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Are Native American languages dying out?
Native languages have been in decline for decades; currently Ethnologue lists 245 indigenous languages in the United States, with 65 already extinct and 75 near extinction with only a few elder speakers left. This is why the Native American Languages Act and the Esther Martinez Act are so important.
Why are many Native American languages no longer spoken?
Native Americans did not lose their languages. Their languages were stolen from them by immigrants to American shores who believed in assimilation, the melting pot, and the great American dream. But Native Americans were not immigrants. They were conquered peoples who were pushed off their lands and marginalized.
How can dying languages be revived?
With public support, funding, access to tools, and recognition, speakers of endangered and dormant languages can change the course of history and reclaim their ancestral tongues for generations to come.
Is Navajo a dying language?
This fascinating and complex language currently has between 120,000 and 170,000 speakers. For this reason, the number of Navajo speakers is decreasing, and the language has an endangered status. Navajo officials are working to promote and preserve this language.
What is a dying language in the US?
List of endangered languages in the United States
Language | Speakers | Status |
---|---|---|
Ahtna language | 80 | Critically endangered |
Alabama language | 370 | Definitely endangered |
Aleut language (Eastern) | 150 (2011) | Critically endangered |
Aleut language (Western) | 150 (2011) | Severely endangered |
Why are languages dying out?
Most languages, though, die out gradually as successive generations of speakers become bilingual and then begin to lose proficiency in their traditional languages. This often happens when speakers seek to learn a more-prestigious language in order to gain social and economic advantages or to avoid discrimination.
Will there ever be a complete language revival?
There has only been one successful instance to date of a complete language revival, creating a new generation of native speakers without even one living native speaker to help. (That instance was the reincarnation of Hebrew in modern Israel, and there were many extenuating circumstances associated with it.)
How are Native American languages being revitalized?
Today many Indian and Alaskan Native peoples are working to revitalize their languages when there are native speakers or documentation of the languages to make this possible. In some cases elders who still speak the languages are teaching younger people who did not learn the language growing up.
What is language revitalization?
Language revitalizationis the rescue of a “dying” language. There has only been one successful instance to date of a complete language revival, creating a new generation of native speakers without even one living native speaker to help.
Can a dead language be revived?
The true revival of a “dead” language is something I am more reluctant to raise hopes about, but to revive such a language enough for children to have access to traditional literature, to use it for cultural and religious purposes, even to speak it as a second language in limited fashion? Certainly!