Beyond Borders

  Written by: Claudia Mohr Image source: https://grasac.artsci.utoronto.ca/?p=831 Human language is one of the most diverse and distinguishing characteristics of our species. According to The Language Conservancy, there are more than 7,000 languages spoken today, with 41% facing endangerment. Over the next 100 years, we can expect to see the loss of about 90% of languages if present rates of decline continue. Extinction or dormancy occurs when “the latest generation of children no longer speak the language” and the last elders who speak their community’s language die. Of the languages that once were spoken as a first language in 1795, over 61% are now extinct. Preservation and continuation of language are integral to cultural identity and holds immense value both for speakers and for human diversity at large. Specifically for indigenous groups, knowledge of their language can help in the fight to reestablish autonomy and unity, allowing them to stand proudly and strongly in their c...

Written by: Tiffini Davis      In this blog I will be going over a few Native American tribes and their native languages. This will be the second part or continuation to my first blog. My blog is about Native American Languages. Many native Languages are going extinct and disappearing. A lot of people don’t realize that this is even an issue. This is a big issue not just for native tribes. This is a piece of a culture that is going to be lost to all of us. The loss of native languages is also a loss for future generations as well. The purpose of this blog is to bring this issue to light and to more people's attention. I will be taking a closer look at a few tribes native languages.      First let’s take a look at the Hopi Tribe. The Hopi Tribe is one native tribe that lives in the Southwest region of America. The Hopi Tribe’s native language is Uto-Aztecan. There is some research that suggests that the Uto-Aztecan language originated in t...

Written by: Rylie Lamar Language is a large part of culture, especially indigenous culture. It is important within indigenous communities because it is deeply connected to them. Indigenous languages set others apart from others. These languages are centered within the United States and across the world. There are indigenous people outside of the United States that also have an expressed culture. In the article The Ancient Origins of Some Dead or Dying Languages , written by Tara Maclsaac, it states, “Language is said to be the key to understanding a culture—the medium by which the arts and ideas of a people have been passed down over generation. Many languages are dying in the modern world, and linguists strive to mine and save the cultural gems embedded therein.” Language is important to keep an indigenous community alive and it provides more than just a language. It provides a way of art for people. Languages are special and some hold value to their people. Indige...

Written by: Tiffini Davis         For this blog I will be talking about Native American Languages. One big issue today is the loss of Native American Languages. One might be wondering how did this happen. How did so many Native Language become loss? Well one big reason was because in the 1870’s the Federal Government Started boarding schools for Native american children. The Government would take Native American Children away from their families. They would then place the children into the boarding schools. The idea behind this was a phrase “ Kill the Indian, Save the Man ”. Essential the children were taught how to write and speak in English. They were also taught other skills that would help them to be a productive member of society. This was from the American governments point of view not the Native Americans point of view. This was one way languages were loss. Native American Parents would they themselves and make their own children quit speaking their na...

Written by: Jazmine Cuevas When you think of someone’s identity one of the first things you can throw out there is the language that is spoken in that particular group of people. A country with just one language is a boring country. Different languages spoken throughout a country make a country unique and a melting pot. Indigenous languages are going extinct not just in the United States but throughout the world. When a language is still around you can learn a number of different parts of a tribe’s culture. A language is what they use to communicate, build relationships, and also how they express themselves and their culture. These languages didn’t just start out of the blue indigenous people’s ancestors have been using these same languages to communicate hundreds of years before. According to worlds politics review, seven thousand indigenous languages are spoken around the world today, and four in ten of them are in danger of going extinct, a recent United Nations study warn...

Written by: Jenna Corrice   https://www.livescience.com/30366-atlantic-forest-jungle-brazil-ecosystem.html Around the world there are many languages that are spoken, some natural some artificial. There are many more than just the main ones that are so widespread, such as English, German, Spanish, as well as others. There are a great many of these that are indigenous. Of these indigenous languages, there are a vast amount of them that are endanger. Endanger of going extinct. A language is thought of as extinct when there are no longer any people who can speak it. There are many aspects of indigenous languages that are important. For one, there is a social importance. The shape of a culture influences the language and the language influences the people right back. Every single human language has a uniqueness to it. They may have similarities, and or come from the same linguistic group, but they are still solely themselves and how a culture has evolved, changed, and ...

Written by: Samantha Riley Language instructor Michael Zimmerman leads an Ojibwe language class at Indian Community School in Franklin, Wis. Photo courtesy of WUWM. The Ojibwe is a group of indigenous people who live in Canada and the United States. The Ojibwe speak not one standardized language, but a chain of linked local varieties, with nearly a dozen dialects. The different dialects have varying pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. The differences in dialects can be great enough to prevent speakers from understanding each other. The Ojibwe consider their language to be one of the greatest treasures of their cultural heritage, with its ability to be precise, descriptive, and visual. Unfortunately, the Ojibwemowin language is endangered. The Ojibwe have had no choice but to speak English due to being forced to attend English boarding schools, urban life, popular culture, and other public interactions. Serena Graves, a member of the tribe, said in a presentation ab...

Written by: Kelsie Bryant             In the 19 th Century, we see the creation of Native American Boarding schools in America. They persisted for a long time, and there are people today who survived the horrific conditions and treatment of these schools. The main goal of these schools was to “civilize” the children; they were forcefully assimilated. They were taken from their families and now the idea of cultural preservation for some members of these native tribes seems impossible. One of the major impacts these boarding schools had was their effect of native languages.             Native children were beat and submitted to horrific and inhumane acts if they were to speak their native language. After decades of this, we see a steep decline in language preservation for tribes all across the country. In contemporary times, we see a variety of patterns of language revival or, in some cases...

Written by: Daniel Brown Native Americans have to endure a lot over the years. The constant attacks on their culture to the complete destruction of their way of life. During this destruction, many things got lost along the way. In particular, many Native Americans started to lose their language that had been in their families for generations. This was due to the fact that many whites would force Native American children into boarding schools and force them to learn English, leaving their native language flailing in the wind. The paper will focus on one boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and how it tried to destroy the Native American language.       Before the discussion of Carlisle begins, lets take a look at the history of the boarding schools The boarding schools of the Native Americans were no picnic. The whites would put the Native Americans through some truly horrific things. Upon arrival, Native American were stripped of their birth names and ...