Attitudes and Opinions on the Current Seneca Language Revitalization Efforts

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Attitudes and Opinions on the Current Seneca Language Revitalization Efforts ATTITUDES AND OPINIONS ON THE CURRENT SENECA LANGUAGE REVITALIZATION EFFORTS by Gina G. Gautieri A Master’s Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Education Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Department of Language, Learning, & Leadership State University of New York at Fredonia Fredonia, New York May 2013 ATTITUDES AND OPINIONS ON CURRENT SENECA LANGUAGE REVTALIZATION EFFORTS Abstract Indigenous languages all over the world, including Native American languages, are being lost at a rapid rate (Baker, 2011). This is often the result of years of suppression and assimilation to the dominant White culture. Therefore, there is a need for heritage language revitalization and maintenance to ensure the languages remain. Today, efforts to revitalize these indigenous languages are ongoing, including those for the Seneca language. Very few studies, however, have focused specifically on these efforts with the Seneca language. The goal of this study was to determine the attitudes and opinions of those learning or involved in the current Seneca language revitalization effort and thus add to the literature on language revitalization. The participants of this study included teachers and students from schools in Western New York near the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation where Seneca language classes are offered. An online Likert-scale survey was used to collect data from teachers, while a paper version of the survey was given to student participants in their Seneca language classes. Results indicated that the current Seneca language revitalization efforts are effective, but may need some improvement to fully revitalize the language. In addition, the Seneca language, culture, and traditions are valued in the schools, but not as much as in the communities outside of the schools. This study may serve as a basis for further research in this area. i ATTITUDES AND OPINIONS ON CURRENT SENECA LANGUAGE REVTALIZATION EFFORTS Table of Contents Page Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... ii List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ......................................................................................................................... viii Introduction ................................................................................................................................1 Problem ...................................................................................................................................1 Purpose....................................................................................................................................3 Significance .............................................................................................................................4 Literature Review ........................................................................................................................5 Defining Heritage Language ....................................................................................................5 Heritage/Indigenous Languages in the United States of America .............................................8 The Seneca. ........................................................................................................................ 11 Language Policies .................................................................................................................. 13 English-only policies. ......................................................................................................... 14 Great Britain. .................................................................................................................. 14 The US. .......................................................................................................................... 16 Policies for Native American languages today. ................................................................... 17 The Native American Languages Act of 1990/1992. ....................................................... 17 No Child Left Behind Act and Native American languages............................................. 18 History of Native American Languages and Policies in America ........................................... 19 ii Early language policies. ..................................................................................................... 19 Linguistic intolerance of Native American languages. ........................................................ 20 Native American boarding schools. .................................................................................... 20 The Seneca people and boarding schools. ....................................................................... 23 Language Loss....................................................................................................................... 25 Causes of loss. ................................................................................................................... 26 Language Revitalization ........................................................................................................ 28 Heritage language maintenance and heritage language education. ...................................... 29 Successful HLM efforts. .................................................................................................... 30 Hawaiian. ....................................................................................................................... 30 Navajo. ........................................................................................................................... 31 Welsh. ............................................................................................................................ 31 Māori. ............................................................................................................................ 32 Attitudes Toward HLM and Language Revitalization Efforts ................................................. 33 Community attitudes. ......................................................................................................... 33 Teacher attitudes. ............................................................................................................... 34 Student attitudes. ................................................................................................................ 35 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 36 Setting ................................................................................................................................... 37 School District A................................................................................................................ 37 School District B. ............................................................................................................... 37 Sample .................................................................................................................................. 38 iii Participants ............................................................................................................................ 38 Instruments ............................................................................................................................ 39 Procedure .............................................................................................................................. 41 Getting teacher/administrator consent................................................................................. 41 Getting student consent. ..................................................................................................... 42 Results and Findings ................................................................................................................. 43 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 45 Theme One: Value of Languages ........................................................................................... 47 Teacher and administrator responses. ................................................................................. 47 Student responses. .............................................................................................................. 51 Theme Two: Language Ideologies ......................................................................................... 56 Teacher and administrator responses. ................................................................................. 56 Student responses. .............................................................................................................. 65 Theme Three: Language Revitalization Efforts ...................................................................... 74 Teacher and administrator responses. ................................................................................. 74 Student responses. .............................................................................................................. 79 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 84 Theme
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