Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-75dct Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-16T23:41:20.427Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Condition of Native American Languages in the United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2024

Ofelia Zepeda  and
Jane H. Hill
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, in the lands that are now the United States (the forty-eight contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii), there must have been many hundreds of distinct languages. Fewer than two hundred remain, and the future of these is decidedly insecure, even where the remoteness of the location (in the case of Inuit in Northern Alaska) or the large size of the speech community (in the case of Navajo in the Southwest) might seem to protect the community from language loss. Yet even this vastly reduced reservoir of linguistic diversity constitutes one of the great treasures of humanity, an enormous storehouse of expressive power and profound understandings of the universe. The loss of the hundreds of languages that have already passed into history is an intellectual catastrophe in every way comparable in magnitude to the ecological catastrophe we face today as the earth's tropical forests are swept by fire. Each language still spoken is fundamental to the personal, social and - a key term in the discourse of indigenous peoples - spiritual identity of its speakers. They know that without these languages they would be less than they are, and they are engaged in the most urgent struggles to protect their linguistic heritage. The goal of this paper is to review the contexts and practices of this struggle, in the hope that people everywhere will support it.

Type
Research Article
Information
Diogenes , Volume 39 , Issue 153 , March 1991 , pp. 45 - 65
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie / International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP)

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aoki, Haruo (1971), 'A Note on Language Change’, in Sawyer, Jesse, (ed.), Studies in American Indian Languages. University of California Publications in Linguistics 65. Berkeley, SAGE Publications, pp. 1–10Google Scholar
Bergsland, Knut (1979), 'Post-War Vicissitudes of the Aleut Language’, in Basse, Bjarne and Jensen, Kirsten (eds), Eskimo Languages: Their Present-Day Conditions. Aarhus, Arkona, pp. 21–35Google Scholar
Bibby, Brian (1990), ‘Preserving the Miwok Language: A Grassroots Effort ’, News from Native California 4(3), p. 46Google Scholar
Bills, Garland D. (1 974), ‘Apachean Language Maintenance’, International Journal of the Sociology of Language 2, pp. 91–100Google Scholar
Bloomfield, Leonard (1927), ‘Literate and Illiterate Speech’, American Speech 2, pp. 432–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brandt, Elizabeth A. (1981), ‘Native American Attitudes Toward Literacy and Recording in the Southwest’, Journal of the Linguistic Association of the Southwest 4(2), pp. 185–95Google Scholar
Brandt, Elizabeth A. 1988, ‘Applied Linguistic Anthropology and American Indian Language Renewal’, Human Organization 47, pp. 322–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brandt, Elizabeth A. and Ayoungman, Vivian, (1988), ‘A Practical Guide to Language Renewal and Language Maintenance’, in Proceedings of the Eighth Annual Native American Language Issues Institute, pp. 36–75 (reprinted in Canadian Journal of Native Education 16(2), pp. 42-77Google Scholar
Britsch-Devany, Susan (1988), ‘The Collaborative Development of a Language Renewal Program for Preschoolers’, Human Organization 47, pp. 297–302CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, Lyle and Mithun, Marianne (1979), 'Introduction: North American Indian Historical Linguistics in Current Perspective’, in Campbell, Lyle and Mithun, Marianne, (eds). The Language of Native America. Austin, University of Texas Press, pp. 3–69Google Scholar
Chafe, Wallace L. (1962), ‘Estimates Regarding the Present Speakers of North American Indian Languages’, International Journal of American Linguistics 28, pp. 162–71CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clifford, James (1988), 'Identity in Mashpee’, in The Predicament of Culture Cambridge, MA, Harvard University PressGoogle Scholar
Cooley, Ralph (1979), ‘Variation in Delaware: A Dying Language’, paper presented to the Conference on Non English Language Variation in the Western Hemisphere, 12 October 1979, University of Louisville, KYGoogle Scholar
Crawford, James (1989), Bilingual Education: History, Politics, Theory and Practice. Trenton, NJ, Crane Publishing CompanyGoogle Scholar
Donahue, Bill, ‘Computer Program Helps Revive Ancient Language’, Winds of Change (Spring 1990), pp. 21–5Google Scholar
Edelsky, Carol (1980), 'Acquiring Spanish as a Second Language in a Bilingual Classroom’, in Barkin, Florence and Brandt, Elizabeth (eds), Speaking, Singing, and Teaching: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Language Variation. Anthropological Papers, no. 20, Tempe, Arizona State University, pp. 33–41Google Scholar
Elmendorf, William W. (1981), ‘Last Speakers and Language Change: Two Californian Cases’, Anthropological Linguistics 23(1), pp. 36–49Google Scholar
Feeling, Durbin (1989), ‘Modern-day Sequoyah’, Native Peoples (Fall 1989), pp. 48–52Google Scholar
Golla, Victor (1988), ‘News and Announcements’, Society for the Study of the Indigenous Languages of the Americas Newsletter 7(4), p. 4Google Scholar
Greenberg, Joseph (1987), Language in the Americas. Stanford, CA, Stanford University PressGoogle Scholar
Haas, Mary R. (1968), ‘The Last Words of Biloxi’, International Journal of American Linguistics 34, pp. 77–84CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hawai'i: Legislature of the State of Hawai'i (1986), A Bill for an Act Relating to Education. Act 79, S.B. no. 2126-86Google Scholar
Heckathorn, John (1987), ‘Can Hawaiian Survive?’ Honolulu Magazine (April 1987), pp. 48–51, 82–6Google Scholar
Hickerson, Nancy P. (1988), ‘The Linguistic Position of Jumano’, Journal of Anthropological Research 44(3), pp. 311–33CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, Jane H. (1978), 'Language Death, Language Contact, and Language Function’, in McCormack, William and Wurm, Stephen A. (eds), Approaches to Language. The Hague, Mouton, pp. 44–78Google Scholar
Hill, Jane H. (1983), ‘Language Death in Uto-Aztecan’, International Journal of American Linguistics 49, pp. 258–76CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iutzi-Mitchell, Roy D. (1990), ‘Can Bilingual Education Contribute to Eskimo Language Survival?’, paper presented at the Sixth International Conference on Hunting and Gathering Societies: Language and Education Policies Affecting Hunting and Gathering Peoples, 31 May 1990, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AlaskaGoogle Scholar
Kari, James and Spolsky, Bernard (1978), 'Trends in the Study of Athapaskan Language Maintenance and Bilingualism’, in Fishman, Joshua (ed.), Advances in the Study of Societal Multilingualism. The Hague, Mouton, pp. 635–64Google Scholar
Krauss, Michael (1979), 'The Eskimo Language in Alaska, Yesterday and Today’, in Basse, Bjarne and Jensen, Kirsten (eds), Eskimo Languages: Their Present-Day Conditions. Aarhus, Arkona, pp. 37–50Google Scholar
Leap, William L. (1981), ‘American Indian Language Maintenance’, Annual Review of Anthropology 10, pp. 209–36CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leap, William L. (1988), Applied Linguistics and American Indian Language Renewal: Introductory Comments', Human Organization 47, pp. 283–91CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLendon, Sally (1980), 'How Languages Die: A Social History of Unstable Bilingualism among the Eastern Pomo’, in Klar, Kathryn, Langdon, Margaret and Silver, Shirley (eds), American Indian and Indoeuropean Studies: Papers in Honor of Madison S. Beeler. The Hague, Mouton, pp. 137–50Google Scholar
Miller, Wick R. (1971), ‘The Death of Language or Serendipity among the Shoshoni’, Anthropological Linguistics 13(3), pp. 114–20Google Scholar
Mithun, Marianne (1989), 'The Incipient Obsolescence of Polysynthesis: Cayuga in Ontario and Oklahoma’, in Dorian, Nancy (ed.), Investigating Obsolescence. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, pp. 243–58Google Scholar
Mithun, Marianne (1990), ‘Language Obsolescence and Grammatical Description’, International Journal of American Linguistics 56, pp. 1–26CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, Robert (1988), ‘Lexicalization versus Lexical Loss in Wasco-Wishram Language Obsolescence’, International Journal of American Linguistics 54, pp. 453–68CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norris, Evan J. (1988), ‘Language Awareness and Linguistic Training in American Indian Bilingual Programs', Human Organization 47, pp. 317–21CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palmer, Gary B. (1988), ‘The Language and Culture Approach in the Coeur d'Alene Language Preservation Project’, Human Organization 47, pp. 307–17CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patterson, Victoria (1990), ‘A Bilingual Education Program Gets a New Start ’, News From Native California 4(3), pp. 44–5Google Scholar
Ramenovsky, Ann (1988), Vectors of Death: The Archaeology of European Contact. Albuquerque, University of New Mexico PressGoogle Scholar
Renker, Ann M. and Arnold, W. Greig (1988), ‘Exploring the Role of Education in Cultural Resource Management: The Makah Cultural and Research Center Example’, Human Organization 47, pp. 302–7CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rudin, Catherine, (1989), ‘Omaha Language Preservation in the Macy, Nebraska Public School’, Proceedings of the MidAmerica Linguistics Conference.Google Scholar
Spolsky, Bernard (1975), 'Prospects for the Survival of the Navaio Language ’, in Kinkade, Dale, Hale, Kenneth and Werner, Oswald (eds), Linguistics and Anthropology in Honor of C. F. Voegelin. Lisse, Peter de Ridder Press, pp. 597–606Google Scholar
St Clair, Robert and Leap, William L. (eds) (1982), Language Renewal Among American Indian Tribes: Issues, Problems, and Prospects. Rosslyn, VA, National Clearinghouse for Bilingual EducationGoogle Scholar
Swadesh, Morris (1948), ‘Sociologic Notes on Obsolescent Languages’, International Journal of American Linguistics 14, pp. 226–35CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, Allan R. (1989), 'Problems in Obsolescence Research: The Gros Ventres of Montana’, in Dorian, Nancy (ed.), Investigating Obsolescence. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, pp. 167–80Google Scholar
Thornton, Russell (1987), American Indian Holocaust and Survival. Norman, OK, University of Oklahoma PressGoogle Scholar
United States: United States Senate (1989), Joint Resolution on Native American Languages. S.J. Res. 379Google Scholar
United States: United States Senate (1990), The Native American Language Act. S. 1781Google Scholar
US English (1984), Policy Position: Native American Languages. Washington, D.C. US English (typescript)Google Scholar
Voegelin, Carl F. and Voegelin, Florence M. (1977), ‘Is Tubatulabal Deacquisition Relevant to Theories of Language Acquisition?’, International Journal of American Linguistics 43, pp. 333–8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watahomigie, Lucille and Yamamoto, Akira (1983), ‘Action Linguistics with the Hualapai Bilingual/Bicultural Program’, Peach Springs Bilingual Program (MS)Google Scholar