This dissertation reports findings from a study documenting the use of multimedia technology among Indigenous language communities to assist language learners, speakers, instructors, and institutions learn about multimedia technologies that have contributed to Indigenous language revitalization, education, documentation, preservation, and maintenance. The overall study used an adapted technacy framework to investigate how Indigenous language advocates holistically understand, skillfully apply and communicate creative and balanced technological solutions that are based on understanding of contextual factors (Seemann & Talbot, 1995). The research presented is based on a survey of individuals who used technology for Indigenous language revitalization purposes, as well as on case studies of students of the American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI) who enrolled in the technology course, Computer Applications for Indigenous Language Communities. The survey provided an overview of the types of technologies Indigenous communities are using for the revitalization of their language. In the study, case studies were also conducted to provide an in-depth understanding of where, when, why, and how users are implementing these technologies in their home, communities, and schools. Research questions, participants, and data collection were organized and analyzed according to three levels: multimedia technology use among Indigenous language communities, Indigenous language institutes and technology training, and AILDI student case studies.Many Indigenous communities are facing language endangerment and extinction and are looking for ways to preserve, document, revitalize and maintain their languages. One way is the integration of technology. Findings from the study suggest that the language goals of the community need to be determined prior to the incorporation of technology in these efforts. The study also found that regardless of the size of the community, opportunities for using technology in Indigenous language revitalization efforts were shaped by literacy and oral proficiency of the community, as well as linguistic and cultural, social, economic, environmental, and technological factors as expressed in the adapted technacy model. Overall, the study underscored the importance of taking context into consideration in order to make grounded choices about technology as a component of contemporary language revitalization efforts.

Este trabalho apresenta os estudos realizados de alguns aspectos semânticos da língua Munduruku (do tronco lingüístico Tupi), falada por mais de 7500 índios da nação conhecida pelo mesmo nome, que estão distribuídos por cerca de noventa aldeias no Pará, Amazonas e inclusive no Mato Grosso. Este trabalho circunscreveu-se ao grupo pertencente à aldeia Munduruku \"Praia do Mangue\", no oeste do Pará. Após uma sucinta apresentação do povo, parte-se para uma breve descrição morfossintática da língua, onde deparamos com o tema principal dessa dissertação: os classificadores nominais. Nesta língua, os substantivos são acrescidos de afixos nominais, que possuem a função de estabelecer uma relação associativa entre o nome e seu referente espacial. Neste trabalho busca-se provar que os classificadores geram significado através da carga semântica que possuem e, para poder chegar a esses resultados, revisamos as teorias da motivação ou arbitrariedade do signo lingüístico, a metáfora e suas peculiaridades, a metonímia com suas relações e a possível migração de uma estrutura metafórica existente para uma metonímica. O fundamento principal dessa dissertação é a propositura de Ullmann de que, em muitas línguas, palavras surgem das relações associativas que o falante tece em sua mente, estabelecendo um vínculo metafórico entre referente e referido. Tipo de relações que, nesta dissertação, transportamos para os afixos classificadores da língua Munduruku. Aplicando-se tais teorias aos classificadores usados nesta língua, consegue-se provar o fundo semântico inserido nos afixos e mais; a migração de um classificador de origem metafórica para uma metonímia. / This dissertation presents studies accomplished regarding some semantic aspects of the language Munduruku (Tupi language of the Munduruku family) spoken by over 7500 individuals of the homonymous nation. These people are spread around ninety villages situated in the states of Pará, Amazonas and also Mato Grosso. The developed research is restricted to the Munduruku indigenous village \"Praia do Mangue\" in western of Pará. After a succinct presentation of the Munduruku nation, we approach some aspects morphological and syntatics of the language. Finally, the subject matter involved in this dissertation: The nominal classifiers. In this language nouns are added with nominal affixes with the function to establish an associative relation between the noun and its spatial referent. In this work, we tried to demonstrate that classifiers generate meaning trough their semantic contents. To reach these results we checked the theory of motivation, the arbitrariness of the linguistics signs, the metaphor and its particularities, the metonymy and its relationship, as well as the posible migration fom a metaphorical structure to a metonymy. The theoretical fundaments adopted here are the Ullmann\'s propositions that says that in several languages, words become from the associative relationship that the speaker accomplish in his mind establishing a metaphorical bond between referring and referred. This kind of relationship we transported to the Munduruku language and its classifier affix. Applying these theories to the classifiers used in the Munduruku language, we can to prove the semantic properties inserted in the affixes, and more: the migration from metaphorical classifiers to another figure to speech; the metonymy.

Este trabalho apresenta os estudos realizados de alguns aspectos semânticos da língua Munduruku (do tronco lingüístico Tupi), falada por mais de 7500 índios da nação conhecida pelo mesmo nome, que estão distribuídos por cerca de noventa aldeias no Pará, Amazonas e inclusive no Mato Grosso. Este trabalho circunscreveu-se ao grupo pertencente à aldeia Munduruku \"Praia do Mangue\", no oeste do Pará. Após uma sucinta apresentação do povo, parte-se para uma breve descrição morfossintática da língua, onde deparamos com o tema principal dessa dissertação: os classificadores nominais. Nesta língua, os substantivos são acrescidos de afixos nominais, que possuem a função de estabelecer uma relação associativa entre o nome e seu referente espacial. Neste trabalho busca-se provar que os classificadores geram significado através da carga semântica que possuem e, para poder chegar a esses resultados, revisamos as teorias da motivação ou arbitrariedade do signo lingüístico, a metáfora e suas peculiaridades, a metonímia com suas relações e a possível migração de uma estrutura metafórica existente para uma metonímica. O fundamento principal dessa dissertação é a propositura de Ullmann de que, em muitas línguas, palavras surgem das relações associativas que o falante tece em sua mente, estabelecendo um vínculo metafórico entre referente e referido. Tipo de relações que, nesta dissertação, transportamos para os afixos classificadores da língua Munduruku. Aplicando-se tais teorias aos classificadores usados nesta língua, consegue-se provar o fundo semântico inserido nos afixos e mais; a migração de um classificador de origem metafórica para uma metonímia. / This dissertation presents studies accomplished regarding some semantic aspects of the language Munduruku (Tupi language of the Munduruku family) spoken by over 7500 individuals of the homonymous nation. These people are spread around ninety villages situated in the states of Pará, Amazonas and also Mato Grosso. The developed research is restricted to the Munduruku indigenous village \"Praia do Mangue\" in western of Pará. After a succinct presentation of the Munduruku nation, we approach some aspects morphological and syntatics of the language. Finally, the subject matter involved in this dissertation: The nominal classifiers. In this language nouns are added with nominal affixes with the function to establish an associative relation between the noun and its spatial referent. In this work, we tried to demonstrate that classifiers generate meaning trough their semantic contents. To reach these results we checked the theory of motivation, the arbitrariness of the linguistics signs, the metaphor and its particularities, the metonymy and its relationship, as well as the posible migration fom a metaphorical structure to a metonymy. The theoretical fundaments adopted here are the Ullmann\'s propositions that says that in several languages, words become from the associative relationship that the speaker accomplish in his mind establishing a metaphorical bond between referring and referred. This kind of relationship we transported to the Munduruku language and its classifier affix. Applying these theories to the classifiers used in the Munduruku language, we can to prove the semantic properties inserted in the affixes, and more: the migration from metaphorical classifiers to another figure to speech; the metonymy.

Este projeto tem o objetivo de descrever e analisar a morfologia de aspecto no idioma indígena amazônico Dâw (aprox. 100 falantes, pertencente à família Nadahup, anteriormente conhecida como Makú) em relação à descrição dada na única gramática disponível do idioma, Gramática e Fonologia Dâw, publicada por Silvana Martins em 2004. Naquela obra, a autora descreve 15 morfemas pós-verbais que chama de marcadores de aspecto, atribuindo funções aspectuais a cada um. Neste trabalho, analisamos a fundo essa afirmação, pondo em dúvida e reanalisando os 15 morfemas ditos aspectuais pela autora, com o intuito de verificar se a descrição da autora está correta. Os novos dados e análises confirmaram apenas parcialmente a análise de Martins, revelando na maioria dos casos que os morfemas desempenham funções bastante divergentes das propostas pela autora. Neste trabalho propomos uma nova classificação para a função desses morfemas, mediante à realização de trabalhos de campo junto aos falantes nativos do idioma no município de São Gabriel da Cachoeira, noroeste da Amazônia. As novas amostras dos trabalhos de campo e análise de outros materiais revelaram que alguns morfemas caíram em desuso, outros não possuem valor aspectual apreciável e outros são morfemas port-manteau tempo-aspecto-modais. Ainda outros possuem outras características, como quantificação dos argumentos do verbo (categoria que como veremos está bastante associada a aspecto) ou função adverbial. Os morfemas com valor aspectual revelaram ter efeitos diferentes com classes de verbos diferentes, como o morfema perfectivo, que com verbos ativos possui função perfectiva de ação concluída no passado, mas com verbos estativos possui valor de aspecto perfeito, ou seja, estado atual causado por transformação no passado. Também incluímos comparações com os sistemas aspectuais de outras línguas do Alto Rio Negro e com línguas tipologicamente similares do mundo inteiro. / This project aims to describe and analyze aspect morphology in the Amazonian indigenous language Dâw (approx. 100 speakers, belonging to Nadahup family, formerly known as Makú) in relation to the description found in the only available grammar on the language, Gramática e Fonologia Dâw, published by Silvana Martins in 2004. In that work, the author describes 15 post-verbal morphemes which she calls aspect markers assigning distinct aspectual functions to each of them. In this paper, we tested that assertion, questioning and eventually reanalyzing the alleged aspectual morpheme, in order to verify whether the description provided by that author is correct. The new data confirmed Martins analysis only partially, revealing in most cases that the morphemes play roles that diverge quite significantly from the authors description. In this paper we propose a new classification for these morphemes, based on the data collected during a field work in July 2015 with native Dâw speakers in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, in the northwestern Brazilian Amazon. The new field work samples and an in-depth analysis of other source materials revealed that some morphemes have become obsolete, others have no discernible aspectual value, and others are port-manteau time-aspect-modal morphemes. Some display features such as quantification of verbal arguments (as we shall see, quantifications is intertwined with aspect) or play adverbial roles. The morphemes with aspectual value were shown to behave differently depending on verbal classes, such as the perfective morpheme, which with active verbs has a perfective function, indicating action completed in the past, but with stative verbs it indicates perfect aspect, i.e., current state caused by transformation in the past. A comparison with the aspectual systems of other Upper Rio Negro languages as well as with other typologically similar languages worldwise is also provided.

The purpose of this research is to seek out Indigenous perspectives on literacy in Indigenous Language Revitalization (ILR), and to explore the role of print literacy in ILR in British Columbia. The central research question of this study is: does print literacy play a role in language revitalization? Through qualitative interviews and an extensive literature review, this thesis explores community-based language revitalization initiatives in Indigenous communities, as described by Indigenous language champions and scholars. In international forums, literacy is often discussed in terms of development goals, functionalism, and economic success. However, literacy is “socially and historically situated, fluid, multiple, and power-linked” (McCarty, 2005, p. xviii), and it is inextricably linked to political, historical, and cultural contexts (Grenoble & Whaley, 2005). This study concludes that these contexts are vital to defining the role of literacy in Indigenous communities. Every community has its own historical, political, social, environmental, technological, and philosophical context for language learning, and as such, literacy plays a different role in every community. Furthermore, the role of literacy can be expected to change over time, much like languages shift over time. This research also demonstrates that literacy, situated within Indigenous-controlled education and language initiatives, can contribute to larger goals of decolonization. / Graduate

Este projeto tem o objetivo de descrever e analisar a morfologia de aspecto no idioma indígena amazônico Dâw (aprox. 100 falantes, pertencente à família Nadahup, anteriormente conhecida como Makú) em relação à descrição dada na única gramática disponível do idioma, Gramática e Fonologia Dâw, publicada por Silvana Martins em 2004. Naquela obra, a autora descreve 15 morfemas pós-verbais que chama de marcadores de aspecto, atribuindo funções aspectuais a cada um. Neste trabalho, analisamos a fundo essa afirmação, pondo em dúvida e reanalisando os 15 morfemas ditos aspectuais pela autora, com o intuito de verificar se a descrição da autora está correta. Os novos dados e análises confirmaram apenas parcialmente a análise de Martins, revelando na maioria dos casos que os morfemas desempenham funções bastante divergentes das propostas pela autora. Neste trabalho propomos uma nova classificação para a função desses morfemas, mediante à realização de trabalhos de campo junto aos falantes nativos do idioma no município de São Gabriel da Cachoeira, noroeste da Amazônia. As novas amostras dos trabalhos de campo e análise de outros materiais revelaram que alguns morfemas caíram em desuso, outros não possuem valor aspectual apreciável e outros são morfemas port-manteau tempo-aspecto-modais. Ainda outros possuem outras características, como quantificação dos argumentos do verbo (categoria que como veremos está bastante associada a aspecto) ou função adverbial. Os morfemas com valor aspectual revelaram ter efeitos diferentes com classes de verbos diferentes, como o morfema perfectivo, que com verbos ativos possui função perfectiva de ação concluída no passado, mas com verbos estativos possui valor de aspecto perfeito, ou seja, estado atual causado por transformação no passado. Também incluímos comparações com os sistemas aspectuais de outras línguas do Alto Rio Negro e com línguas tipologicamente similares do mundo inteiro. / This project aims to describe and analyze aspect morphology in the Amazonian indigenous language Dâw (approx. 100 speakers, belonging to Nadahup family, formerly known as Makú) in relation to the description found in the only available grammar on the language, Gramática e Fonologia Dâw, published by Silvana Martins in 2004. In that work, the author describes 15 post-verbal morphemes which she calls aspect markers assigning distinct aspectual functions to each of them. In this paper, we tested that assertion, questioning and eventually reanalyzing the alleged aspectual morpheme, in order to verify whether the description provided by that author is correct. The new data confirmed Martins analysis only partially, revealing in most cases that the morphemes play roles that diverge quite significantly from the authors description. In this paper we propose a new classification for these morphemes, based on the data collected during a field work in July 2015 with native Dâw speakers in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, in the northwestern Brazilian Amazon. The new field work samples and an in-depth analysis of other source materials revealed that some morphemes have become obsolete, others have no discernible aspectual value, and others are port-manteau time-aspect-modal morphemes. Some display features such as quantification of verbal arguments (as we shall see, quantifications is intertwined with aspect) or play adverbial roles. The morphemes with aspectual value were shown to behave differently depending on verbal classes, such as the perfective morpheme, which with active verbs has a perfective function, indicating action completed in the past, but with stative verbs it indicates perfect aspect, i.e., current state caused by transformation in the past. A comparison with the aspectual systems of other Upper Rio Negro languages as well as with other typologically similar languages worldwise is also provided.

This is an investigation into language ideologies, and the significance of same, among activists working to revitalize the Ojibwe language. Better inclusion of indigenous community members is necessary to spread the Ojibwe language. Improved competence in using--and strategically chging--language ideologies is necessary by language activists. Matters of orthography, storytelling, Elder status, state institutionalization, indigenous leadership, and decolonization reveal underlying ideologies of language, any of which can help or hinder efforts to reverse language shift. This is shown through participant observation in and around an Ojibwe language immersion school in Wisconsin.

This thesis will discuss the factors that lead to language shift from Zapotec to Spanish in San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya (SJT), and the challenges faced by language revitalization efforts that have emerged in the home and migrant communities. Today hundreds of Indigenous languages are widely spoken across the Americas; however, in the last century an increasing amount of language shift to the nation-state language has taken place in many Indigenous communities. In the Zapotec community of San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya (SJT), located in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, about 40% of the town’s population currently speaks Zapotec. However, the majority of speakers within this percentage are elders and adults. This means that the transmission of the Zapotec language to children has declined while Spanish language socialization has increased and is now the norm. Due to socioeconomic factors and neoliberal reforms in Mexico, many community members have migrated to other Mexican states and the United States which has furthered removed Zapotec speakers from the home community. The data for this research is based on 28 open-ended interviews with elders, adults, youth, children, and language activists and participant observation in SJT during the summer of 2013. I argue that the public education implemented by the Post-Revolutionary Mexican state in Tlacochahuaya during the 1930s influenced a language shift to Spanish. Many of those who had a negative schooling experience during this era, which prohibited and punished the use of the Zapotec language in the classroom, choose to raise their children with Spanish. In SJT from 2009-2011 Zapotec tutoring lessons for children were offered by a retired teacher, and since March 2013 migrants residing in Los Angeles, CA have been uploading Zapotec language tutorials on YouTube. Although there is awareness of language loss, I argue that these efforts have been hindered by the absence of a healing process regarding negative schooling experiences and dismantling the language ideologies that continue to devalue the Zapotec language. This case study contributes to the literature of languages shift and revitalization by suggesting that both home and migrant communities have crucial roles in Indigenous language maintenance. / text

This case study examines the attitudes of Jarainese people (an indigenous group in Gia Lai province of Vietnam) towards bilingual education related to bilingualism, the maintenance of the native language, its use in their own communities, and its perceived importance within formal schooling. The research employed a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods by which the data were collected. Quantitative data were obtained via 345 questionnaires administered to Jarainese students (N=173) and their grandparents and parents (N=172). Qualitative data were obtained via individual interviews of 13 parents and 5 focus group interviews with students. The qualitative data analyses were reported in three narratives as examples of the views of parents, and as thematic interpretations of the student focus groups. The findings reported in this thesis revealed the high degree of ethnic and cultural identity reported through the attitudes of the Jarainese people towards the use of the mother tongue and its maintenance. Jarainese people use their mother tongue to consolidate their ethnic and cultural identity and solidarity. However, the results revealed that Jarainese children tend to use more Vietnamese in their daily life whereas their parents and grandparents retain their oral native language. Additionally, there was a low level of self-reported literacy in Jarainese across the individuals surveyed. The findings disclosed that both languages are seen as important by the Jarainese people. They indicate that Jarainese people do not reject Vietnamese, because it is considered as a language of educational, social and economic advantages and advancement; however, they show the desire of the Jarainese people to affirm their cultural identity by retaining their native language. Despite this desire, the results demonstrated how impacts from the social milieu such as mass media, education and national dominance of Vietnamese hinder the maintenance of Jarainese. The findings confirm the results of other research in the field concerning the benefits and challenges of promoting bilingual development and preserving the native language. The results also confirm a link between demographic dimensions such as level of education, occupation, and living areas, and language attitudes. Furthermore, parents’ attitudes seem to influence their children’s perspectives toward bilingualism. In conclusion, this case study provides further evidence for the importance of values and knowledge related to bilingualism, as well as the need for bilingual development. This evidence is taken from a relatively unique context of the study: i.e., the communist context of Vietnam and under-studied indigenous minority groups in this area of the world. Hence, implications of the findings for bilingual education and regional language policy consideration are discussed. It recommends that the Vietnamese Government and education sector should pay greater attention to, and provide more support for, Jarainese people’s struggles to provide Jarainese children with minority language education. In addition, it is important to specify that a bilingual education program and a regional language policy should be considered and implemented in order to create environments in which Jarainese – Vietnamese bilingual children can develop and promote their bilingual proficiency and knowledge of bilingualism.

There exists a fundamental difference in how today's Hopi youth are growing up from that of their parents and grandparents--Hopi youth are not acquiring the Hopi language. This sociolinguistic situation raises many questions about the vitality and continuity of the Hopi language.Two key findings emerged from the study of three Hopi young adults. First, the study showed that cultural experiences are key to developing a personal and cultural identity as Hopi, but a linguistic competence in Hopi, especially in ceremonial contexts, is fundamental to acquiring a complete sense of being Hopi. Secondly, the effect of modern circumstances apparent in behavior and attitude among Hopi is evidence of another shift--a move away from a collective maintenance of language as cultural practice to the maintenance of language and cultural practice as a personal choice of use.