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Judi Lynn

(160,212 posts)
Tue Jun 7, 2016, 05:35 PM Jun 2016

Cree language gets 21st-century reboot from First Nation Canadians

Cree language gets 21st-century reboot from First Nation Canadians

New crowdsourced book 100 Days of Cree features translations of everything from pizzas and saunas to Johnny Cash songs

Alison Flood
Tuesday 7 June 2016 12.49 EDT Last modified on Tuesday 7 June 2016 12.51 EDT

With entries ranging from pwâkamo-pahkwêsikan, the Cree word for pizza – “the throw-up bread” in literal English – to môniyâw-matotisân, a sauna or a “white-man sweat”, a crowdsourcing project documenting the vitality and evolution of the most widely spoken indigenous language in Canada is about to be published.

Neal McLeod, a poet and indigenous studies professor at Trent University, set out to connect with other Cree speakers on Facebook, aiming to gather together classical Cree vocabulary and to “coin and develop” words relating to contemporary life. According to a 2006 Canadian census, there are around 117,000 Cree speakers.

McLeod, who is from the James Smith Cree First Nation in Saskatchewan, received responses from across Canada and the US and, after working on the book with Arok Wolvengrey, will release 100 Days of Cree through the University of Regina Press later this week.

In his introduction to the book, McLeod writes that “one of the key things about learning a language is that people assist each other in the process”, but that “unfortunately, there have been many ruptures and breaks in the threads of our language through time: residential schools, collective trauma, and the influence of television and mass communication.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jun/07/cree-language-first-nation-canadians-100-days-of-cree



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Cree language gets 21st-century reboot from First Nation Canadians (Original Post) Judi Lynn Jun 2016 OP
There has been a resurgence of interest among the Algonquin/Cree/Anishinaabe people... Nitram Jun 2016 #1
Wonderful information. Especially appreciated seeing the "Leave No Trace" principles. Thank you. n/t Judi Lynn Jun 2016 #3
Good for them! elljay Jun 2016 #2
Didn't know about the Hebrew language. Amazing. Thanks. n/t Judi Lynn Jun 2016 #4
One man revived the language elljay Jun 2016 #5
It helped that there was a rich literary tradition in the language. Nitram Jun 2016 #6
Yes, there was a literary tradition elljay Jun 2016 #7
Much like Latin in the Catholic church. Nitram Jun 2016 #8
Exactly elljay Jun 2016 #9

Nitram

(22,671 posts)
1. There has been a resurgence of interest among the Algonquin/Cree/Anishinaabe people...
Wed Jun 8, 2016, 10:12 AM
Jun 2016

...in their roots - language, customs, rituals, food, crafts/technology and spiritual beliefs. My wife and were invited to a ceremonial dinner on Bear Island in Temagami, Ontario last summer celebrating the completion of a N’Daki Menan Stewardship Program to help First Nation teenagers learn more about their roots. Substance abuse and crime have been an issue for this community, and programs like this one are successfully helping teenagers gain control over their lives and further their understanding of who they are and where they came from.

http://www.culturalcamps.com/Cultural_Camps/Stewardship.html

http://www.temagamifirstnation.ca/

Judi Lynn

(160,212 posts)
3. Wonderful information. Especially appreciated seeing the "Leave No Trace" principles. Thank you. n/t
Wed Jun 8, 2016, 11:36 PM
Jun 2016

elljay

(1,178 posts)
2. Good for them!
Wed Jun 8, 2016, 01:37 PM
Jun 2016

They can revive their language if they really want to. Hebrew came back to life after 2,000 years of being a written language. There are revivals of Welsh and Gaelic that have increased the number of speakers of those languages, though they are still in some danger. The destruction of Native American languages, religions and cultures is a disgraceful chapter in American history and I hope they are successful in holding on to their heritage.

elljay

(1,178 posts)
5. One man revived the language
Thu Jun 9, 2016, 02:48 AM
Jun 2016

His name was Eliezar Ben-Yehuda and his single-mindedness brought the spoken language back after 2,000 years.

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/eliezer-ben-yehuda/

Nitram

(22,671 posts)
6. It helped that there was a rich literary tradition in the language.
Thu Jun 9, 2016, 08:41 AM
Jun 2016

Weren't texts read aloud in Hebrew? Certainly praiseworthy that Hebrew was revived as a spoken language, but it is a more difficult to revive a language that does not have a large written tradition.

elljay

(1,178 posts)
7. Yes, there was a literary tradition
Thu Jun 9, 2016, 11:53 AM
Jun 2016

But the language was Ancient Hebrew, with the vocabulary and grammar of two thousand years ago. The language was used mostly for prayers and religious texts. It would be like Chaucer's English- there are people who can read old English and understand it, but they don't speak it conversationally and wouldn't be able to discuss repairs to their Internet service or curse ( important when driving in traffic in any country!), there wasn't secular vernacular (engine, airplane, taxi,) and there was great resistance to using the spoken language in a non- religious context. In fact, in the Yiddish language my ancestors spoke, Yiddish is called "mama loshen" the mother language) and Hebrew "loshen kodesh" ( the holy language.&quot So, it didn't come from nowhere, but it was a massive undertaking. Imagine what it would take if India declared spoken Sanskrit as the national language and everyone had to go back to the ancient texts and learn to speak it.

elljay

(1,178 posts)
9. Exactly
Thu Jun 9, 2016, 12:28 PM
Jun 2016

Though the Catholic Church may have actually preserved the old Roman curse words somewhere in a locked room. Bet there were some good ones!

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