Languages
Most of our Native American linguistics titles fall in the call number range PM 30-3000, and are roughly alphabetical by language in the PM 550-2711 section. Note that many related languages/dialects are shelved together as a language group (e.g., Dakota/Lakota).
Suggested resources
- ALR : the complete American language reprint series [CD-ROM set] The American Language Reprint (ALR) series includes language surveys conducted in 17th through 19th century North America. Each ALR volume takes an original word-list and alphabetizes the words in two sections, from the native language to English and vice-versa. The original orthographies are preserved exactly as they occur, complete with all diacritics and special characters used by the original authors.
- ALR - Master List of VocabulariesMuch of the ALR publisher's web site is outdated, but the PDFs of vocabulary lists are still active.
- Ethnologue : languages of the world.Catalog of living languages and dialects world-wide. Includes maps, language family trees, and an extensive bibliography.
- Endangered Languages Project "The languages included in this project and the information displayed about them are provided by the Catalogue of Endangered Languages (ELCat), produced by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and Eastern Michigan University, with funding provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation (Grants #1058096 and #1057725) and the Luce Foundation, and supported by a team of global experts."
- Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA) This link opens in a new window abstracts and indexes the international literature in linguistics and related disciplines in the language sciences. The database covers all aspects of the study of language including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Documents indexed include journal articles, book reviews, books, book chapters, dissertations and working papers. Coverage: 1973 - current
- Proquest Dissertations and Theses Global This link opens in a new window An excellent source for linguistic research, although LLBA (above) includes a large number of disserations. Collection of doctoral - and to a lesser extent, masters-level - theses, with full-text available for 1997+. Coverage focuses on North America and the United Kingdom.
Handbook of North American IndiansSee Volume 17: Languages
Baker-Berry Ref. E77 .H25 v.17
[2nd copy in Baker-Berry stacks]
Routledge Handbook of North American LanguagesBaker-Berry Library - PM105 .R68 2020
There are two typical ways to search the library catalog for Indigenous language materials.
- Search by subject heading for the language, often with subheading "Texts"
- Limit or filter a search using the appropriate language facet
To retrieve all items assigned a specific language code, run an advanced search for "*" [an asterisk with quotation marks], with a specific language selected from the "language" drop menu.
Note that some language cataloging is inconsistent, or coded for the corresponding larger language group (e.g., Abenaki material is assigned the language code "Algonquian").
Awakening our languages : an ILI handbook series by
Compilation of ILI field research (1999-2001) from 75 language programs:
Handbook 1: Awakening Our Languages: An Introduction
Handbook 2: Developing Materials & Activities for Language Teaching
Handbook 3: Conducting a Language Survey
Handbook 4: Envisioning a Language Program
Handbook 5: Knowing Our Language Learners
Handbook 6: Knowing Our Language Teachers
Handbook 7: Training Our Language Teachers
Handbook 8: Designing Curriculum
Handbook 9: Evaluating Our Language Program
Handbook 10: Understanding First and Second Language Acquisition
Call Number: Baker-Berry stacks PM205 .A9 2004
The Green Book of Language Revitalization in Practice by
With world-wide environmental destruction and globalization of economy, a few languages, especially English, are spreading rapidly in use, while thousands of other languages are disappearing, taking with them important cultural, philosophical and environmental knowledge systems and oral literatures. We all stand to suffer from such a loss, none more so than the communities whose very identity is being threatened by the impending death of their languages. In response to this crisis, indigenous communities around the world have begun to develop a myriad of projects to keep their languages alive. This volume is a set of detailed accounts about the kind of work that is going on now as people struggle for their linguistic survival. It also serves as a manual of effective practices in language revitalization.Following are the key features: 23 case studies of language revitalization in practice, from Native American languages, Australian languages, Maori, Hawaiian, Welsh, Irish, and others, written primarily by authors directly involved in the programs; short introductions situate the languages, to help make the languages more 'real' in the minds of readers; each chapter gives a detailed overview of the various kinds of programs and methods in practice today; introductions and maps for each of the languages represented familiarize the reader with their history, linguistic structure and sociolinguistic features; and, strong representation in authorship and viewpoint of the people and communities whose languages are threatened, gives the readers an inside understanding of the issues involved and the community-internal attitudes toward language loss and revitalization. This book was previously published by Academic Press under ISBN 978-01-23-49354-5.
Publication Date: 2001
Handbook of Heritage, Community, and Native American Languages in the United States by
Co-published by the Center for Applied Linguistics Timely and comprehensive, this state-of-the-art overview of major issues related to heritage, community, and Native American languages in the United States, based on the work of noted authorities, draws from a variety of perspectives--the speakers; use of the languages in the home, community, and wider society; patterns of acquisition, retention, loss, and revitalization of the languages; and specific education efforts devoted to developing stronger connections with and proficiency in them. Contributions on language use, programs and instruction, and policy focus on issues that are applicable to many heritage language contexts. Offering a foundational perspective for serious students of heritage, community, and Native American languages as they are learned in the classroom, transmitted across generations in families, and used in communities, the volume provides background on the history and current status of many languages in the linguistic mosaic of U.S. society and stresses the importance of drawing on these languages as societal, community, and individual resources, while also noting their strategic importance within the context of globalization.
Publication Date: 2014
Indigenous Language Acquisition, Maintenance, and Loss and Current Language Policies by
The world's linguistic map has changed in recent years due to the vast disappearance of indigenous languages. Many factors affect the alteration of languages in various areas of the world including governmental policies, education, and colonization. As indigenous languages continue to be affected by modern influences, there is a need for research on the current state of native linguistics that remain across the globe. Indigenous Language Acquisition, Maintenance, and Loss and Current Language Policies is a collection of innovative research on the diverse policies, influences, and frameworks of indigenous languages in various regions of the world. It discusses the maintenance, attrition, or loss of the indigenous languages; language status in the society; language policies; and the grammatical characteristics of the indigenous language that people maintained and spoke. This book is ideally designed for anthropologists, language professionals, linguists, cultural researchers, geographers, educators, government officials, policymakers, academicians, and students.
Publication Date: 2020
Language Revitalization at Tribal Colleges and Universities by
Since the founding of the first tribal colleges over 50 years ago, language revitalization has been an integral part of every tribal college or university's mission. This new edited volume compiles an array of articles, essays, reports, and speeches that showcase the great efforts being made to preserve, protect, and revitalize Indigenous languages at tribal colleges across the United States. The first book of its kind, Language Revitalization at Tribal Colleges and Universities offers a chronological overview of preservation and revitalization efforts, revealing how programming and thinking have evolved over the past 25 years.
Call Number: Baker-Berry Stacks PM205 .L366 2019Publication Date: 2019
The Language Warrior's Manifesto by
A clarion call to action, incorporating powerful stories of struggles and successes, that points the way for all who seek to preserve indigenous languages. Across North America, dedicated language warriors are powering an upswell, a resurgence, a revitalization of indigenous languages and cultures. Through deliberate suppression and cultural destruction, the five hundred languages spoken on the continent before contact have dwindled to about 150. Their ongoing survival depends on immediate, energetic interventions. Anton Treuer has been at the forefront of the battle to revitalize Ojibwe for many years. In this impassioned argument, he discusses the interrelationship between language and culture, the problems of language loss, strategies and tactics for resisting, and the inspiring stories of successful language warriors. He recounts his own sometimes hilarious struggle to learn Ojibwe as an adult, and he depicts the astonishing success of the language program at Lac Courte Oreilles, where a hundred children now speak Ojibwe as their first language. This is a manifesto, a rumination, and a rallying cry for the preservation of priceless languages and cultures.
Call Number: Baker-Berry Stacks P40.5.L3572 A455 2020Publication Date: 2020
Otter's Journey Through Indigenous Language and Law by
Storytelling has the capacity to address feelings and demonstrate themes - to illuminate beyond argument and theoretical exposition. In Otter's Journey, Borrows makes use of the Anishinaabe tradition of storytelling to explore how the work in Indigenous language revitalization can inform the emerging field of Indigenous legal revitalization. She follows Otter, a dodem (clan) relation from the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation, on a journey across Anishinaabe, Inuit, Māori, Coast Salish, and Abenaki territories, through a narrative of Indigenous resurgence. In doing so, she reveals that the processes, philosophies, and practices flowing from Indigenous languages and laws can emerge from under the layers of colonial laws, policies, and languages to become guiding principles in people's contemporary lives.
Publication Date: 2018
The Oxford Handbook of Endangered Languages by
The endangered languages crisis is widely acknowledged among scholars who deal with languages and indigenous peoples as one of the most pressing problems facing humanity, posing moral, practical, and scientific issues of enormous proportions. Simply put, no area of the world is immune from language endangerment.The Oxford Handbook of Endangered Languages, in 39 chapters, provides a comprehensive overview of the efforts that are being undertaken to deal with this crisis. A comprehensive reference reflecting the breadth of the field, the Handbook presents in detail both the range of thinking about language endangerment and the variety of responses to it, and broadens understanding of language endangerment, language documentation, and language revitalization, encouraging further research. The Handbook is organized into five parts. Part 1, Endangered Languages, addresses the fundamental issues that are essential to understanding the nature of the endangered languages crisis. Part 2, Language Documentation, provides an overview of the issues and activities of concern to linguists and others in their efforts to record and document endangered languages. Part 3, Language Revitalization, includes approaches, practices, and strategies for revitalizing endangered and sleeping ("dormant") languages. Part 4, Endangered Languages and Biocultural Diversity, extends the discussion of language endangerment beyond its conventional boundaries to consider the interrelationship of language, culture, and environment, and the common forces that now threaten the sustainability of their diversity. Part 5, Looking to the Future, addresses a variety of topics that are certain to be of consequence in future efforts to document and revitalize endangered languages.
Publication Date: 2018
Revitalizing Endangered Languages by
Of the approximately 7,000 languages in the world, at least half may no longer be spoken by the end of the twenty-first century. Languages are endangered by a number of factors, including globalization, education policies, and the political, economic and cultural marginalization of minority groups. This guidebook provides ideas and strategies, as well as some background, to help with the effective revitalization of endangered languages. It covers a broad scope of themes including effective planning, benefits, wellbeing, economic aspects, attitudes and ideologies. The chapter authors have hands-on experience of language revitalization in many countries around the world, and each chapter includes a wealth of examples, such as case studies from specific languages and language areas. Clearly and accessibly written, it is suitable for non-specialists as well as academic researchers and students interested in language revitalization. This book is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Publication Date: 2021
Saving Languages: : an introduction to language revitalization by
Language endangerment has been the focus of much attention and as a result, a wide range of people are working to revitalize and maintain local languages. This book serves as a general reference guide to language revitalization, written not only for linguists and anthropologists, but also for language activists and community members who believe they should ensure the future use of their languages, despite their predicted loss. Drawing extensively on case studies, it sets out the necessary background and highlights central issues such as literacy, policy decisions, and allocation of resources. Its primary goal is to provide the essential tools for a successful language revitalization program, such as setting and achieving realistic goals, and anticipating and resolving common obstacles. Clearly written and informative, Saving Languages will be an invaluable resource for all those interested in the fate of small language communities around the globe.
Publication Date: 2005
A World of Indigenous Languages by
Spanning Indigenous settings in Africa, the Americas, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Australia, Central Asia and the Nordic countries, this book examines the multifaceted language reclamation work underway by Indigenous peoples throughout the world. Exploring political, historical, ideological, and pedagogical issues, the book foregrounds the decolonizing aims of contemporary Indigenous language movements inside and outside of schools. Many authors explore language reclamation in their own communities. Together, the authors call for expanded discourses on language planning and policy that embrace Indigenous ways of knowing and forefront grassroots language reclamation efforts as a force for Indigenous sovereignty, social justice, and self-determination. This volume will be of interest to scholars, educators and students in applied linguistics, Ethnic/Indigenous Studies, education, second language acquisition, and comparative-international education, and to a broader audience of language educators, revitalizers and policymakers.
Publication Date: 2019
Video
- Finding Our Talk (Seasons 1 & 2) Season 1: Disc 1: Language among the skywalkers -- Language immersion -- The trees are talking -- The power of words -- Words travel on air -- Season 1: Disc 2: Language in the city -- Getting into michif -- Plains talk -- Breaking new ground -- Season 1: Disc 3: A silent language -- The power of one -- Syllabics: capturing language -- A remarkable legacy -- Season 2: Disc 1: A brighter future -- Gentle words -- The spirit of stories -- Language of the north -- Language of the Carabou people -- Season 2: Disc 2: Our past our language -- Buffalo people -- Healing power of words -- Our music is our language -- Season 2: Disc 3: Words from our scholars -- Words from our Elders -- Cultural centres & language -- The dreamers.
- Finding Our Talk (Season 3) Disc 1. Anishnabe -- Mi'gmaq -- Abenaki -- Ktunaxa -- Australia -- disc 2. Chitimacha -- Maya -- Sami -- Hawaii -- disc 3. Words in the air -- Bolivia -- Dancing with Language -- New Zealand language nests -- The making of Finding our talk Season 3.
- Finding Our Talk @ Muskeg MediaAdditional information on the series
- Heenetiineyoo3eihiiho' = Language healers by We learn about the importance of Native languages and cultures in Alaska from a Yup'ik dog musher and a Tlingit carver of wood and metal. The film then takes us to a school in Wisconsin where we hear the story of a seventh grade girl who was recently punished for speaking a few words of the Menominee language. We learn more about the fight against language loss through visiting a Euchee (Yuchi) immersion school in Oklahoma where only four fluent elder speakers remain. We also meet National Geographic Fellow and Swarthmore College linguistics professor K. David Harrison who introduces us to his innovative online talking dictionaries project for Indigenous languages. Finally, we travel to Montana where an inventive Arapaho professor has developed an effective method to quickly save these disappearing national treasures.
- Native American Living Culture Archive (NALCA) in Rauner Special Collections LIbraryOral history recordings from three student projects: Marissa Spang (Northern Cheyenne/Crow); AlexAnna Salmon (Yup'ik / Aleut); Renée Grounds (Euchee)
Searching the Library Catalog
There are a variety of relevant subject headings, but they are inconsistently assigned. Consider including these terms (along with others, such as "renewal") as keywords when search our catalog and other databases
Literatures
- Literature Online (LION) This link opens in a new windowComprehensive resource of primary texts, scholarly criticism, and reference works related to literary studies.
The "Browse Author" section allows filtering by ethnicity.
Cambridge Companion to Native American Literature by
Invisible, marginal, expected - these words trace the path of recognition for American Indian literature written in English since the late eighteenth century. This Companion chronicles and celebrates that trajectory by defining relevant institutional, historical, cultural, and gender contexts, by outlining the variety of genres written since the 1770s, and also by focusing on significant authors who established a place for Native literature in literary canons in the 1970s (Momaday, Silko, Welch, Ortiz, Vizenor), achieved international recognition in the 1980s (Erdrich), and performance-celebrity status in the 1990s (Harjo and Alexie). In addition to the seventeen chapters written by respected experts - Native and non-Native; American, British and European scholars - the Companion includes bio-bibliographies of forty authors, maps, suggestions for further reading, and a timeline which details major works of Native American literature and mainstream American literature, as well as significant social, cultural and historical events. An essential overview of this powerful literature.
Publication Date: 2005
Cambridge History of Native American Literature by
Native American literature has always been uniquely embattled. It is marked by divergent opinions about what constitutes authenticity, sovereignty, and even literature. It announces a culture beset by paradox: simultaneously primordial and postmodern; oral and inscribed; outmoded and novel. Its texts are a site of political struggle, shifting to meet external and internal expectations. This Cambridge History endeavors to capture and question the contested character of Indigenous texts and the way they are evaluated. It delineates significant periods of literary and cultural development in four sections: "Traces & Removals" (pre-1870s); "Assimilation and Modernity" (1879-1967); "Native American Renaissance" (post-1960s); and "Visions & Revisions" (21st century). These rubrics highlight how Native literatures have evolved alongside major transitions in federal policy toward the Indian, and via contact with broader cultural phenomena such, as the American Civil Rights movement. There is a balance between a history of canonical authors and traditions, introducing less-studied works and themes, and foregrounding critical discussions, approaches, and controversies.
Publication Date: 2020
Dictionary of Native American Literature by Call Number: Baker-Berry Reference PM155 .D53 1994ISBN: 9780815315605Publication Date: 1994
Native American Literatures by
The earliest Native American writers wrote tribal histories or autobiographical accounts. Today, Native American writing is steeped in the oral traditions of many peoples and reflects a facility with language that is equally at home in prose or poetry. Native American Literatures is a sourcebook that can enhance any reader's appreciation of both the writers and their works. Cross referencing allows readers to move easily among the listings, guiding them to other examples of an author's works and from character to character within a given novel. Cross referencing allows readers to move easily among the listings, guiding them to other examples of an author's work and from character to character within a given novel
Call Number: Baker-Berry Reference Reference PS153.I52 W47 1999Publication Date: 1999-03-24
Oxford Handbook of Indigenous American Literature by
Over the course of the last twenty years, Native American and Indigenous American literary studies has experienced a dramatic shift from a critical focus on identity and authenticity to the intellectual, cultural, political, historical, and tribal nation contexts from which these Indigenous literatures emerge. The Oxford Handbook of Indigenous American Literature reflects on these changes and provides a complete overview of the current state of the field. The Handbook's forty-three essays, organized into four sections, cover oral traditions, poetry, drama, non-fiction, fiction, and other forms of Indigenous American writing from the seventeenth through the twenty-first century. Part I attends to literary histories across a range of communities, providing, for example, analyses of Inuit, Chicana/o, Anishinaabe, and Métis literary practices. Part II draws on earlier disciplinary and historical contexts to focus on specific genres, as authors discuss Indigenous non-fiction, emergent trans-Indigenous autobiography, Mexicanoh and Spanish poetry, Native drama in the U.S. and Canada, and even a new Indigenous children's literature canon. The third section delves into contemporary modes of critical inquiry to expound on politics of place, comparative Indigenism, trans-Indigenism, Native rhetoric, and the power of Indigenous writing to communities of readers. A final section thoroughly explores the geographical breadth and expanded definition of Indigenous American through detailed accounts of literature from Indian Territory, the Red Atlantic, the far North, Yucatán, Amerika Samoa, and Francophone Quebec. Together, the volume is the most comprehensive and expansive critical handbook of Indigenous American literatures published to date. It is the first to fully take into account the last twenty years of recovery and scholarship, and the first to most significantly address the diverse range of texts, secondary archives, writing traditions, literary histories, geographic and political contexts, and critical discourses in the field.
Publication Date: 2014
Dartmouth has no single, discrete collection of literature by Native authors. While there are a few specific call number sections to browse for collections or general literary criticism, a more thorough approach requires searching by specific author and/or subject heading.
To find works by a specific author, run an AUTHOR search in the catalog. For works about a specific author or work, run a SUBJECT search for the author:
To find collections of works by Native authors, try a subject search in the library catalog for "Indian authors" or "Indian women authors." There is also inconsistent use of the broader heading "Indigenous authors". Note these are used as main headings as well as sub-headings. Also note these headings include North, Central & South America.
To find representation *of* Native Americans, try relevant subject searches with "Fiction", "Poetry", etc., or the phrase "In Literature"
To search our library catalog for criticism of a specific author's work, run a subject search for the author. In particular, look for the subject subheading "Criticism and interpretation" or the name of specific works.
To search our catalog for broader criticism of Native authors, look for the subheading "History and criticism." Subject heading terminology is current in transition, so you may encounter variant headings for similar works, e.g., "Indigenous authors" "Indian authors"
To find journal articles or book chapters, you'll need to search article indexes such as:
- MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new windowThe most comprehensive index of scholarship in literature, language, folklore, film, new media, and rhetoric and composition. Covers articles in periodicals, books, and book chapters. Does not index book reviews.
- Literature Online (LION) This link opens in a new windowComprehensive resource of primary texts, scholarly criticism, and reference works related to literary studies.
- Bibliography of Indigenous Peoples in North America This link opens in a new window[Formerly titled "Bibliography of Native North Americans"]
Bibliographic database covering all aspects of North American Indigenous cultures and histories, indexing scholarly books, essays, journal articles, and government documents of the United States and Canada. Dates of coverage for included content range from the sixteenth century to the present. - Ethnic newswatch This link opens in a new windowEthnic NewsWatch is a full-text collection of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press in the United States, published 1990- .
