{"id":16244,"date":"2016-12-08T21:48:24","date_gmt":"2016-12-08T21:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/?p=16244"},"modified":"2023-09-15T22:18:29","modified_gmt":"2023-09-15T22:18:29","slug":"putting-words-in-their-mouths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/2016\/12\/08\/putting-words-in-their-mouths\/","title":{"rendered":"Putting words in their mouths"},"content":{"rendered":"

Teaching the languages of the soul at home and abroad<\/h2>\n

BY COLLEEN KEANE<\/strong>
\nSPECIAL TO THE TIMES<\/p>\n

TO\u2019HAJIILEE, N.M.\/ NORTHERN IRELAND<\/strong> \u2014 During a time when there\u2019s rising conflict around the world, there are also signs that some communities are joining hands and speaking with new, energized voices.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Navajo language has life in it. It fulfills your inner and outer self,\u201d said Mary White hair, Din\u00e9, who teaches Din\u00e9 language at To\u2019hajiilee Community School.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy using the Navajo language, students respond positively to it. It\u2019s innate in them,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Thousands of miles away across the Atlantic Ocean, Geraldine McGloin from Ireland\u2019s County Leitrim expressed similar sentiments about her traditional language.<\/p>\n

\u201cIrish (Gaelic) is the language of my soul. I\u2019m re-awakening it, because it\u2019s there. It\u2019s in me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

McGloin was one of dozens who participated in a weekend Irish language workshop this past October. They travelled from all parts of Ireland to take the course at Oideas Gael, an Irish language school located in Gleann Cholm Cille on the west coast of the Emerald Isle.<\/p>\n

Both here in the U.S. and in Ireland, colonizing governments invaded the people\u2019s lands and in the process took aim at the fabric of their societies, their indigenous languages.<\/p>\n

In the U.S., Native American students were forced by the federal government to attend boarding schools where they were often punished for speaking their tribal dialects.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was beaten out of us,\u201d said White hair, who attended several boarding schools growing up.<\/p>\n

I<\/span>rish students experienced much of the same.<\/p>\n

As an example, before Ireland won its independence from Britain in 1922, Irish-speaking youth attending British national schools were forced to wear tally sticks (bata sc\u00f3ir) around their necks. A notch was cut in the stick every time the child spoke Irish. By the end of the day, the child received a punishment for each notch.<\/p>\n

This history has had a long-term impact.<\/p>\n

As children grew up and lost their fluency in their native language, they couldn\u2019t pass it on to their children or grandchildren.<\/p>\n

Now, these children are feeling cheated. \u201cIt\u2019s sad. You want to communicate with your grandparents,\u201d expressed high school senior Tessa Jake, Din\u00e9, one of White hair\u2019s students in her afterschool Navajo 101 class.<\/p>\n

Kendra Apachito, Din\u00e9, feels the same way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to know about the elders\u2019 stories and what life was like when they were growing up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

As she continues her studies, McGloin mentioned that she discovers traditional teachings embedded in the Irish language that are lost in English translations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to translate the Irish language into English. It seems that there are no words to express the same sentiment; the essence, the fullness is not there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For example, in English, the everyday greeting is a simple \u201cHello.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, in Irish one might say, \u201cF\u00e9adfaidh an b\u00f3thar ard\u00fa suas chun beann\u00fa duit,\u201d which translates into English, \u201cMay the road rise with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe person is actually wishing you good fortune,\u201d explained McGloin.<\/p>\n

White hair said it\u2019s the same for the Din\u00e9 language.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe core Din\u00e9 values are in the language,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

Pulling out a long list that she uses for her course, she pointed to one of the phrases \u2013 \u201cHa Hozho.\u201d This expression is used by elders to teach children to be kind and generous to their relatives, friends, and neighbors, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is very important to learn. We need to respect others,\u201d said Apachito.<\/p>\n

White hair said that To\u2019hajiilee Community School is doing everything it can to give Din\u00e9 youth back their language birthright.<\/p>\n

In her after-school classes, which are open to parents and community members, White hair uses a Smart Board to give an example of a story written in the Din\u00e9 language as guidance for the final project. The class started last August.<\/p>\n

Next to it, she color-coded words to show how they\u2019re used in a sentence.<\/p>\n

These are just some of many tools she uses to teach the Din\u00e9 language.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Navajo language is very descriptive,\u201d said White hair.<\/p>\n

To help her students fi nd just the right words in the Din\u00e9 language to tell stories about their families, she refers them to \u201cAn Introduction to the Navajo Language\u201d by Evangeline Parsons Yazzie.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned a lot in this class. I can now talk to my mom in Navajo. She\u2019s proud of the way Ms. White hair is teaching us,\u201d said Apachito.<\/p>\n

To\u2019hajiilee Community School is developing a Navajo language immersion curriculum that will be rolled out for Pre-K and Kindergarten students in the fall of 2017. The school will continue to add curriculum to other grade levels in upcoming years.<\/p>\n

But White hair said that Din\u00e9 language speaking needs to be reinforced at home and in the community.<\/p>\n

McGloin feels the same about Irish. \u201cWe have to have opportunities to speak our language,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

On Falls Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland, a historic church has been renovated into an Irish cultural center called the Culturlann McAdam O\u2019Fiaich.<\/p>\n

There, several people are drinking coffee and eating traditional foods in a cozy area set off as a caf\u00e9 and speaking to each other in Irish. In an adjacent room, the artwork of Gerard Dillon, a well-known Irish painter is on display. In the bookstore, books by Irish authors and several books on learning the Irish language sit on shelves.<\/p>\n

Kevin O\u2019Shannon, one of the center\u2019s managers, said that the Culturlann focuses on the arts to support Irish language revitalization.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a drama society. We put on productions in Irish. We have Irish dancing classes and an Irish language choir,\u201d he mentioned.<\/p>\n

But he said what patrons like to do the most is drop by, have coffee in the caf\u00e9 and practice speaking Irish.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what we need here,\u201d said White hair, referring to the development of Din\u00e9-speaking coffee houses, sort of on-the-spot language nests that would give learners places to speak Din\u00e9 in English-language dominated areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf that awareness and visibility is there, maybe there will be more participation in speaking (our traditional language),\u201d said White hair.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to do this for our youth. We need to put Din\u00e9 words back in their mouths so that it\u2019s easier for them to start speaking it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be able to visit the elders in our community and speak to them,\u201d stressed Apachito.<\/p>\n

From Aug. 28 to 30, the 2017 International Conference on Minority Languages called \u201cRevaluing Minority Languages\u201d is being held in Finland.<\/p>\n

Information: www.jyu.fi .<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

ary Whitehair, Din\u00e9 language instructor at To\u2019hajiilee Community School, gives students an example of how to start a story about their families for <\/strong>
\ntheir final project.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kendra Apachito, Din\u00e9, listens intently as Mary Whitehair, Din\u00e9 language instructor at To\u2019hajiilee Community School, gives instructions for a final project in her Navajo 101 afterschool class.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Teaching the languages of the soul at home and abroad BY COLLEEN KEANE SPECIAL TO THE TIMES TO\u2019HAJIILEE, N.M.\/ NORTHERN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16244"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16249,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16244\/revisions\/16249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testv45.demowebsitelinks.com\/ColleenKeane\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}