Профиль

Read the full response at: endangeredlanguages.com/story/respon...

When those in power decide our languages deserve to die, what’s next for our ways of living, for the lands that sustain us, for us? And then, what’s next for all of you?

It is instead a question of whether you agree that a few people should get to choose who lives or dies. It is a question of whether you, or anyone, wants to accept a world where a handful of powerful men can choose to “put out of their misery” entire cultures, ways of being, human existences.

“How sad should we [unspecified audience of people not connected to Indigenous or endangered languages] be when a language dies?”, asks this article. From Indigenous perspectives, we know this is not the question that needs to be asked.

This article stokes public sentiment against our struggle to restore our languages, and perpetuates views of Indigenous and minoritized peoples which have very real impacts on our lives. What these discourses do, what this review does, is reproduce the logic and discourses of colonial genocide.

Discourses and narratives – the stories we tell about things, and the ways we tell them – are not harmless or abstract. They do things, and have concrete effects.

As a group of Indigenous language revitalization practitioners, scholars, advocates, and allies, we are intimately familiar with these narratives about Indigenous and endangered languages. They have not changed very much in centuries. These discourses need to shift – it is long past time.

This article shows a profound misunderstanding of language revitalization, while also perpetuating narratives designed to eradicate languages and their speakers.

Send your videos to support@endangeredlanguages.com by July 27. Please include a rough English translation of what you're saying, so we can add subtitles⁠. ⁠ And check out the video messages from 2024: youtu.be/D9VP0_1lcQ4 ⁠ We can't wait to see all your wonderful greetings!⁠

Greetings for the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2024YouTube video by Endangered Languages Projectyoutu.be

⏱️ Short clips (about 5-10 seconds)⁠ 📱 Vertical orientation⁠ 🗣️ In your language, or whatever language you're comfortable with 💬 Share the name of your language, Nation, tribe, or people⁠ 🌏️ Where in the world you're speaking from⁠ 👋🏽 Offer some greetings or good wishes for other Indigenous communities⁠

Curious what a digital story looks like? You can see the stories created during our previous workshop at: endangeredlanguages.com/resource/we-...

It doesn’t look like it, unfortunately.