Native American Languages

This passage is based on an article published

Of the 300 indigenous languages spoken when European explorers reached what is now the United States, fewer than 150 survive today. Of these, one third are near extinction, with fewer than 100 surviving speakers. The decline of many of these languages is due in large part to misguided U.S. government policies: between At the same time, many indigenous communities are establishing radio stations that broadcast in native languages.

Because of the strong oral traditions of indigenous cultures, radio is a particularly effective tool for preserving native languages. It provides a natural and widely accessible means for the diffusion of native languages. In fact, some communities have consciously founded native language radio stations as a means of simultaneously promoting their languages rekindling the use of their languages and in helping younger generations understand idiomatic usage.

However, the growth of Internet use in many native communities could counter the influence of radio. In order to use this international computer network, many community members often find that they must devote considerable energy to mastering a standard language —generally English. Communities with radio stations have at their disposal a means effects of the Internet, it should resonate with the living oral traditions of indigenous communities.

One analyst noted recently that in native communities where English is a second language—i.e., spoken less frequently than a native language—there is an abundance of such programming, but where English is the primary language, what native language programming there is often takes the form of lessons, which can be unengaging and distant makes it easier for novice speakers to grasp the language by familiarizing them with its rhythms.