Conference:
Working Together in Preserving Endangered Languages
Registration
Please register at http://languagepreservation.eventbrite.com/
There are no registration fees for the "Working Together" conference.
Conference activities are supported by:
Our Purpose
Many of the world’s languages are in danger of extinction. Many dedicated people and communities are working to save them. The people who speak these languages and teach them to others are essential to the continued survival and development of their cultures.
But no one can save a language alone. We need to work together, sharing our knowledge, experience, hope, and strength to build these languages for a new tomorrow.
In this spirit, the Endangered Languages Conference Committee at Portland State University warmly invites you to participate in a two-day knowledge-sharing conference with pioneer language revitalization specialist Akira Yamamoto.
Location and Accommodation
All events will be held at the Portland State University Native American Student and Community Center, on the corner of SW Broadway and SW Jackson Street. map
Event schedule
Thursday, May 21st |
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
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On-site registration |
10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
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Conference opening |
10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
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Conference presentations |
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
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Keynote talk by Akira Yamamoto: "Place for All Languages: Language Vitality and Revitalization." |
Friday, May 22nd |
10 a.m. - noon
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Hands-on workshop with Akira and Kimiko Yamamoto: "Creating in Language" |
Workshop Description
What we continue to do:
We are facing the situation where our children are not acquiring our Native languages for a variety of reasons, among which the most serious being the fact that many of us have stopped talking in our Native languages at home. As one of the strategies to change the situation, we have begun to teach our Native languages at school and in the community to encourage the growth of a new generation of young speakers who, when they become parents, will actively use their Native languages with their children in their everyday life.
For this strategy to be effective, we have various tasks to perform: we need to continue
- to refine our language-teaching roadmap (curriculum),
- to create and enhance curriculum units and lessons with specific language teaching techniques,
- to understand what language must be introduced in those units and lessons,
- to place those units, lessons, and language in our socio-cultural contexts, and
- to devise ways to put that language to use in our everyday life.
What we will do:
We will utilize this opportunity to produce something that we can actually use when we get back to our own schools and/or communities.
The goal of our workshop will be to produce a new literature in the Native language – literature in a broad sense to include stories, autobiographies, diaries, songs, recipes, etc.
We will create at least one song (lullaby) and a short story for each language group, and then, if we have time, put on computer (with ordinary Microsoft Office).
Invited Speakers
- Akira Y. Yamamoto, professor emeritus, taught in the Departments of Anthropology and of Linguistics at the University of Kansas. He has been active in bringing together language communities and professional communities for language and culture revitalization programs.
Akira is a founding member of the American Indian Language Development Institute, former chair of the Linguistic Society of America’s Endangered Languages and their Preservation Committee, and a co-chair of the UNESCO Ad Hoc Expert Group on Endangered Languages.
With his wife, Kimiko, he works closely with the Indigenous Language Institute and the Oklahoma Native Language Association
- Kimiko Y. Yamamoto, professor emeritus, taught Japanese and Japanese literature at the University of Kansas. She works with Native educators in developing literature and language materials.
Hosted by Professor Nariyo Kono in the Department of Applied Linguistics at Portland State University
Working Together Conference Flyer - Registration - Our Purpose - Location and Accommodation - Event Schedule - Workshop Description- Invited Speakers
The elders pictured here are Master Teachers for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. From left to right they are Edith McCloud, Cecelia Bearchum, Kathleen Gordon, Inez Reves, Eugene John, Joan Burnside, and Joan Watlamet.
Their dedication to teaching and preserving their native languages represents our hopes for the bright futures of all endangered languages. We honor them and all the elder speakers who give so much of their time, energy, and wisdom to ensure that their languages will continue to be spoken by future generations.
We thank them for sharing these pictures with us through Julie Taylor, CTUIR tribal member and co-chair of AISES at PSU, who has worked so hard to make this conference a success.
