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100% agree - my mom's family is Wayuu and we speak a dying language. I didn't grow up in the same ancestral lands my grandmother did, but I do try to retain my
by whymauri 6y ago
100% agree - my mom's family is Wayuu and we speak a dying language. I didn't grow up in the same ancestral lands my grandmother did, but I do try to retain my very basic grasp of the language. And I will encourage my kids to learn the basics.
It's too sad to think of the finality of culture, but this is the least I can do. I think it's great that some Ainu are relearning the language - it's such a strong cultural bond.
- sterlind 6y agoIt's really good that you encourage your kids to learn! Languages carry so much culture, so assimilation programs in the US and Canada focused on breaking the teaching cycle of native languages to force cultural assimilation. I'm white but I work with a Coast Salish language that the tribes are trying to bring back from extinction. Indian children were forced into boarding schools and beaten if they didn't speak English, so a generation grew up without learning and the last L1 speaker died a decade ago. So much was lost, but linguists and elders wrote down enough that revival is possible. It will take hard work and determination for entire tribes though, so it may never recover except in ceremonial usage.