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 Stephen explains the inspiration for his song "Word Game" and performs it live.

Our panel from last year is now a podcast!

Interviewee Leslie Harper, director of the National Coalition of Native American Language Schools and Programs, relates a personal account of how learning the Ojibwe language has shaped her children’s cognitive development. Her two sons, she says, automatically address the world from an Ojibwe perspective because it is their first language. This example supports the Wharfian hypothesis, a linguistics theory stating that language has a direct effect on culture. For example, the Japanese word mizuko, which translates to “water baby” in English, is used to refer to aborted or miscarried fetuses. Mizuko kuyō is a Japanese ceremony intended to honor the spirit of the fetus and to comfort and assuage the grief and guilt of the mother. This word, according to Wharfian scholars, directly contributes to Japanese attitudes about abortion and miscarriage that are remarkably different from American ones. This is related to the dilemma faced by Ojibwe speakers when they must create new words. Typically, Harper says, these words are for modern technological devices like cell phones and computers. Ojibwe speakers who recognize the power of language to construct reality must consider whether the new word is true to Ojibwe cultural standards and prosody, or risk compromising the integrity of their language.