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UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Washiw Wagayay Maŋal: Reweaving the Washoe Language Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4zd060kz Author Keliiaa, Caitlin Publication Date 2012 Supplemental Material https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4zd060kz#supplemental Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Washiw Wagayay Maŋal: Reweaving the Washoe Language A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in American Indian Studies by Caitlin Aimee Keliiaa 2012 ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Washiw Wagayay Maŋal: Reweaving the Washoe Language by Caitlin Aimee Keliiaa Master of Arts in American Indian Studies University of California, Los Angeles, 2012 Professor Pamela Munro, Chair The Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California is a federally recognized tribe that seeks to revitalize its Washoe language through the Washiw Wagayay Maŋal (WWM) language program. The Washoe or “Washo” language is a severely endangered indigenous language. To date most speakers are elderly and it is believed that there are twenty or less fluent speakers. Despite the odds, the WWM seeks to proliferate the Washoe language and re-integrate Washoe where it once thrived—in the community. This thesis is based on multiple research trips to Nevada where I attended weekly language classes and interviewed WWM students, staff and teachers, Washoe community members and professional linguists. My research is a linguistic history of Washoe tribal members, descendants and their drive to save theirs and their ancestors' language. The examination includes analysis on the colonization of the Washoe language, a history of Washoe linguistic work, a review of Washoe language ideologies, a history of the once thriving Washoe ii Immersion School, as well as an account of current WWM language revitalization methods and tools. Included is an analysis of heterographia (multiple orthographies) and community response to program methods. It is clear the Washoe people value their heritage language. They see it as an inherently connected extension of their being and identity. Currently, however, the issue at hand is pondering how best to endeavor language revitalization. Community members and the WWM are at a critical juncture on determining best practices. There is a great deal of energy on the topic with a call for reform and a new progressive approach to challenge language death. In the face of language death, the Washoe people have taken a proactive stance. iii The thesis of Caitlin Aimee Keliiaa is approved. Mishuana R. Goeman Paul V. Kroskrity Pamela Munro, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2012 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT. .............................................................................................................................. II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. ......................................................................................................... VIII INTRODUCTION. ..................................................................................................................... 1 Research Goals. ....................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Methodology. ............................................................................................................................................................................ 4 SECTION 1. .............................................................................................................................. 7 Map of Washoe Territory – Figure 1. ............................................................................................................................................... 8 The Language. .......................................................................................................................................................................... 9 State of the Washoe Language. ........................................................................................................................................ 10 On Language Death. ............................................................................................................................................................ 11 SECTION 2. ............................................................................................................................ 14 Settler Invasion. ................................................................................................................................................................... 15 The Currency of English. ................................................................................................................................................... 17 Institutional Tools. .............................................................................................................................................................. 18 Process of Assimilation and English Only Policy. ..................................................................................................... 21 Linguistic Trauma. .............................................................................................................................................................. 22 Turning it Around. .............................................................................................................................................................. 23 SECTION 3. ............................................................................................................................ 26 Features of the Washoe Language. ................................................................................................................................ 30 Dialect. .................................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Sounds and Typical Aspects of Washoe. ...................................................................................................................... 32 Sounds of the Washoe Language – Figure 2. .............................................................................................................................. 32 Washoe Phonemes – Figure 3. .......................................................................................................................................................... 33 Washoe’s “Typical” Elements. ......................................................................................................................................... 34 Typical Aspects Cited by Bright – Figure 4. ................................................................................................................................ 34 v On the Subject of Orthographies. ................................................................................................................................... 35 Orthographies: A Source of Contention. ...................................................................................................................... 36 The Issue of Heterographia. ............................................................................................................................................. 37 SECTION 4. ............................................................................................................................ 39 Community Language Work. ........................................................................................................................................... 41 A History of the Washoe Immersion School. .............................................................................................................. 43 Making Immersion a Reality. ........................................................................................................................................... 45 Washoe Community Language Classes. ........................................................................................................................ 46 Funding and Washoe Master Apprentice. ................................................................................................................... 47 Community Language Programming. ........................................................................................................................... 48 The Possibility of Head Start. .......................................................................................................................................... 50 The Beginning of the Washoe Immersion School. .................................................................................................... 51 The Washoe Immersion School: A Reality. ................................................................................................................. 53 The “Big InfluX.” ................................................................................................................................................................... 55 Language Instruction in Action. ...................................................................................................................................... 56 The Breadth of the Washoe Immersion School. ........................................................................................................ 56 Continued Immersion