re trying to not just take English syntax structure and put it into Dena’ina. We want it to be Dena’ina,” Isaak said.
He said those cultural components are instrumental to their revitalization effort.
“A big part of our language work is, ‘Where does language come from?’ Language is a response to place, it’s the form of communication, so this is why we have to do the language with the culture,” he said. “They’re not separate.”
Official language: Canada (Northwest Territories), United States (Alaska)
Script: Latin, 56 letters
Grammatical cases: 0
Linguistic typology: polysynthetic, SOV
Language family: Na-Dené, Athabaskan, Northern Athabaskan
Number of dialects: 2 main groups
History
1870s - first appearance in writing
1960s - spelling reform
1970s - Gwich’in begins to be taught in school
Writing system and pronunciation
These are the letters that make up the alphabet used in Alaska: a b ch ch’ d dr dh ddh dj dl dz e f g gw gh ghw h i k kw kh khw k’ l ł m n nd nh nj o r rh s sh shr t t’ th tth tth’ tl tl’ tr tr’ ts ts’ u v w y z zh zhr ‘.
Low tone is marked with a grave accent, while the high one is unmarked. Nasality is indicated using an ogonek accent (ą) and vowel length is marked by doubling the vowel.
Grammar
Nouns do not inflected for gender, number, or case. Possession is indicated by attaching a prefix that depends on the possessor to the noun. Certain nouns like kinship terms and animal body parts always need to be possessed and are therefore always preceded by possessive prefixes.
Adjectives generally follow the words they describe.
Verbs are formed by a stem and prefixes that indicated tense and how many people participate in the action. Stems can be found at the end of the word with prefixes following them.
Dialects
There are two main dialects: Eastern, spoken in Canada, and Western, spoken in Alaska. These groups can be further subdivided into Fort Yukon Gwich’in, Arctic Village Gwich’in, Western Canada Gwich’in, and Arctic Red River Gwich’in.
Differences between dialects are mainly reflected in idioms and expressions, as well as orthography.
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