languages | ETEC 521: Indigeneity, Technology and Education (May 2013)

As a language teacher, I understand that languages are a very important aspect to culture. Languages shape and define a culture. Even the English language adds cultures to its regions. England would not be the same if they spoke like those in parts of the US or Canada. The language, right down to the accent and dialect, gives cultures a special uniqueness. When reading through some of the optional readings in Module 2, I came across this quote: “Computers, video cameras and recorders can’t save languages; only people can do that,” says Penfield, “but technology can support revitalization efforts” (UA News Services, 2004). Therefore, I plan to research language revitalization using technology because I believe that technology can help revitalize languages in aboriginal communities and feel that it is important to do so.

I plan to investigate languages that are close to my area in hope to give my own Aboriginal Support colleagues a way to reach our students. I feel that if I focus part of my research on helping those whom I work with and teach, I will be able to see and feel an impact. My essay may include themes such as revitalization efforts in Canada/BC, Languages in my area that are spoken and how they are being revitalized, and technology that can enhance and support language revitalization.

References:

UA News Services. (2004). Professor Uses Technology to Preserve Tribal Languages. Retrieved from http://uanews.org/story/professor-uses-technology-preserve-tribal-languages

Module 1, Post 1

I enjoy languages (I speak 3-1/2 languages) and will probably be doing my final paper on language revival/dying languages.

Here are some of the website and articles I’ve been looking at:

http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/

This site covers endangered languages from all over the world. I had no idea my place of birth was home to a few of them! And I had no clue how many languages were on the verge of extinction. I think if I head down this research path I’ll probably focus on Central/South America or the Middle East. While this is a great starting point, that’s all it is. The technology behind reviving a language is a whole other kettle of fish.

Module 1, Post 2

There’s no single cohesive way to record or revive a language:

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/enduring-voices/

http://www.livingtongues.org/talkingdictionaries.html

There’s audio recordings, video recordings, databases, online tools, apps, and written documentation, analogies, deciphering, enciphering, translation, transliteration, and guess work!Here’s a fellow who may point the way to some more ideas…I’ll contact him to see what his thoughts are:

http://challengingtraditions.wordpress.com/2013/04/

One of my concerns (and Coppélie hints to this) is the notion of technology being the silver bullet (didn’t the education world go through this a decade ago?):

Digital is not the savior of dying languages. We may be able to archive the languages, but languages are dead unless people speak them, and to speak them they need to interact with others and withing an environment that’s not hostile to that language. This may be something to explore…the archiving of languages vs. actually reviving them…the technology that exists today is mainly for archival purposes, not for reviving languages.

Module 1, Post 3

I think there’s an inherent problem in trying to revive a language outside of a given culture that is dying or has disappeared. I don’t say this to be mean, but just to point out that things like idiomatic expressions, subtle meanings, and things like double-entendres and jokes are often heavily dependent on context, without an environment or a mind who understands the environmental/social context of a dying or dead language its potency is lost; it would be akin to looking at a game board and not knowing the rules, including the sneaky ones that don’t let you build a hotel!

There’s plenty of fodder for this approach to endangered languages:

Peter Ladefoged Another View of Endangered Languages Language Vol. 68, No. 4 (Dec., 1992), pp. 809-811

Ken Hale, Michael Krauss, Lucille J. Watahomigie, Akira Y. Yamamoto, Colette Craig, LaVerne Masayesva Jeanne and Nora C. England Endangered Lanuages. Language Vol. 68, No. 1 (Mar., 1992), pp. 1-42

Nancy C. Dorian A Response to Ladefoged’s Other View of Endangered Languages Language Vol. 69, No. 3 (Sep., 1993), pp. 575-579

Module 1, Post 4

There’s also the political/cultural dimension to language. Dominant cultures tend to eradicate other cultures, either forcibly or through other means (often economic in nature) that requires them to learn the language of the “empire”

Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald Language Death by David Crystal Journal of Linguistics Vol. 38, No. 2 (Jul., 2002), pp. 443-445

http://www.worldaffairs.com.au/reviving-endangered-languages/

There’s also the cost involved in reviving a language:

http://www.meertens.knaw.nl/ss17/contributions/abstract.php?paperID=360

This is an interesting and less explored area of reviving a dead language. There’s the financial cost, the political cost, as well as a social cost. I’ll have to do a little more digging around on this topic.

Module 1, Post 5

The topics surrounding language revival/dying languages are many. I think I’m going to start a small web to see which direction I should take my research. Maybe focusing on one particular language instead of theory would be a better approach.

Here are some videos I’ve been watching to get a better idea of what I’m getting into…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rRgoP1nG3c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCVWltWfbBA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbE53FKUV5g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB7kLNwKEVU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxZAbA3NuEM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTk3JL01TZ0

If you have any suggestions or would like to discuss this topic further, I’d love to hear from you!