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Importance of Indigenous and Native Languages

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Importance of Indigenous and Native Languages

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The Importance of Indigenous And Native Languages

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The 7000 Language website offers free online language courses & materials, through filling out a the contact/partner with us section, to acknowledge and restore status of endangered languages. As a 501(c)(3) public charity, the values include empowerment & ownership, respect & collaboration, diversity & inclusion, lastly technology & community access. The important technology features that are unique to this program is that there is 40+ activity types, grammar & culture slides, conversation practice, teacher tools to set up virtual classes, plus more that can be applied to various language needs.

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Empowering Communities To Teach, Learn & Sustain Their Languages

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We empower communities around the world to teach, learn, and sustain their endangered languages.

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The Power Of Revitalization - Colonizing CA, Tolowa Dee-ni', and Karuk Languages 

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The Power Of Revitalization - Colonizing CA, Tolowa Dee-ni', and Karuk Languages 

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The audio stories provided are apart of a larger six part series that has the main themes of the recognizing a few of the 'Keepers' of Indigenous languages. Located on the Global Oneness Project website there are stories, lesson plans, student galleries, discussion guides, projects, webinars, and more available as a free archive. The purpose for this website "aims to inspire students to expand their perspectives and worldviews, promoting inquiry, empathy, resilience, and a deep, sacred connection with our planet."

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In this episode of the “Language Keepers” audio series, we hear from the speakers of four endangered languages, who resist predictions of their language’s extinction.

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In the book Teaching and Learning Pragmatics by Noriko Ishihara and Andrew D. Cohen, the term pragmatics is shared as having numerous meaning but if a person is being practical, the term pragmatic approach would be used. Pragmatic approach also encompasses the four (4) main channels for communication, the receptive ones, listening, reading, and the productive ones of speaking and writing. An additional foundational term that is important to this collection about Speech Acts, are the ways in which people carry out specific social functions (i.e greeting, apologizing, complaining, farewells, etc.). A crucial part is that in given the different language contexts, speech acts can exist in the differences of "when, how, and why," can depend that language and cultural values.

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Cohen and Ishihara Teaching and Learning Pragmatics - Ch. 1 & 6 (2)

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Principles of Pragmatic Meaning CH. 2 & 3

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Principles of Pragmatic Meaning CH. 2 & 3

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This chapter has several key terms that are deemed "the basics," of pragmatic analyses in chapter 2. The main theories that are the foundations for this collection is the Speech Act (SA) Theory and Conversation Analysis (CA). For CA, there are concerns when implementing turn-taking, adjacency pairs (i.e. two-part sequences in greetings "Good morning, how are you?"), and (dis)preferred/(un)expected responses in comments and/or statements (i.e. requesting & offering that can also include silence). The components of SA include the locutionary acts (literal meanings), Illocutionary acts (non-explicit inferences), and Perlocutionary acts (unpredictable for pragmatics) that can be included in language learning classrooms for exploring deeper meanings in various cultures and languages.

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Language Endangerment and Revitalization 

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Language Endangerment and Revitalization 

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The book, Learning How to Learn Languages by Faith Alder, Logan Fisher, Bibi Halima, Cameron Keaton, Addy Orsi, Abhay Pawar, and Keli Yerian, has several key teachings about language acquisition but for the context of language revitalization Chapter 3 - Access and Power in Language Learning is beneficial. There is several modes of interaction within the chapter that learners are able to engage with and a section of this chapter titled What Does This Have To Do With Me? can promote relationship-building through advocacy for Indigenous languages for heritage/non-heritage learners. Overall, providing layers of visibility to Indigenous languages that are working diligently to revitalize and preserve languages must have various outlets of coordinated efforts among the community, state, and often times with the federal government.

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Keli Yerian and Bibi Halima

What is language endangerment?

Why are many indigenous languages endangered?

What is involved in language revitalization?

Why are language endangerment and revitalization relevant to language learning?

7164 languages!
According to Ethnologue, this is the number of living languages as of 2024 (Eberhard et al., 2024a). Does this number surprise you? It can be amazing to realize that there are over 7000 ways for humans to talk to one another. This means 7000 grammatical systems, 7000 systems for combining sounds or signs, 7000 inventories of vocabulary, and 7000 ways to express one's culture and identity. And if we count languages from the past that are no longer spoken and the different varieties of languages that might be counted as the 'same' language, this number is even larger.

We may count over 7000 languages today, but this number is decreasing every year. Although language loss is not a new phenomenon, the pace of loss has accelerated in recent times far beyond historical trends, similar to the increasing pace of biodiversity loss. Ethnologue states that 42% of languages are currently at risk of disappearing from everyday use, which is a much higher percentage than in the past (Eberhard et al., 2024b). In other words, over 3000 languages are endangered right now and the rate of language endangerment is showing no signs of slowing down. Over half of today's languages could be severely endangered by 2100 ( Sallabank & Austin, 2023).

UNESCO's Atlas of World Languages in Danger categorizes endangered languages into six levels of risk, ranging from vulnerable to critically endangered or extinct (Moseley, 2010). Importantly, languages become endangered when they are highly minoritized. Through the processes of colonization and globalization, many minoritized communities have been forced or incentivized to adopt majority languages as their own.

Move the slider along the bottom of the image below to see this process in action in North America.

Move the slider to see change over time on the map below. Accessible description of the slider activity.

The disappearance of many indigenous languages in the Americas is a result of the suppression or active elimination of Native peoples and their voices. In the U.S. and Canada, children were forced to attend Boarding Schools that forbade them from speaking their own languages, which severed their linguistic and cultural ties to their original Tribes.

Before the arrival of European settlers in the 1600s, there were over 300 indigenous languages spoken in North America (Britannica, n.d.). Only around half of these have fluent speakers today, and it is estimated that without revitalization efforts, only around 20 spoken indigenous languages will remain in 2050 (Indigenous Language Institute, as cited by Cohen, 2010, in The New York Times). In the video below, Andrina Wekontash Smith, a Shinnecock educator, explains further about the history of indigenous language loss in the United States.

We may wonder, why does it matter to lose minoritized languages? We have the majority languages we can communicate in instead, right? Well, these questions are easiest to ask when your own language is not the one in danger. We may not always notice, but in each language lies the history of communities, the wisdom of collective minds and the incredible stories and ecological knowledge of human societies, in addition to a unique grammatical and sound system developed over thousands of years. It is in languages that we find diverse ways to express hope and dreams for our futures. People live through their languages!

At this point you might assume that once languages are lost, they are forever gone. But interestingly languages can come "back to life". There are initiatives around the world led by community members, educators, linguists, and other scholars to document, reclaim and revitalize endangered languages. Some people are even reviving languages that have been considered "extinct" preferring to call them dormant or sleeping. These individuals and communities are putting tremendous effort into breathing life into ancestral stories and keeping traditional language in community daily life.

The process of revitalization involves "giving new life and vigor to a language that has been decreasing in use (or has ceased to be used altogether)" (Skutnabb-Kangas, 2018, p. 13). But it is not an easy or straightforward process. Reviving or maintaining the use of an endangered language usually involves multiple painstaking stages that depend on the status of the language in the community, the extent of documentation of the language, the number of resources and finances to support materials, community interest, and leadership.

This work can be slow and often painful. Elliott (2022) notes that, "language revitalization efforts are typically started by dedicated individuals or groups of individuals who aim to support their heritage language. In assembling a team, if possible, they start with the expertise of remaining L1 speakers, typically elders. They may choose to include on their team academics or experts, who may be either 'outsiders' or tribal members" (pp. 438-439). Examples of current revitalization efforts globally include the Ainu language in northern Japan, Quechua varieties in countries of the South American Andes, the Manchu language in China, and the Gunggari language in Australia, among many others.

A worldwide survey shows that language revitalization efforts are a growing phenomenon globally. As shown in the graph below, more than half of these efforts began just within the last 25 years (Pérez-Báez et al., 2019). It is exciting to see that people of minoritized communities and their allies worldwide are raising their voices to sustain and empower their languages.

If we zoom in on the Northwest United States we see many efforts underway. Below is a image hotspots map of some of the indigenous language revitalization projects currently happening in what is now the state of Oregon.

Image Hotspots map of Oregon Revitalization Efforts

Click on the green markers below to read information that has been published about these efforts. Accessible descrip tion of the image hotspots activity.

Institutes that support revitalization efforts allow for coordinated efforts in multiple communities. For example, the Northwest Indian Language Institute (NILI) was founded in 1998 in response to requests from Native communities of Oregon. NILI is situated in an "old white wooden house on the east edge of campus" at the University of Oregon and provides assistance for revitalization efforts in multiple indigenous languages including Ichishkíin, Chinuk Wawa, Tolowa-Dee-ni, and Lushootseed, among others (Elliott, 2022, p. 441). Their work includes teacher training, curriculum development, language documentation, appropriate uses in technology, outreach services on issues of language endangerment and advocacy for language revitalization issues (NILI).

You may be asking yourself this question. Our answer is threefold.

First, as we said in the previous sections on Heritage languages and LCTLs, for some of you this may be a very personal topic. if you are Native or have Native heritage, your own heritage language may be the one that you most want to learn.

Second, for those without a personal tie to an indigenous language, you still can participate in helping these languages thrive and prosper. Often classes at the university are open to anyone, no matter their heritage. For example in Eugene, Oregon, Ichishkíin is offered at the University of Oregon, and Chinuk Wawa is offered at Lane Community College. Taking a class on an indigenous language can give you insight and sensitivity to Native culture, history, and of course the language itself. The grammar of Ichishkiin, for example, is remarkably complex and quite different from most other languages. But learning in the classroom is not the only way. You can also participate in cultural events hosted on campus or in the community that celebrate indigenous peoples and languages. This can be a purposeful experience for those who want to explore a language different from the few majoritized languages typically offered worldwide.

Perhaps most importantly, whether or not you take an indigenous language class, by learning about endangered languages you will be more aware of the power and politics of language learning. You can become a strong advocate for supporting endangered minoritized languages and develop deep appreciation for the people who are learning and using them.

Do you know languages in your own context that are endangered or at risk? Native Land Digital is one way you can find out the history of the land you are currently living on using this interactive map. Find your own context and see which language(s) were originally spoken there. You will likely be surprised by the diversity of languages you'll find. There is a high likelihood that while searching for one singular endangered language, you may find many other languages that are either endangered or currently dormant.

At the end of this section, assess your understanding.

Select the best answer for each question.

References

Britannica. (n.d.). American Indian languages. Retrieved June 20, 2024, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-Indian-languages

Cohen, P. (2010, April 3). Indian tribes go in search of their lost languages. The New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2024, from https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/books/06language.html

Degawan, M. (2023, July 3). Indigenous languages: knowledge and hope. The UNESCO Courier. Retrieved June 20, 2024, from https://courier.unesco.org/en/articles/indigenous-languages-knowledge-and-hope

Eberhard, D. M., Simons, G. F., & Fennig, C. D. (Eds.). (2024a). How many languages are there in the world? Ethnologue: Languages of the World (27th ed.). SIL International. Online version: https://www.ethnologue.com/insights/how-many-languages/

Eberhard, D. M., Simons, G. F., & Fennig, C. D. (Eds.). (2024b). How many languages are endangered? Ethnologue: Languages of the World (27th ed.). SIL International. Online version: https://www.ethnologue.com/insights/how-many-languages-endangered/

Elliott, R. (2022). Language revitalization as a plurilingual endeavour. In E. Piccardo, A. Germain, & G. Lawrence (Eds.). The Routledge handbook of plurilingual language education (1st ed., pp. 435-448). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351002783

Grenoble, L. A. (2013). Language revitalization. In R. Bayley, R. Cameron, & C. Lucas (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of sociolinguistics (pp. 792-811). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199744084.001.0001

Hermes, M., Bang, M., & Marin, A. (2012). Designing indigenous language revitalization. Harvard Educational Review, 82(3), 381-402. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.82.3.q8117w861241871j

Moseley, C. (2010). Atlas of the world's languages in danger. UNESCO. Retrieved June 20, 2024, from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000187026.locale=en

Pérez-Báez, G., Vogel, R., & Patolo. U. (2019). Global survey of revitalization efforts: A mixed methods approach to understanding language revitalization practices. Language Documentation & Conservation, 13, 446-513. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/24871

Reid, L. F., & Kawash, J. (2017). Let's talk about power: How teacher use of power shapes relationships and learning. Papers on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching, 2, 34-41. https://doi.org/10.11575/pplt.v2i.42628

Sallabank, J., & Austin, P. (2023). Endangered languages. In L. Wei, Z. Hua, & J. Simpson (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of applied linguistics (2nd ed., Volume 2). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003082637

Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2018). Language rights and revitalization. In L. Hinton, L. Huss, & G. Roche (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of language revitalization (pp. 11-21). Routledge.

Image & Activity Descriptions

Language Groups Map Slides

A map of North America showing language groups prior to colonization, slides show the impact of colonization on North American language groups as English starts to dominate. Each slide shows the same map, but English, French and Spanish language groups start to encroach and cover the indigenous language groups that are originally shown on the map.

Slide 1:

There are 61 language groups represented on the map pre-colonization.Please note that other languages and varieties exist and have existed in addition to the pictured language families.

Languages by region of North America:

Northern Canada, a few large language groups cover most of Canada:

Eskimo-Aleut (The most Northern coasts and islands in North America)

Na-Dene (North Western Canada and Alaska)

Algic (extends into southern Canada and the Northern US, especially on the east coast of the US)

South Western Canada and North Western US:

A dense collection of smaller language groups along the West coast of the United States

Western and South Western US and North Western Mexico:

Central and Mid-Western US, large language groups cover most of the central US.

Southern US, along the Gulf of Mexico, small language groups.

North Eastern US (inner New England and New york)

Near modern day Alabama: Muskogean.

The Eastern and South Eastern US are largely unclassified and unknown on this map.

Slide 2:

Map description: French encroaches along the Eastern Canadian coast, to the great lakes. English encroaches along the North Eastern US coast from current day Maine to Northern Florida, and extends to near the great lakes. English are extends just along the coast of Hudson bay in Northern Canada. Spanish Encroaches across all of Mexico into the Southern US.

English, French, and Spanish are introduced to North America. English speakers move westward, displacing indigenous populations.

Slide 3:

Majoritized languages continue to spread across North America throughout the 19th century. English and French reach about halfway across North America toward the West coast.

Slide 4:

English is the most predominant language spoken in North America. It is the majoritized language specifically in the United States and Canada. In Mexico and Latin America, indigenous languages were similarly minoritized while Spanish was majoritized.

Map description: Indigenous language groups are entirely covered by English (dominant), Spanish, and French (focused in North Eastern Canada).

Return to map slider activity.

Indigenous Language Revitalization Efforts in Oregon

"The Chinook Indian Nation - whose ancestors lived along both shores of the lower Columbia River, as well as north and south along the Pacific Coast at the river's mouth - continue to reside near traditional lands. Because of its nonrecognized status, the Chinook Indian Nation often faces challenges in its efforts to claim and control cultural heritage and its own history and to assert a right to place on the Columbia River. Chinook Resilience is a collaborative ethnography of how the Chinook Indian Nation, whose land and heritage are under assault, continues to move forward and remain culturally strong and resilient. Jon Daehnke focuses on Chinook participation in archaeological projects and sites of public history as well as the tribe's role in the revitalization of canoe culture in the Pacific Northwest. This lived and embodied enactment of heritage, one steeped in reciprocity and protocol rather than documentation and preservation of material objects, offers a tribally relevant, forward-looking, and decolonized approach for the cultural resilience and survival of the Chinook Indian Nation, even in the face of federal nonrecognition" (Daehnke, 2017).

Reference:

Daehnke, J. D. (2017). Chinook resilience : Heritage and cultural revitalization on the lower Columbia River / Jon D. Daehnke ; foreword by Tony A. Johnson. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved June 20, 2024, from www.si.edu/object/siris_sil_1104580

The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians is broadening language awareness by making a dictionary of Siletz Dee-Ni that is accessible to anyone.

"'We don't know where it's going to go,' said Bud Lane, a tribe member who has been working on the online Siletz Dee-ni Talking Dictionary for nearly seven years, and recorded almost all of its 10,000-odd audio entries himself. In its first years the dictionary was password protected, intended for tribe members.

Since February, however, when organizers began to publicize its existence, Web hits have spiked from places where languages related to Siletz are spoken, a broad area of the West on through Canada and into Alaska. That is the heartland of the Athabascan family of languages, which also includes Navajo. And there has been a flurry of interest from Web users in Italy, Switzerland and Poland, where the dark, rainy woods of the Pacific Northwest, at least in terms of language connections, might as well be the moon" (Johnson, 2012).

Reference:

Johnson, K. (2012, August 3). Tribe Revives Language on Verge of Extinction. The New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2024, from www.nytimes.com/2012/08/04/us/siletz-language-with-few-voices-finds-modern-way-to-survive.html

"Creating programs to revive traditional languages among modern-day people is a challenge for any Indian Tribe. The Coquille Tribe has begun the project, and traditional words are slowly infusing Tribal programs and events. If you attend a Coquille event, don't be surprised to be welcomed with the Miluk 'Dai s'la!' or the Upper Coquille 'Jala!'," (Coquille Indian Tribe, 2024).

Reference:

Coquille Indian Tribe. (2024). Living the Culture. Retrieved June 20, 2024, from www.coquilletribe.org/our-heritage/our-living-culture/

Patty Whereat Phillips and Enna Helms are implmenting a project that will help with reviltilization efforts for miluk, hanis and sha'yuushtɬ'a uɬ quuiich languages.

"Luckily, two Tribal linguists- Patty Whereat Phillips and Enna Helms- are paving the beginnings of language revitalization for three languages: miluk, hanis and sha'yuushtɬ'a uɬ quuiich. Together they lead four language classes taught to both Tribal members and college students on Zoom. Both women are active participants in Tribal committees, and Mrs. Helms is a Councilwoman on the Tribal Council. The Tribe needs are to build capacity in order to expand access to the language. We plan to supplement revitalization efforts with our proposed project of documentation, archival, and storytelling, capturing success and challenge stories.

This project effectively meets the Alumni TIES seminar theme shared ways of sharing underrepresented stories. By documenting experiences and creating a book, the Tribe's history is preserved. It can help spread awareness about the Tribe's history, values, and mythology and propel other stakeholders to join in on the cause. A book on traditional storytelling provides communities with diversity and representation, a desperately needed element for children's books" (Fong, 2023).

Reference:

Fong, J. (2023). Documenting Language Revitalization & Storybook. MIT SOLVE. Retrieved June 20, 2024, from solve.mit.edu/challenges/2023-indigenous-communities/solutions/76715

A language revitilization effort by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde began in 2000. It was a language immersion program that intergrated their language into the community to help with revitltization efforts.

"For the past dozen-or-so years, the Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde, just an hour north of Corvallis, have made intensive efforts to revitalize Chinook Jargon-or, as they call it, Chinuk Wawa-through childhood immersion programs and adult literacy classes" (Brodie, 2012).

Reference:

Brodie, N. (2012, December 13). Chinuk Wawa: A Local Oregon Tribe's Efforts to Save a Dying Language. The Corvallis Advocate. Retrieved June 20, 2024, from www.corvallisadvocate.com/2012/1213-chinuk-wawa/

The Takelma language, once spoken by the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians and others, went extinct in Southwestern Oregon by 1940. Now, tribal members are in the process of reviving it.

"The ancient Takelma language had been spoken at least since Europeans first arrived, according to Dr. Stephen Beckham, retired Pamplin Professor of History at Lewis & Clark College. The language disappeared over time as tribal members were removed onto English-speaking-only reservations.

Now, tribal members are in the process of restoring it.

At 21 years old, tribal member Elizabeth Bryant is the most fluent speaker of the language. She's the Lead Takelma Teacher Learner for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians. And for the past three years, she and a few others have been working on creating a dictionary and teaching classes to tribal members. The goal is to revitalize important history.

"It really ties into that sense of my ancestors. And this is where I come from, these are my people who are no longer with us. And so it's very much an emotional connection to what they could have been thinking," she said.

In 2019, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians received a three-year grant from the federal Administration for Native Americans to do this restoration work. They hired Curriculum Specialist and Applied Linguist Dave Prine to help" (Vaughan, 2022).

Reference:

Vaughan, J. (2022, November 25). Cow Creek Tribe Works to Restore Once-Extinct Language. OPB. Retrieved June 20, 2024, from www.opb.org/article/2022/11/25/cow-creek-tribe-southern-oregon-works-to-restore-once-extinct-language/

Early Childhood Klamath Language Immersion Program

"In an effort to preserve their native language, the Klamath Tribes has introduced an early childhood language immersion program teaching Klamath to children at the tribes' Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) in Chiloquin. Revitalizing indigenous languages is an ongoing effort by tribes across the country, and for children to best succeed, lessons should begin at an early age.

The ultimate goal is to develop a generation of fluent Klamath speakers who can then teach their children the language. With only a handful of tribal members who are master speakers, the challenge is all the greater to teach a new generation of fluent Klamath speakers" (Smith, 2023).

Reference:

Smith, K. (2023, June 1). Early Childhood Klamath Language Immersion Program Educates Next Generation of Speakers. Herald and News. Retrieved June 20, 2024, from www.heraldandnews.com/news/early-childhood-klamath-language-immersion-program-educates-next-generation-of-speakers/article_9398e8c4-00b8-11ee-81da-0f2c4bcdf310.html

"The Language Program offers several programs such as:

Rise and Shine at Warm Springs K-8 Academy - all languages and College Success, Rites of Passage

Immersion at Warm Springs K-8 Academy - Ichishkin language

Ichishkin at Culture & Heritage by Suzie - MW nights

Kiksht at COCC - Credit Classes at COCC Madras

Autni Ichishkin Sapsikwat at Warm Springs Daycare - Ichishkiin Language"

Reference:

Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs. (2021). Language Program. Retrieved June 20, 2024, from warmsprings-nsn.gov/program/language-program/

There has been a lot of collaboration between the Northwest Indian Language Institute at the University of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). Below is a description of one of the language revitilization efforts that has been a combined effort of NILI and the CTUIR.

"Over the years, NILI and CTUIR have collaborated on numerous projects. A recent example is the eBook project. NILI faculty collaborated with teachers and students at Nixyaawii Community School, their Tribal high school, to create multimedia materials in one of the indigenous languages that the small children in the immersion preschool could use. Over a period of two years, multiple trips were made to CTUIR, a small library of eBooks were developed, and several Nixyaawii youth took part in NILI Summer Institute. The team, including several Nixyaawii students, traveled to national conferences, such as the National Indian Education Association conferences in Alaska and Portland, where they presented on the project," (Northwest Indian Language Institute, 2024).

Reference:

Northwest Indian Language Institute. (2024). The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Retrieved June 20, 2024, from nili.uoregon.edu/umatilla-2/

10. Burns Paiute of Harney County

A grant was offered to the Burns Paiute of Harney County was offered a grant of $6,345 in the year 2024 for language revitalization efforts.

"The Burns Paiute Tribal Council has approved funds to be used for the Wadatika Neme Yaduan Nobi, a tribal language and traditional culture revitalization effort," (Oregon Cultural Trust, 2024).

Reference:

Oregon Cultural Trust. (2024). Cultural Coalitions: Burns Paiute Tribe. Retrieved June 20, 2024, from www.culturaltrust.org/about-us/coalitions/burns-paiute-tribe/

Return to hotspot map activity.

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Language Endangerment and Revitalization – Learning How to Learn Languages

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Chapter 3 – Access and Power in Language Learning

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The book, Learning How to Learn Languages by Faith Alder, Logan Fisher, Bibi Halima, Cameron Keaton, Addy Orsi, Abhay Pawar, and Keli Yerian, has several key teachings about language acquisition but for the context of pragmatics, Chapter 4 - Culture, Intercultural Competence, and Pragmatics, provides more insights. In this chapter, there is a Youtube video that shares pragmatics 101, and gives reasoning to why learners and educators should consider adding pragmatic components into their lessons and curriculum. Although, there isn't pertinent information regarding greetings & farewells, the perspectives of pragmatics within Indigenous languages can develop linguistic tools and strategies for successful communication and mean-making across the different languages.

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Chapter 4 - Culture, Intercultural Competence, and Pragmatics

Faith Adler; Bibi Halima; and Keli Yerian

How do high and low-context cultures affect language use?

Why is learning pragmatics important?

In our day-to-day lives, we don't likely give much thought to why we speak the way we do. Sometimes, we'll say something in a different tone or with slightly different wording to get across a message that goes beyond the content of what we are saying. For example, have you ever received a text from a friend and thought, "They're definitely mad at me," even if they did not say it? What is your impression when you read each of the following text messages?

Do they each give a different impression? How do they make you feel? Do any of them make you wonder if the person responding is upset? Perhaps you don't feel anything different between these examples, and that's alright too. However, if these differences feel familiar to you, you already have a head start on our next topic.

High-context culture (also frequently referred to as more indirect culture) typically values implicit communication where those receiving a message are expected to interpret the message based on a variety of factors, such as environment, relationship, and tone of voice.

On the other end of the scale, cultures using low-context communication (also frequently referred to as more direct culture) tend to favor more explicit communication that doesn't require as much interpretation on the part of the receiver (Afrouzi, 2021).

By being aware of the differences between high-context communication and low-context communication, we can communicate more effectively, both verbally and non-verbally, in the target language. Moreover, the way these differences in culture play out in different communicative contexts is the subject of our next section. Let's first take a look at Faith's perspective.

When I was studying abroad in Japan, I used to walk around the house barefoot. This was exactly what I would do at home in the U.S. as well. A few times, my host mom would ask me things like: "Aren't your feet cold?" or "Doesn't the floor feel strange on your feet?"

After her asking questions like this frequently over a few weeks, I felt like something might be off, so I tried looking up if Japanese people walked around their house barefoot. The result? It wasn't so positive. I had never studied this part of the culture. I learned that sometimes it can be considered rude or unclean to walk around with bare feet. It could also be that by not using the slippers my host family had given me, they may have felt that I was rejecting part of them.

Because Japan is a high-context culture, without even saying what we were thinking, my host family and I were having a conversation of sorts. Because I was unfamiliar with the culture, much like how Dardashti shared in his video at the beginning of the chapter, I didn't pick up on the cultural cues. This caused miscommunication between my host mom and I that may have led to some tension if I had not taken the time to investigate the potential cultural background differences that led to our miscommunication.

Have you ever had an inside joke with a good friend? Or is there a movie you quote often with your family? Or perhaps you've tried to tell a funny story, but you did not know quite how to explain it and ended up saying, "You just had to be there."

When this happened, you were part of an " in-group," where your shared past experiences with certain members of that group contributed to the things you were talking about, and affected how you interacted with those around you both verbally and non-verbally. This doesn't only occur on a small scale. This can be seen within cultures of a community, country, and everything in-between.

How communities share norms around language use is the focus of pragmatics, or "the study of how context affects meaning" (Anderson et al., 2022, Chapter 8, para. 1). Pragmatics shows us that culture speaks. It is not voiceless, and it can influence language. High-context communication and low-context communication is one example. This is just one of the many areas that pragmatics includes.

Watch this video from the Center for Applied Second Language Studies ( CASLS) to understand more about how the pragmatics of simple expressions can have a large impact on the success of our interactions with others.

With what you learned from the video, consider again the text message examples you read at the beginning of this page. Depending on our cultural and individual experience, the replies could all give vastly different impressions. For many L1 English speakers, the replies across the three example text messages will not feel the same. One may come across as more understanding, while another might let us know that the person we are texting with is frustrated.

Though for many the difference may feel clear, those who are just learning U.S. English may not understand the subtle differences in each of these texts. It takes a strong pragmatic knowledge of both the English language, and the culture of the community, to take command of these linguistic tools.

ROTEX Perspective: Addressing Elders

One thing Olivia struggled with was what to call certain people, especially her teachers. In Turkish, there's a lot of ways to address different people, all at different formality levels. Related to the high value on education in Turkey, it was expected that you would address teachers incredibly formally, but she didn't understand that going in. When she was adjusting and would accidentally address teachers incorrectly, she said that she would get a really negative response and it was a bit jarring.

Is there a time you've experienced misunderstanding someone because of differences in pragmatic understanding? Misunderstandings like this can come from a variety of factors: social groups, age, life experiences, and more can impact how we interpret implied cues. Looking back, have you run into this before?

Being aware of pragmatic principles in any given languaculture can give the learner a stronger command of the language and the ability to communicate more effectively with members of its culture. The implication behind one's actions and word choices communicates pragmatic meaning, whether the speaker intends it to or not.

Therefore, without understanding pragmatic implications it is easy to miscommunicate intention in a second language where one is unaware of pragmatic norms, such as how in the text messaging example above, saying "No worries" may indicate a different pragmatic meaning than "K." If you weren't familiar with this pragmatic difference, you could create a lot of distance between yourself and your friend unintentionally.

However, when we are aware, it can give us more confidence to interact with members of the language's culture and ask questions respectfully. In Faith's example of being barefoot in her Japanese host family's house, if she had been considering her host mom's inquiries from a high-context perspective sooner, she might have felt more confident to ask her host mother about it earlier. She may have been able to save both of them from some awkward tension created by approaching the situation with the low-context perspective that she was used to. The importance of considering pragmatics and seeing things from a more high-context perspective was one of the (many) things she learned from that misunderstanding.

ROTEX Perspective: Sarcasm

One thing we all noticed was how poorly sarcasm translated. This is a feature that seems to be somewhat unique and not utilized across many languages in the same ways. We all noted that even in the peak of our language usage, none of us could successfully employ sarcasm in our second languages. It almost never came across right, and even seemed offensive in some cases. It's also something that we frequently notice is difficult for English language learners to begin employing. This is because sarcasm needs a lot of pragmatic nuance in order to successfully deliver the message the sender wants to give. Navigating pragmatics requires mutual understanding of how languages may be used differently across cultures.

References

Afrouzi, O. A. (2021). Humanitarian behavior across high-/low-context cultures: A comparative analysis between Switzerland and Colombia. Journal of International Humanitarian Action, 6(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41018-020-00088-y.

Anderson, C., Bjorkman, B., Denis, D., Doner, J., Grant, M., Sanders, N., & Tanaguchi, A. (2022). Essentials of linguistics (2nd ed.). Open Library Publishing Platform. https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/essentialsoflinguistics2/

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Language is Culture is Language – Learning How to Learn Languages

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Chapter 4 – Culture, Intercultural Competence, and Pragmatics

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The book, Pragmatics by George Yule, provides a useful definition of pragmatics that "is concerned with the study of meaning as communicated by a speaker (or writer) and interpreted by a listener (or reader). It has, consequently, more to do with the analysis of what people mean by their utterances than what the words or phrases in those utterances might mean by themselves. Pragmatics is the study of speaker meaning" (p. 3). Another key term to consider from this book is back-channels, explained as, "very short pauses are simply hesitations, but longer pauses become silences...If one speaker actually does not speak, then the silence is attributed to the second speaker and becomes significant. It's an attributive silence" (p. 73). For many Indigenous language, there is difficulty when a conversation happens with no flow and all of a sudden there is that significant pause to eventually create that awkward feeling. There could be a variety of reasons, but to mention a few could be that the speaker is choosing their words carefully and needs more time and/or the speaker is trying to identify if they need to respond in a formal or informal manner.

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This article provides how our greeting and farewell words/phrases are used in out daily-life conversations with the main language being Sasak. The authors, Istikohrini Atika and Sudirman Willian, stated this quote, " the forms and styles to express greetings and leave-takings in every culture (speech community) differ from one culture to another" (p. 58). For greetings, it is divided into two forms of time-free-greetings (i.e. How are you? etc.) and time-bound-greetings (i.e. Good Afternoon) and this might often be followed up with a question. Both the greeting and farewell utterances that the learners use can be classified into passing and engaging exchanges and more that happens during communication.

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Ola Ka ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi The Hawaiian Language Lives

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Ola Ka ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi The Hawaiian Language Lives

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This Youtube video provides information regarding the Hawaiian language movement that is beginning at a young age and is available for a formalized education in Ph.D. programs and teaching credentials to preserve language usage.

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Ola Ka ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi  The Hawaiian Language Lives

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The book, Basic Yurok by Andrew Garrett, holds critical information that was provided from numerous fluent Yurok L1 speakers to various linguists for the creation of this book. The inclusion of adding the resource of recognized dictionaries, grammar books, archives, etc. like Garrett's works, is important because it shifts that status and role that the language has. In the preface, Garrett shares, "this book is meant to be used by Yurok language teachers and advanced learners, in support of language restoration in the Yurok community. That goal has determined the contents and style of what follows... All readers should keep in mind that languages are best learned by speaking and listening; this is a supplement to the spoken language" (Preface). Over time, the book was built into a digital search engine for Yurok language that can provide learners with different modes of learning by listening to fluent speakers pronounce the words and reading the text(s) with examples (if available).

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Language Curriculum Design and Evaluation for Endangered Languages by Coronel-Molina and McCarty

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Language Curriculum Design and Evaluation for Endangered Languages by Coronel-Molina and McCarty

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The article is relevant to this collection as educators are often needing to "develop culturally-relevant materials," that has a goal of increasing the numbers of speakers and teachers that go through similar processing of attaining the goals of learning a second language. A majority of this text focuses on formal/informal curriculum designs and assessment methods for four different language groups (all having different needs) to consider a few of the successes and challenges they have faced and/or continue looking for solutions for. It is often that Indigenous Languages are at a stage where they need to implement Language Policies and Planning (LPP) with their programs, formal institutions, etc. and so these planners need to adapt materials and knowledge that was once told only orally to creating adequate materials that can successful teach learners how to use the language back into their daily lives.

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Conversation Analysis and Speech Act Performance by Marta González-Lloret

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Conversation Analysis and Speech Act Performance by Marta González-Lloret

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In the context of a second/foreign language classroom, CA and SA can be combined as a tool to understand the learners' performances of sequential development, but the differences are shown here to state the various interactions of comprehension about the crucial differences like the speaker intent, SA as actions-in-sequence, and data collection methodology. The first section about speaker intent, with the term intent dealing with other influential theories of "Grice's (1975) principles of cooperation and Brown and Levinson's (1987) politeness theory" (p. 61). In analyzing SA, utterances are not isolated as the intent of a speaker can have ideas/actions encoded in language use that produce significant impacts on the communication. The second section of actions-in-sequence refers to utterances that are also actions in SA but this also refers to turn-taking, social factors (age, gender, etc.) and adjacency pairs of understanding between interlocutors. The third and last section of data collection methodology which needs to rely on naturally occurring data (conversations) and this can be best elicited through role-plays, discourse completion tests (DCT's), multiple choice questions and rating scales. Some of these methods may be more/less suitable depending on scope and research questions but also considering the variable will help provide useful data.

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Indigenous Language Greeting Poster - Example, Using Canva to Create One 

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Indigenous Language Greeting Poster - Example, Using Canva to Create One 

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Using Canva.com or the provided website, educators and curriculum developers can take their language greetings and farewell words and phrases to provide visuals for learners in the classroom. Another suggestion is to supply the posters as reinforcement as a tool for recognizing and attempting to pronounce the language each time the learners see it.

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Indigenous Language Greetings Poster by lilsupplyco | TPT

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Speech Acts in Interaction: Towards Discursive Pragmatics by Gabriele Kasper 

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Speech Acts in Interaction: Towards Discursive Pragmatics by Gabriele Kasper 

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From pages 281-314, the author Gabriele Kasper shares this work to highlight how a larger approach of SA can pursue empirical extensions of literature, and examine from a perspective that differs from the (meta)theoretical stance of SA research in isolation. By applying CA to the SA research, the purpose is to not to just view the meaning and action of SA but examine it through social interactions with using "specifically Jacoby and Ochs's theory of construction (1995) and Arundale's co-constituting theory" (1999, 2005). The research is organized around the three concepts of action, meaning and context, to prove that certain concepts of CA have direct consequences SA research. Adding these concepts enables the CA to study "advice resistance, agreement and disagreements, apologies, complaints, compliments and compliment responses, invitation refusal sequences, questions, and requests," (p.305) and a key component in this research is that the learners need to have directed analytical attention to have the coordinated interactions.

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Pragmatics & Language Learning, Volume 11

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“This volume features cutting-edge research on L2 pragmatics from a wide range of theoretical and methodological approaches. It offers fresh perspectives on standard topics such as the use and learning of speech acts and the pragmatic meanings of linguistic resources, and the effect of planned intervention on pragmatic development in language instruction. The chapters also document researchers’ increasing attention to different forms of computer-mediated communication as environments for using and developing L2 pragmatic competence, and of conversation analysis as an approach to different aspects of interaction in a variety of settings.”--Publisher’s website (nflrc.hawaii.edu/).

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Indigenous Languages Month Toolkit - Government of Northwest Territories

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Indigenous Languages Month Toolkit - Government of Northwest Territories

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This website provides a toolkit example for learners to engage meaningfully with the contents of hashtags, social media engagement, social media images, social media messages, Indigenous language sheets, and much more. The language sheets contain terms and the English translations of the topic of Conversations with target vocabulary of greetings, asking questions, and leave-taking utterances that can be printed for classroom or at home activities.

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Download and share these social media posts, graphics, and other tools for anyone who wants to help celebrate Indigenous Languages Month.

#IndigenousLanguagesMonth

#IndigenousLanguages

#IndigenousLanguagesDecade

#LanguageRevitalization

We encourage you to follow us on social media. We'll be sharing Indigenous language content all month and we encourage you to share and interact with these messages. You'll find us on the following platforms:

To save one of the images below to your desktop, right click on the image you want to save and select "Save image as...".

We developed the following messages to help you promote Indigenous Languages Month on your social media.

You can post these messages as is, use them to inspire your own content, or adapt them to the needs of your audience or to the specifications of the platform you use.

February is #IndigenousLanguagesMonth and we are recognizing the importance of preserving our Indigenous languages. Please take the time today to use your language or to learn a simple phrases in an Indigenous language(s).

We're celebrating #IndigenousLanguagesMonth by...

#IndigenousLanguagesMonth is here! Take time this month to learn about the diverse Indigenous languages in NWT and encourage everyone to use them with pride.

Host an Indigenous language coffee and tea chat where people can get together to practice their language skills in a casual setting over coffee.

Host an outdoor walk, ski or snowmobile ride on the land and try to name landmarks and natural features in the local Indigenous language.

Host a games night at your local community centre and play UNO, Go Fish, or the Memory Game in an Indigenous language.

Get a group together and collect wood, go trapping or go to camp with a language speaker while immersing yourself in the language.

Label items in your office or school in an Indigenous language and try to only use that word for the month of February.

Host a sewing circle and immerse yourself in the language.

Put on an event to celebrate Indigenous languages through the arts.

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Indigenous Languages Month Toolkit | Education, Culture and Employment

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Download and share these social media posts, graphics, and other tools for anyone who wants to help celebrate Indigenous Languages Month. [toc] Hashtags #IndigenousLanguagesMonth #IndigenousLanguages #IndigenousLanguagesDecade #LanguageRevitalization Tag us on Social Media We encourage you to follow us on social media. We’ll be sharing Indigenous language content all month and

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Native American Language Resources Center 

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Native American Language Resources Center 

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The NALRC-NW supports Native language programs in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho to provide resources for incorporating digital tools, enhancing curriculum, networking, and more on their website. In their contact form, educators/learners have the ability to choose to book an appointment for marketing, design, develop teacher skills, develop leadership, support policy and planning to achieve their main goals "to strengthen and sustain Indigenous languages for future generations."

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Native American Language Resource Center -Northwest Region. Supporting Language advocates & champions in areas of advocacy, teaching pathways, communities and partnerships.

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Georgiana Trull's Yurok Language Conversation Book 

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Georgiana Trull's Yurok Language Conversation Book 

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In Georgiana Trull's Yurok Language Conversation Book, there are 31 chapters that have different topics to provide target language to learners along with audio listening of fluent L1 Yurok speakers. Chapter 1. Hello - Hellos and Goodbyes, is a great starting point for most program and language materials developed to say survival terms about who you are plus others that are important to communicating.

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Yurok Language Project: Georgiana Trull’s Yurok Language Conversation Book

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Yurok Language Project Digital Archive (2001-2024). Editorial matter and new content © Regents of the University of California. Spoken language and texts reproduced on this site remain the intellectual and cultural property of their creators. Basket designs are from A. L. Kroeber, Basket designs of the Indians of northwestern California (1905).

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Greetings From My Indigenous Culture by Bitahnii Wayne Wilson

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Greetings From My Indigenous Culture by Bitahnii Wayne Wilson

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On the website BahaiTeachings.org, the author Butahnii Wayne Wilson shares a crucial part of greetings that many Indigenous language follow when introducing themselves to people. An important statement is the reasoning for particular aspects of the introduction sharing family is explained as, "the reason why I introduce myself in this way is because I was instructed by my elder and was raised to address myself in a respectful way to all my relative, the Holy People, and all the elements from the microcosm to the macrocosm within this universe and all existence." Indigenous perspectives on introductions are significantly different as explain our kin and background are explicitly stated to align with the cultural traditions and teachings.

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Ya at’eeh! That means “greetings” in my indigenous language. Literally, in English, the phrase means “it is good,” or “it is well.” I am of my mother’s Folded Arms Clan,…

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Located on the Cree Literacy Network, the author Arden Ogg shares about the topic of 'good-byes' in Cree. The structure of the website is similar to a language blog/lesson by providing learners comments about the differences between English and Cree to whether certain words/phrases would be polite or not. A few of the alternative provided have been collected using social media but there is also key information to ensure that if learners are wanting to use Cree 'leave-taking' utterances appropriately then acknowledging +/- solidarity in that relationship and if it is being used in a formal/informal context.

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Maybe I'm the only one, but whenever the topic of "goodbye" in Cree comes up, I'm soon imagining the disco beat of Gloria Gaynor. English speakers are taught from early childhood that politeness de...

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Language For Life: Nourishing Indigenous Languages In The Home 

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Language For Life: Nourishing Indigenous Languages In The Home 

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This resource has several components that is useful for educators and learners of Indigenous languages such as creating a family plan, numerous activities of creating a family tree, claiming space of activities, seasonal chart, daily activities, and more supporting materials for challenges and solutions. Providing templates for these tasks and activities will useful as these are mostly using speech acts that will be occurring in our daily conversations.

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The Yurok Language Program is a good resource for educators and learners to learn songs, play games, read stories, find the dictionary, and discover more resources available. There is also other supplemental learning materials with the 'Yurok in 20!" Podcast, virtual learning spaces/pathways, and Yurok learning requests and this is an excellent framework for learners to start their language learning journey.

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Click the down arrow to see how to access Yurok Memrise levels

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American Indian Language Develop Institute (AILDI) 

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American Indian Language Develop Institute (AILDI) 

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The American Indian Language Develop Institute (AILDI) is located at The University of Arizona and their main goal is to "provide critical training to strengthen efforts to revitalize and promote the use of Indigenous languages across generations." There a several section that are highlighted in the website which is transformative teaching, longevity, purposeful research, summer sessions, services, additional resources, and collaborative partnerships.

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American Indian Language Development Institute

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The American Indian Language Development Institute’s (AILDI) mission is to provide critical training to strengthen efforts to revitalize and promote the use of Indigenous languages across generations. This is accomplished by engaging educators, schools, Indigenous communities and policy makers nationally and internationally through outreach, transformative teaching, purposeful research and collaborative partnerships. As a result of our work, we envision that the larger society will know that language revitalization is critical to sustain and reinforce Indigenous linguistic, cultural, and spiritual health and identity.

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The Routledge Handbook of Language Revitalization 

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The Routledge Handbook of Language Revitalization 

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The Routledge Handbook of Language Revitalization is a collection of 47 contributions from global and top scholars in the U.S. to bring attention to language revitalization issues of theory/practice along with a variety of perspective about decolonizing the language learning field. The significant loss of culturally significant languages turn to language revitalization movements "as paths to healing, justice, and empowerment" (p. 22). The collection is a compilation of hundreds of years of Indigenous knowledge being put at the forefront to reverse language loss and "establish language revitalization more firmly as an independent field of study and action, [for] more research and theorization" (p. 22).

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Beyond the Curriculum: Extended Discourse Practice Through Self-Access Pragmatics Simulations 

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Beyond the Curriculum: Extended Discourse Practice Through Self-Access Pragmatics Simulations 

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The article titled, Beyond the Curriculum: Extended Discourse Practice Through Self-Access Pragmatics Simulations by Sydorenko, et. al., with the section titled Implicit Versus Explicit Instruction, that is about how the features of pragmatics of authentic input, consciousness-raising practice, and feedback in the classrooms. The purpose of this article is to support how pragmatics can improve learner strategies and content in the different forms with explicit AND implicit instruction can improve the results of language learning.

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For function #2, this lesson plan is incorporating greetings and farewell sequences in a role-play dinner activity with the learners practicing how they would use the language in a real-life situation.