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I'm not native, but I'm learning Lushootseed (language of the Puget Sound Salish peoples) to help keep it alive, after it technically fell into extinction. Lan

I'm not native, but I'm learning Lushootseed (language of the Puget Sound Salish peoples) to help keep it alive, after it technically fell into extinction. Language preservation is huge for native culture and identity, and it helps prevent assimilation (one of the reasons why the language and others like it were forcibly stamped out by the boarding schools which abducted Indian children from their parents.) There are even projects to teach Lushootseed to inmates in tribal jails, as a way of reconnecting prisoners with their culture and heritage. Iirc studies also show that depression and suicide are reduced if the native language stays alive. There's a lot of debate and the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis has fallen out of favor with contemporary linguists, but I also feel like different languages encode different thought patterns. Lushootseed is nothing like English, and there are words specifically for tribal customs, religion and viewpoints that can't translate. Overall, I see languages as living creatures. Extinction of minority languages or cultures is, to me, like species disappearing. Even if the biome doesn't suffer (and it can in both cases - Indians knew how to take care of the land before whites showed up), something sacred is lost v

jgust 7y ago
> different languages encode different thought patterns I find this so interesting and I want it to be true. The Guugu Ymithirr come to mind, whose directional prepositions are based on cardinal directions. This difference, when compared to English for example, is thought to be the main factor in why the people have such a strong "internal compass". http://nautil.us/blog/5-languages-that-could-change-the-way-you-see-the-world http://nautil.us/blog/5-languages-that-could-change-the-way-... [paywall] http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-language-shapes-thought/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-language-shape...
senorsmile 7y ago
I really wanted to do this for a very closely related language to lushootseed about 10 years ago when I had an apartment in one of the tribal areas that were 50% non tribal. I looked into resources and programs, but there didn't seem to be a lot of resources or actual interest by the people group. I eventually moved onto other things (probably Akkadian or Dutch at that time), but this desire still lives somewhere inside me. Would you care to share how you've done the learning you've done and any assimilation you've been able to do?
- senorsmile 7y ago
  actually, I just looked up the language, and it's technically one of the dialects of lushootseed; so same language continuum as whatever you're learning more than likely.

jgust 7y ago

> different languages encode different thought patterns I find this so interesting and I want it to be true. The Guugu Ymithirr come to mind, whose directional prepositions are based on cardinal directions. This difference, when compared to English for example, is thought to be the main factor in why the people have such a strong "internal compass". http://nautil.us/blog/5-languages-that-could-change-the-way-you-see-the-world http://nautil.us/blog/5-languages-that-could-change-the-way-... [paywall] http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-language-shapes-thought/ http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-language-shape...

senorsmile 7y ago

I really wanted to do this for a very closely related language to lushootseed about 10 years ago when I had an apartment in one of the tribal areas that were 50% non tribal. I looked into resources and programs, but there didn't seem to be a lot of resources or actual interest by the people group. I eventually moved onto other things (probably Akkadian or Dutch at that time), but this desire still lives somewhere inside me. Would you care to share how you've done the learning you've done and any assimilation you've been able to do?

senorsmile 7y ago
actually, I just looked up the language, and it's technically one of the dialects of lushootseed; so same language continuum as whatever you're learning more than likely.