Zuni Is A Threatened Language

Author Bryan A. Garner, in his article “Making Peace in the Language Wars” (published in Garner’s Modern American Usage 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, 2009), seeks to negotiate a cease-fire between two fighting countries, the prescriptivists and the descriptivists, by dispelling myths about each of their camps. First and foremost, Garner outlines the war is happening between the lines of our favorite novels and poetry, and he describes what each camp stands for. Prescriptivists desire to instruct the world around them on how to use the language by enforcing, or at the very least informing the general public about the rules of grammar. They are sometimes described as conservative and are very concerned

Since there was always a strong bond between children, parents, and other members of the tribe, the “loss of the children to school was… like a death in the family and community” (Devens 288). Because this bond was severed at a young age, children had to grow up without the love and guidance of their tribe and instead with the harsh punishments that teachers gave out when the children did not follow instructions. Not only were children torn apart from their tribal community, but when they graduated from their respective boarding schools and returned home, there was a language barrier between their tribe and themselves, leaving children unable to communicate with their families. Since boarding schools were taught in English, there would be punishment if any teacher found a student speaking their native language. There was an emphasis of not speaking their native language at school and instead learning English, American Indian children pushed their native language to the back of their mind and eventually they were unable to speak it at all. These dramatic effects of boarding schools impacted the American Indian community greatly, much more than the land allotments, as family and tribe values and the education of their children were more important to them than the land allotments. American Indian children

Taking away Native American children’s language caused many challenges at home. Many children were confused, homesick, as well as resentful. Many of the children attending these boarding schools did not understand why their parents sent them to boarding school. For many it was because family members were, “sick then. He don’t want to take care of a little one so he pushed me to school” (Burich 5). Many children would not understand why they were being sent to these schools, especially since the schools were changing their worlds

Let’s start with the language portion of the Peoplehood matrix and the affects that settler colonialism has had on Navajo. In Peoplehood, it is stated that the language portion of the Peoplehood matrix is “a group-particular language, by way of its nuances, references, and grammar, gives a sacred history a meaning of its own, particularly if origin, creation, migration, and other stories are spoken rather than written” (Holm, et al. pg. 13). Especially in the late nineteenth century, Navajo children like many other indigenous children were sent to boarding schools. Settler colonialism resulted in a need to as Native Words Native Warriors puts it “eliminate traditional American Indian ways of life and replace them with mainstream American culture.”

The Zuni Lullaby illustrates a contrast with Plains singing to assist in confirming that there is not an individual style to Native American music. Through the Native American styles of music, repetition becomes a prominent feature. This is not because the Native Americans can’t find words to fit into the music, but because repetitions with slight variations are often too insignificant for outside listeners to notice.

It is beneficial for bilingual students to be taught in both their native language and in English to assimilate with ease into the American educational system. Gonzalez demonstrates how Native Americans, especially the Cherokees implemented English in their curriculum while also teaching them their own language. This form of teaching did not only teach

The question is if the Cherokee language is still alive. Is this language still spoken? Yes, it is. The Cherokee language is classified linguistically as a member of the Iroquoian family, spoken by the Cherokee people, originally inhabiting Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee. As a consequence of colonization, however, the Cherokee nation almost suffered destruction during the infamous Trail of Tears, 1838-1839, the forced removal of more than fifteen thousand people. Now, in the twenty-first century, the Cherokee make up one of the biggest Native American tribes within the U.S. with over 300,000 members. Despite their language’s gravely endangered status, they are within the top ten of large groups of indigenous language speakers. However, they had to overcome many struggles. Among members of Cherokee Nation in the northeast of Oklahoma, there are only a few under the age of 40 who can be considered fluent speakers of the Cherokee language (Cherokee Nation, 2003). This survey by the Cherokee Nation was conducted of 115,026 Cherokee citizens who live within the 14 counties of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. Thus, children are not acquiring the language at home as there is a lack of parents being native speakers. Consequently, UNESCO (2003) labels Cherokee as “definitely endangered.” But how come the parents and even the parents of parents do not speak their native tongue anymore? To answer this, one must know

The Zuni Turkey Dance is an Native American Indian dance performed to entertain and to get people knowledgeable about their cultural heritage. It appeals to unfamiliar and familiar people. This dance appeals to an audience because it is a form of entertainment. Entertainment can be defined as a performance that pleases and audience. In the Zuni Turkey dance we can see the art of ;dancing, drums/musical instruments begin played ,costumes, and hymns.The performers are enthusiastic and full of energy attracting every eye in the audience.

Moreover, Zunian is not only the language and a way of communication; it also helps in teaching traditions to younger generations. As time progresses, the quality and amount of language spoken is affected by other languages such as English and Spanish. However, all generations can speak both Zunian and English fluently today (5). The Zunian traditionally learned from elders and parents by words of mouth. Many projects have been established to transform the knowledge communicated in spoken language to written form such as books. The language is incorporated into teaching methods in public schools and other cultural resources. For instance, the Zuni literacy program was introduced into the School District in 1989. The Zuni Public School District media centers were awarded an electronic storage to restore Zunian language from Apple as part of its Apple Library of Tomorrow Program. According to the official website of the Zuni tribe, this equipment has allowed the district to begin production of both print and electronic versions of the first bilingual Zuni-English Dictionary.

All of their classes were taught in English and nothing was in place to help strengthen their vocabulary or grammar in the Cherokee language. Many times they would get in trouble if they were caught speaking the language. In the Documentary “ Our State Cherokee Language”, Robert Bushyheard confessed that they were often punished with a leather belt or their mouths were washed out with laundry detergent. Since speaking the language was associated with negativity, the children stopped using the language in any public setting by the 1980’s the Cherokee language was rarely heard around town. The natives began only speaking the language at home, church, or with

It is sad to see how the language and the culture is declining. For example, let’s take the Navajo’s, not many people speak it anymore. Why? Because of the people that underwent through these boarding schools, they were forbidden to speak in their dialect and forced to learn how to speak English. Causing younger generations to not speak it since parent generations lost the language, and therefore can’t really teach it to their kids.

Language is common in the world it is the way humans communicate and relate to things with one another.Language is a powerful tool in the world because it can give power to people and can be used to manipulate through renaming people,stereotyping a person and using a euphemistic approach in addressing a person.

The context chosen for this essay is the intercultural needs of Cherokee, Oklahoma. The community of Cherokee is primarily a rural agricultural and ranching community. This community was settled during the Oklahoma land run of 1893 primarily by immigrants of German decent. (2) However, in the past two years the community has seen a population explosion due to the new oil production method called fracking. With this discovery more than three thousand oil field workers have moved into and around Alfalfa County and the city of Cherokee. While many of these workers return to homes on the weekend a large portion of those workers have moved their families into Cherokee and the surrounding communities. One of the primary ethnic groups represented in this group are Hispanic. One of the key issues facing the churches, social services and schools of Cherokee is language as this ethnic group is primarily Spanish speaking. Other issues include outreach

Indian-Americans are people who either originated themselves or descend from an ancestor who was born in India. The dynamics in a home where parents are native Indians and the children are first generation born Indian-Americans are quite different from other hyphenated American cultures. The languages used within the homes as well as the rituals to show levels of respect are critical things implemented within a family unit of this stature. The spoken and unspoken rules of communication shape the first generation Indian-Americans and how they interact with others in their generation.

Language is the inevitable medium that people use as a means of communication. However, how that person uses the language that they have varies from person to person. Some view language as a persuasive political instrument and others view it as a means of expression and empowerment. In the essay “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” by James Baldwin, he was able to illustrate the history of the discrimination of language and how black English is not accepted as its own language. Baldwin also shows that due to the lack of acknowledgement of black English, it lacks the power it needs to empower the people who speak it. In the essay “Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell, he was able to break down language and explain how language shapes reality. Orwell expresses that he is not considering the literary use of language, but language is an instrument of expression and the promotion of cognitive deliberation and persuasion. Furthermore, both these authors agree that language is a political instrument, however, Baldwin uses this instrument to unite people and Orwell uses the instrument to persuade people.