The Wordmaker for Kanyen'kéha
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Press Release for Spoken Here Published by Houghton Mifflin
Press Release Spoken Here by Mark Abley • Introduction • A Conversation with Mark Abley • Glossary of Threatened Languages • Praise for Spoken Here Introduction Languages are beautiful, astoundingly complex, living things. And like the many animals in danger of extinction, languages can be threatened when they lack the room to stretch and grow. In fact, of the six thousand languages in the world today, only six hundred may survive the next century. In Spoken Here, journalist Mark Abley takes us on a world tour — from the Arctic Circle to the outback of Australia — to track obscure languages and reveal their beauty and the devotion of those who work to save them. Abley is passionate about two things: traveling to remote places and seeking out rarities in danger of being lost. He combines his two passions in Spoken Here. At the age of forty-five, he left the security of home and job to embark on a quixotic quest to track language gems before they disappear completely. On his travels, Abley gives us glimpses of fascinating people and their languages: • one of the last two speakers of an Australian language, whose tribal taboos forbid him to talk to the other • people who believe that violence is the only way to save a tongue • a Yiddish novelist who writes for an audience that may not exist • the Amazonian language last spoken by a parrot • the Caucasian language with no vowels • a South Asian language whose innumerable verbs include gobray (to fall into a well unknowingly) and onsra (to love for the last time). Abley also highlights languages that can be found closer to home: Yiddish in Brooklyn and Montreal, Yuchi in Oklahoma, and Mohawk in New York and Quebec. -
Kanien'keha / Mohawk Indigenous Language
Kanien’keha / Mohawk Indigenous Language Revitalisation Efforts KANIEN’KEHA / MOHAWK INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE REVITALISATION EFFORTS IN CANADA GRACE A. GOMASHIE University of Western Ontario ABSTRACT. This paper gives an overview of ongoing revitalisation efforts for Kanien’keha / Mohawk, one of the endangered Indigenous languages in Canada. For the Mohawk people, their language represents a significant part of the culture, identity and well-being of individuals, families, and communities. The endanger- ment of Kanien’keha and other Indigenous languages in Canada was greatly accelerated by the residential school system. This paper describes the challenges surrounding language revitalisation in Mohawk communities within Canada as well as progress made, specifically for the Kanien’keha / Mohawk language. EFFORTS DE REVITALISATION LINGUISTIQUE DE LA LANGUE MOHAWK / KANIEN’KEHA AU CANADA RÉSUMÉ. Cet article offre une vue d’ensemble des efforts de revitalisation linguis- tique réalisés pour préserver la langue mohawk / kanien’keha, une des langues autochtones les plus menacées au Canada. Pour la communauté mohawk, cette langue constitue une part fondamentale de la culture, de l’identité et du bien-être des individus, des familles et des communautés. La mise en péril de la langue mohawk / kanien’keha et des autres langues autochtones au Canada a été grandement accentuée par le système de pensionnats autochtones. Cet article explore les défis inhérents à la revitalisation de la langue en cours dans les communautés mohawks au Canada et les progrès réalisés, particulièrement en ce qui a trait à la langue mohawk / kanien’keha. WHY SAVING ENDANGERED LANGUAGES IS IMPORTANT Linguists estimate that at least half of the world’s 7,000 languages will be endangered in a few generations as they are no longer being spoken as first languages (Austin & Sallabank, 2011; Krauss, 1992). -
Language Teaching and Learning Software For
Natural Language Generation for Polysynthetic Languages: Language Teaching and Learning Software for Kanyen’keha´ (Mohawk) Greg Lessard Nathan Brinklow Michael Levison School of Computing Department of Languages, School of Computing Queen’s University Literatures and Cultures Queen’s University Canada Queen’s University Canada [email protected] Canada [email protected] [email protected] Abstract Kanyen’keha´ (in English, Mohawk) is an Iroquoian language spoken primarily in Eastern Canada (Ontario, Quebec).´ Classified as endangered, it has only a small number of speakers and very few younger native speakers. Consequently, teachers and courses, teaching materials and software are urgently needed. In the case of software, the polysynthetic nature of Kanyen’keha´ means that the number of possible combinations grows exponentially and soon surpasses attempts to capture variant forms by hand. It is in this context that we describe an attempt to produce language teaching materials based on a generative approach. A natural language generation environment (ivi/Vinci) embedded in a web environment (VinciLingua) makes it possible to produce, by rule, variant forms of indefinite complexity. These may be used as models to explore, or as materials to which learners respond. Generated materials may take the form of written text, oral utterances, or images; responses may be typed on a keyboard, gestural (using a mouse) or, to a limited extent, oral. The software also provides complex orthographic, morphological and syntactic analysis of learner productions. We describe the trajectory of development of materials for a suite of four courses on Kanyen’keha,´ the first of which will be taught in the fall of 2018. -
LSA 2016 Annual Meeting Handbook.Pdf
Meeting Handbook Linguistic Society of America American Dialect Society American Name Society North American Association for the History of the Language Sciences Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas The Association for Linguistic Evidence 90th Annual Meeting Marriott Marquis Washington, DC 7-10 January, 2016 NATIVE AMERICAN ANALYZED ORAL TEXTS NOW AVAILABLE DOWNLOADABLE PDF e-BOOKS – $10 EACH Available titles: Mayan Texts I, II, and III; Louanna Furbee (1976, 1979, 1980) Otomi Parables, Folktales, and Jokes; H. Russell Bernard and Jesús Salinas Pedraza (1976) Yuman Texts ; Margaret Langdon (1976) Caddoan Texts ; Douglas R. Parks (1977) Northern California Texts ; Victor Golla and Shirley Silver (1977) Northwest Coast Texts ; Barry F. Carlson (1977) Coyote Stories; William Bright (1978) Crow Texts ; Dorothea V. Kaschube (1978) Northern Iroquoian Texts ; Marianne Mithun and Hanni Woodbury (1980) Coyote Stories II; Martha B. Kendall (1980) ORDER ONLINE AT WWW.PRESS.UCHICAGO.EDU INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AMERICAN LINGUISTICS Editors: David Beck and Donna Gerdts IJAL is a world forum for the study of all languages native to North, Central, and South America. SSILA member rate now available at www.ssila.org SIGNS AND SOCIETY – OPEN ACCESS Editor: Richard J. Parmentier Signs and Society is a new multidisciplinary journal in the humanities and social sciences focusing on the study of sign process (or semiosis) in the realms of social action, cognition, and cultural form. www.journals.uchicago.edu -
MARIANNE MITHUN Curriculum Vitae
MARIANNE MITHUN Curriculum vitae Department of Linguistics University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106 E-mail: mithun at linguistics dot ucsb dot edu Website: http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/faculty/mithun/ Education 1974 Ph.D., Yale University, Linguistics Dissertation: A Grammar of Tuscarora Advisor: Floyd Lounsbury 1972 M.Phil, Yale University, Linguistics 1972 M.A., Yale University, Linguistics 1970: Linguistic Institute, Ohio State University 1969 B.A., Pomona College, Phi Beta Kappa, French 1967 spring: Swarthmore College exchange 1968 summer: U.S.S.R. summer term 1968 fall: University of Vienna Grants and Awards 2014-2015 President, Societas Linguistica Europaea (European Linguistic Society) 2012 Outstanding Faculty Award, Residence Halls Association and Office of Residential Life 2009 NSF award: Athabaskan Spoken Language Corpora 2008 Fellow, Linguistic Society of America 2007 University Distinguished Teaching Award 2005 Médaille du Collège de France, Paris. 2003 Doctor Honoris Causa. La Trobe University, Melbourne. 2002 Bloomfield Book Award for The Languages of Native North America (award given every two years by the Linguistics Society of America for the book judged the best in the field of linguistics). Mithun 2000 Doctor Philosophiae Honoris Causa. University of Oslo, Norway. 1998 Elected to the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. 1997 Academic Senate grant, University of California, for research for a Mohawk Reference Grammar. 1996 Academic Senate grant, University of California, for the investigation of grammatical categories in Central Alaskan Yup’ik. 1995 Academic Senate grant, University of California, for translation and analysis of Central Alaskan Yup’ik Oral Traditions. 1994 Academic Senate grant, University of California, for documentation of Central Alaskan Yup’ik oral traditions. -
The Experiences of Post-Secondary Cree Language
Islands ofCulture: The experiences ofpost-secondary Cree language teachers A Thesis Submitted to the College ofGraduate Studies and Research for the Degree ofMaster ofEducation in the Department ofCurriculum Studies University ofSaskatchewan Saskatoon By Velma Baptiste Willett . Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 2000 Copyright Velma Baptiste Willett, Fall 2000, All rights reserved I agree that the Libraries ofthe University ofSaskatchewan may make this thesis freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for extensive copying ofthis thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised the thesis work recorded herein, or, in their absence, by the Head ofthe Department ofDean ofthe College in which the thesis work was done. Any copying or publication or use ofthis thesis or parts thereoffor financial gain is not allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition will be given to me and to the University ofSaskatchewan in any scholarly use ofthe material in my thesis. Requests for permission to copy or to make other use ofmaterial in this thesis in whole or in part should be addressed to: Head ofthe Department ofCurriculum Studies University ofSaskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N OXI ABSTRACT This study recognizes that post-secondary Cree language teachers carry expertise in providing relevant teaching strategies for adult learners. Pursuant to this perspective~ this study describes current Cree language teaching approaches for adult learners as practiced by selected post-secondary Cree language teachers. The Cree language teachers interviewed in this qualitative study are fluent Cree speakers who possess traditional Cree knowledge and understand the protocol within Cree communities. -
Morphological Complexity and Language Contact in Languages Indigenous to North America Marianne Mithun University of California, Santa Barbara
Morphological Complexity and Language Contact in Languages Indigenous to North America Marianne Mithun University of California, Santa Barbara It has long been noticed that morphological complexity is not distributed evenly across the world. There are also well-known geographical pockets of morphological elaboration in areas of Northern Australia, Papua New Guinea, Siberia, and the Caucasus. During the 19th century, Duponceau (1819), Brinton (1886), and Hewitt (1893) pointed to the special complexity of languages of the Americas. But the idea that complex morphological structure should show areal distributions seems counterintuitive: traditional scales of borrowability have typically begun with vocabulary, then moved through phonetics and phonology, and on to syntax, with morphology at the end or not mentioned at all. Such scales would seem to be in line with what we know about domains of structure: morphological structure is distinguished from syntax by its routinization: most of it is below the level of consciousness. Bilinguals should be less likely to transfer individual morphemes or morphological patterns from one of their languages to the other than to transfer whole words or word orders. One factor underlying the distributions of complexity might be the social circumstances under which the languages are used and transmitted, as proposed by Dahl (2004, to appear) and (Trudgill 2011, to appear). In small, closed communities, where speakers interact with a constant group of native interlocutors who share a common set of presuppositions about the world, culture, and interests, certain expressions are likely to occur more frequently in speech than in larger, more diffuse communities. The frequency can lead to routinization of the recurring sequences and the development of complex morphological structures, with large inventories of lexicalized expressions. -
A Bibliography of Salish Linguistics
A Bibliography of Salish Linguistics Jan P. van Eijk First Nations University of Canada Northwest Journal of Linguistics 2.3 A Bibliography of Salish Linguistics Jan P. van Eijk First Nations University of Canada Abstract This bibliography lists materials (books, articles, conference papers, etc.) on Salish linguistics. As such, it mainly contains grammars, dictionaries, text collections and analyses of individual topics, but it also lists anthropological studies, curriculum materials, text collections in translation, and general survey works that have a sufficiently large Salish linguistic content. Criteria for inclusion of items, and the general methodology for assembling a bibliography of this kind, are discussed in the introduction. The work concludes with a list of abbreviations and a language-based index. This bibliography should be of use to linguists, particularly Salishists, but also to anthropologists and curriculum developers. The bibliography is essentially a sequel to Pilling 1893 (listed in the bibliography), although a number of items listed in that older source are also included here. KEYWORDS: Salish languages and dialects; Salish language family; bibliography; language index Northwest Journal of Linguistics 2.3:1–128 (2008) Table of Contents Introduction 4 Restrictions and criteria 5 General principles 8 The Salish conferences 9 Caveats and disclaimer 9 Salish languages and dialects 10 Bibliography of Salish Linguistics 13 Abbreviations 116 Appendix: Language Index 118 Northwest Journal of Linguistics 2.3:1–128 (2008) A Bibliography of Salish Linguistics Jan P. van Eijk First Nations University of Canada Introduction. The following is a selected bibliography of those books and articles that deal with the description and analysis of Salish languages. -
The Cambridge Handbook of Historical Syntax Edited by Adam Ledgeway , Ian Roberts Frontmatter More Information
Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-04960-4 — The Cambridge Handbook of Historical Syntax Edited by Adam Ledgeway , Ian Roberts Frontmatter More Information The Cambridge Handbook of Historical Syntax Change is an inherent feature of all aspects of language, and syntax is no exception. While the synchronic study of syntax allows us to make discoveries about the nature of syntactic structure, the study of historical syntax offers even greater possibilities. Over recent decades, the study of historical syntax has proven to be a powerful scientific tool of enquiry with which to challenge and reassess hypotheses and ideas about the nature of syntactic structure which go beyond the observed limits of the study of the synchronic syntax of individual languages or language families. In this timely handbook, the editors bring together the best of recent international scholarship on historical syn- tax. Each chapter is focused on a theme rather than an individual language, allowing readers to discover how systematic descriptions of historical data can profitably inform and challenge highly diverse sets of theoretical assumptions. ADAM LEDGEWAY is Professor of Italian and Romance Linguistics and Chair of the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages at the University of Cambridge. His research interests are in the comparative history and morphosyntax of the Romance languages, Italian dialectology, syntactic theory and linguistic change. His recent books include From Latin to Romance: Morphosyntactic Typology and Change (2012) and Diachrony and Dialects: Grammatical Change in the Dialects of Italy (2014) (co-edited with P. Beninca` and N. Vincent). IAN ROBERTS is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Cambridge. -
THIS LAND a COMPANION RESOURCE for EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS 1: Welcome
ThisA Companion Resource forLand Early Childhood Educators to Accompany Five Short Films To you, the Early Childhood Educators, embarking on this emotional journey Thank you for taking this on. Some days it may seem insurmountable to both learn about and feel the painful history of this country in its treatment of Indigenous Peoples. We are grateful for the gentle, important work you do in caring for young children. They are the now and the future. 2 THIS LAND A COMPANION RESOURCE FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS 1: Welcome si:y̓em̓ nə siyey̓ə My honoured friends and relatives. c̓iyətalə cən tə ɬwələp xʷəʔiʔnamət ʔə ƛ̓ xʷməθkʷəy̓əm I thank you all for coming to Musqueam. stəʔe k̓ʷ nə syəwenəɬ qiyəplenəxʷ ʔiʔ xʷəlciməltxʷ Like my ancestors qiyəplenəxʷ and xʷəlciməltxʷ seʔcsəm cən niʔ ʔə tə ɬwələp ʔiʔ hiləkʷstalə I raise my hands to welcome all of you. hay ce:p ʔewəɬ si:y̓em̓ nə siyey̓ə Thank you, all my friends and relatives, wə n̓an ʔəw ʔəy̓ tə nə šxʷqʷeləwən kʷəns ʔi k̓ʷəcnalə ʔə šxʷə ʔi ʔə tə ʔi I’m very happy to see you all here. hay čxʷ q̓ə Thank you. 2 THIS LAND A COMPANION RESOURCE FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS THIS LAND A COMPANION RESOURCE FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS 3 First Nations Tutchone Languages of Den k’e Inland Łingít British Columbia © 2011 UBC Museum of Anthropology This map is regularly revised. Latest revision November 24,2011. Please do not reproduce in any form without permission. First Nations languages are shown with outlines that are approximate represent- Language ations of their geographic locations. -
MARIANNE MITHUN Curriculum Vitae
MARIANNE MITHUN Curriculum vitae Department of Linguistics University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106 E-mail: mithun at linguistics dot ucsb dot edu Website: http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/faculty/mithun/ Education 1974 Ph.D., Yale University, Linguistics Dissertation: A Grammar of Tuscarora Advisor: Floyd Lounsbury 1972 M.Phil, Yale University, Linguistics 1972 M.A., Yale University, Linguistics 1970: Linguistic Institute, Ohio State University 1969 B.A., Pomona College, Phi Beta Kappa, French 1967 spring: Swarthmore College exchange 1968 summer: U.S.S.R. summer term 1968 fall: University of Vienna Honors, Grants, Awards 2019 President elect, Linguistic Society of America. 2018 Wilbur Cross Medal, Yale University Graduate School. Awarded for distinguished achievements in scholarship, teaching, academic administration, and public service. 2016 Elected to the Academia Europaea 2014-2015 President, Societas Linguistica Europaea (European Linguistic Society) 2012 Outstanding Faculty Award, Residence Halls Association and Office of Residential Life 2009 NSF award: Athabaskan Spoken Language Corpora 2008 Fellow, Linguistic Society of America 2007 University Distinguished Teaching Award 2005 Médaille du Collège de France, Paris. 2003 Doctor Honoris Causa. La Trobe University, Melbourne. Mithun 2002 Bloomfield Book Award for The Languages of Native North America (award given every two years by the Linguistics Society of America for the book judged the best in the field of linguistics). 2000 Doctor Philosophiae Honoris Causa. University of Oslo, Norway. 1998 Elected to the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. 1997 Academic Senate grant, University of California, for research for a Mohawk Reference Grammar. 1996 Academic Senate grant, University of California, for the investigation of grammatical categories in Central Alaskan Yup’ik. -
MARIANNE MITHUN Curriculum Vitae
MARIANNE MITHUN Curriculum vitae Department of Linguistics University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93106 Telephone: 805-893-4058 E-mail: [email protected] Fax: 805-563-1948 Education 1974 Ph.D., Yale University, Linguistics Dissertation: A Grammar of Tuscarora Advisor: Floyd Lounsbury 1972 M.Phil, Yale University, Linguistics 1972 M.A., Yale University, Linguistics 1970: Linguistic Institute, Ohio State University 1969 B.A., Pomona College, Phi Beta Kappa, French 1967 spring: Swarthmore College exchange 1968 summer: U.S.S.R. summer term 1968 fall: University of Vienna Grants and Awards 2009 NSF award: Athabaskan Spoken Language Corpora 2008 Fellow, Linguistic Society of America 2007 University Distinguished Teaching Award 2005 Médaille du Collège de France, Paris. 2003 Doctor Honoris Causa. La Trobe University, Melbourne. 2002 Bloomfield Book Award for The Languages of Native North America (award given every two years by the Linguistics Society of America for the book judged the best in the field of linguistics). 2000 Doctor Philosophiae Honoris Causa. University of Oslo, Norway. 1998 Elected to the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Mithun 1997 Academic Senate grant, University of California, for research for a Mohawk Reference Grammar. 1996 Academic Senate grant, University of California, for the investigation of grammatical categories in Central Alaskan Yup‟ik. 1995 Academic Senate grant, University of California, for translation and analysis of Central Alaskan Yup‟ik Oral Traditions. 1994 Academic Senate grant, University of California, for documentation of Central Alaskan Yup‟ik oral traditions. 1993 Academic Senate grant, University of California for research on intonation in Central Pomo. 1992 Interdisciplinary Humanities Center grant for publication of Proceedings of the Conference on Romance Linguistics, with William Ashby, Giorgio Perissinotto, and Eduardo Raposo.