Information about minority and indigenous languages can be found on the open web as well as in the UO Libraries' collections. Below are some examples of the types of information you can find about minority and indigenous languages. There are many more resources out there about many more languages and ethnic groups. Try searching in LibrarySearch or on Google for freely available resources, or contact your librarian.
Ichishkíin Sinwit Yakama / Yakima Sahaptin Dictionary by
Sahaptin, or Ichishkíin Sínwit (literally, "this language"), is a Plateau Penutian language spoken in south-central Washington and northern Oregon. This dictionary documents the dialect of Sahaptin that is spoken by the Yakama people. Ichishkíin Sínwit Yakama / Yakima Sahaptin Dictionary is the first modern published dictionary of any Sahaptin dialect. The dictionary is divided into three sections: a Sahaptin-English section; an English-Sahaptin section; and a section listing roots used in the formation of Sahaptin words. The Sahaptin-English section contains approximately 3,500 headwords, over 4,500 example sentences, more than 100 images, and over 9,200 sound files available online. Copious cross-references alert readers to related words elsewhere in the Sahaptin-English section. The English-Sahaptin and roots sections serve as indices to the Sahaptin-English section. In the English-Sahaptin section, users can look up the Sahaptin equivalents of English words. In the root section, users can see words from different parts of the dictionary that share the same component of meaning. The dictionary also contains essays by noted Plateau linguist Bruce Rigsby (professor emeritus, University of Queensland) on the histories and current usage of the terms "Sahaptin" and "Yakima / Yakama."
Chickasaw: An Analytical Dictionary
The Chickasaws are one of the Five Tribes removed by the U.S. government to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) more than 150 years ago from their homelands in the southeastern United States. Most speakers of the Chickasaw language now live in the Chickasaw Nation in south-central Oklahoma. Although there are fewer than one hundred fluent speakers today, the tribe has a language program designed to revitalize and perpetuate the language. This first scholarly dictionary of the Chickasaw language contains a Chickasaw-English section with approximately 12,000 main entries, secondary entries, and cross-references; an English-Chickasaw index; and an extensive introductory section describing the structure of Chickasaw words. The dictionary uses a new spelling system that represents tonal accent and the glottal stop, neither of which is shown in any previous dictionary of either Chickasaw or the closely related Muskogean language, Choctaw. In addition, vowel and consonant length, vowel nasalization, and other important distinctions are given. Grammatical information is also provided. The dictionary is the product of a seventeen-year collaboration between Pamela Munro and Catherine Willmond. They have consulted over forty other Chickasaw speakers in Oklahoma to collect variant forms of words, which are also listed in the dictionary.
Language Shift among the Navajos
To experience change on the Navajo Reservation, one need only close one's eyes and listen. Today an increasing number of Navajos speak only English, while very few speak only Navajo. The Navajo language continues to be taught, but it is less often practiced. Deborah House asks why, despite the many factors that would seem to contribute to the maintenance of the Navajo language, speakers of the language continue to shift to English at such an alarming rate--and what can be done about it. Language Shift among the Navajos provides a close look at the ideological factors that intervene between the desire of the Navajos to maintain their language as an important aspect of their culture and their actual linguistic practice. Based on more than ten years of fieldwork within a Navajo institution and community, it points to ideologies held by Navajo people about their unequal relationship with the dominant American society as a primary factor in the erosion of traditional language use. House suggests that the Navajos employ their own paradigm--Sa'ah Naagh#65533;#65533; Bik'eh H#65533;zh#65533;#65533;n--to learn both Western language and culture and their own without denigrating either perspective. By building on the traditional Navajo belief in harmony and balance, she advocates that those who value the language should use and teach it not just in school but also in the home, in the ceremonial hogans, and among those who cherish their heritage. Now is the time when language choices and behavior will influence whether the Navajo language lives or dies. House's book carries important lessons for anyone concerned with cultural continuity. It is a wake-up call for educators, youth, politicians, or family and community members who value Native language and culture. It remains to be seen in what language that call will be answered.
Comanche Dictionary and Grammar
Presents the Comanche-English dictionary with illustrative sentences, a brief grammar, photographs and original art.
Indigenous Language Politics in the Schoolroom
The Indigenous Languages of South America
The Indigenous Languages of South America: A Comprehensive Guide is a thorough guide to the indigenous languages of this part of the world. With more than a third of the linguistic diversity of the world (in terms of language families and isolates), South American languages contribute new findings in most areas of linguistics. Though formerly one of the linguistically least known areas of the world, extensive descriptive and historical linguistic research in recent years has expanded knowledge greatly. These advances are represented in this volume in indepth treatments by the foremost scholars in the field, with chapters on the history of investigation, language classification, language endangerment, language contact, typology, phonology and phonetics, and on major language families and regions of South America.
Baure: An Arawak Language of Bolivia
This book is first and foremost a grammatical description of Baure, a seriously endangered language from Bolivian Amazonia. Baure belongs to the Southern Arawak language family and it forms part of the Guapor -Mamor linguistic area. This book is the first detailed and comprehensive grammatical description of Baure, covering its phonology, morphology, syntax, and discourse stucture. It is based on the author's extensive fieldwork in Bolivia in 2003, 2004, and 2006. The book furthermore addresses the historical, cultural, and sociolinguistic background of the speakers of Baure. Special attention is given to th e complex (morpho)phonological processes within a phonological phrase, the rich noun classification system, the distinction of verbal and non-verbal predicates with respect to the argument marking pattern, the three-level distinction of verbal morphology, and specific clause types based on different nominalization strategies, which also play an important role in clause subordination. The relation to the surrounding Southern Arawak languages Trinitario, Ignaciano, and Paunaca is investigated through comparison of the lexicon and the grammar. The appendices contain different text types, lists of grammatical morphemes, classifiers, and the Swadesh 200 word list. It is a highly valuable addition to our knowledge of South American languages and cultures in general and the Arawak languages in particular. This book is aimed at linguists from all backgrounds and is of special interest to typologists, historical linguists, Arawakanists, Americanists, and anthropologists. It is also an important record of a dying language for its speech community and their descendants.
A Grammar of Muylaq' Aymara
In A Grammar of Muylaq' Aymara, Matt Coler provides a detailed description of a highly-endangered variety of Aymara spoken in the remote Andean village of Muylaque (Muylaq'i), in Southern Peru. This heretofore undescribed variety has many unique characteristics that shed light on the impressive extent of variation in Aymara. Using natural language data gathered during several field trips to Muylaque, Coler offers a detailed analysis of the phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax of Aymara. Additionally, A Grammar of Muylaq' Aymara includes complete interlinear glosses for several personal narratives. A Grammar of Muylaq' Aymara represents an important contribution not only to the study of Aymara, Aymara variation, and Andean languages, but also to research into linguistic typology and language contact.
Maori: A Linguistic Introduction
Mäori, the indigenous language of New Zealand, is an endangered, minority language, with an important role in the culture and identity of the Mäori community. This comprehensive overview looks at all aspects of the Mäori language: its history, its dialects, its sounds and grammar, its current status and the efforts being made by the Mäori community and the state to ensure its survival. Central chapters provide an overall sketch of the structure of Mäori while highlighting those aspects which have been the subject of detailed linguistic analysis - particularly phonology (sound structure) and morphology (word structure). Though addressed primarily to those with some knowledge of linguistics, this book describes a language with a wealth of interesting features. It will interest anyone wishing to study the structure of a minority language, in fields as diverse as typology, sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology, as well as all those interested in endangered languages and their preservation.
New Pocket Hawaiian Dictionary
In a compact and portable format, this dictionary contains more than ten thousand entries, a welcome chapter on grammar explained in non-technical terms, and a pronunciation guide.
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