Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Our Mother Tongues: America's First Languages (website)

Our wonderful admin assistant Marilyn shared this amazing resource: the Our Mother Tongues languages project. Included on the project site is an interactive language map, the option to hear languages being spoken by native speakers, and the ability to send multi-lingual e-Card greetings! From Project Director Anne Makepeace:
So much of what is portrayed in the media about indigenous cultures focuses on loss and disappearance, but what is really happening in Indian country today is a vibrant cultural revival. The Wampanoag story moved me profoundly because it is a story of hope, of possibilities, of a community that was in many ways devastated by 400 years of contact taking charge of their history, their identity, and their culture by reawakening their language.
While the Wampanoag case is unique in that there had not been a fluent speaker for more than a century, thousands of Native Americans across the country are working to reclaim, revitalize, and perpetuate their heritage languages. Dedicated first language speakers and others are teaching their mother tongues to their communities with a special focus on the young, so that the deep knowledge embedded in their words and expressions will be heard and spoken by many generations to come.
 Be sure to check out the Alutiiq materials included on the site.


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