Lakota Language Now Critically Endangered

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"PIERRE, S.D.  – Lakota Language Consortium (LLC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and revitalization of the Lakota language, also known as Sioux, announced today that only 2,000 first-language speakers of Lakota remain – a decline of 66% in ten years.

Lakota, a language spoken on reservations in North and South Dakota, is one of the most well-known of America’s indigenous languages, and one of the few still spoken with a significant chance of survival. Lakota population is 170,000, but fluent speakers are a small fraction of that number.

In 2006, there were an estimated 6,000 first-language Lakota speakers.  Beginning 2016, LLC counted approximately only 2,000 remaining speakers – a loss of 4,000 in just 10 years.  The 66% loss in speakers equates to approximately 400 speakers lost each year.

Based on the new findings, Ethnologue, a catalogue of world languages, will now redesignate the Lakota language from “Threatened” to “Moribund”, with the special status of “Reawakening” – reflecting the community’s commitment to bringing back the language into every day use.

Ben Black Bear, a 69 year-old Lakota Elder and a first-language speaker, remarked, “I’ve been looking for good Lakota speakers, and the only ones I’ve found are older than me.  But there are young people interested in learning.   The challenge is getting them from ‘I want to learn’ to ‘What can I do to stop Lakota from disappearing?’”

lakhota.org/lakota-language-critically-endangered/

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Call me foolish, call me an idealist, call me an upstart wasicu, but I think something can be done to turn this situation around and I am working toward that goal.

Delphine R. Shaw writes, "Indeed, in the Lakota language there are approximately five hundred syllables that form all words (Buechel, A Grammar 129): of these approximately twenty percent are complete words, of the rest, many are stems only, some are prefixes or suffixes, and a few are used as stems, prefixes, or suffixes (Buechel, A Grammar 129)."

This is consistent with the claim made by George Sword and I think this is the only way that this trend can be turned around.

Five hundred syllables is a do-able goal for a young person, and that is the simple dictionary I think would make the difference.

I've sent Delphine R. Shaw an e-mail asking if she has a list of this five hundred syllables, but so far have not gotten an answer. If anyone knows her, please respond with a current e-mail address.

Is anyone familiar with the book she references and are these syllables listed in it?

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By the way, Delphine R. Shaw is also known as Delphine Red Shirt.

George Sword's Warrior Narratives: Compositional Processes in Lakota Oral Tradition by Delphine Red Shirt
www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/Supplements/excerpts/Fall%2016/9780803284395_excerpt.pdf

George Sword's Warrior Narratives: A Study in the Processes of Composition of Lakota Oral Narrative by Delphine R. Shaw
arizona.openrepository.com/arizona/bitstream/10150/311217/1/azu_etd_13116_sip1_m.pdf

[henry1990]

lakoltiyap hanta un po...tiyata mahel un ki waste kte lo. wakanyeja icetkiya woglakap ki naku taku unspe kte lo. i agree with you on the rapid decline of our lakota language. i'm employed at the lakota language preservation office in rosebud. we tried different methods, we brought it to communities to offer free classes. the turn out wasn't good. i'm 44 yrs old, i'm fluent, was raised by grandparents that spoke the lakota language alot. i'm really thankful for that. there is a big generation gap between my age and the average senior in hs. there are people who want to learn and there are people who just don't care. these days it seems like we have to offer an incentive to people to come and take classes...my opinion, we need to get most of the lakota educators together, and come up with a solution and ideas to bring the lakota language back to life. there is no wrong or right way to teach it, we all have our ways but as long as we try we can really make some progression. le yawab ki wopila tanka iciciyab pelo....

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Thanks you so much for your input Henry. I think my best response would be to suggest that you read my post about how George Sword attempted to explain the loss of the original language in the Stone Boy story. It seems to me that learning five hundred syllables would be much easier than learning the contents of the New Lakota Dictionary. It seems to me that George Sword was emphatic in trying to communicate that the written form of the language destroyed the spoken form. It is my belief that the only way to restore their language to the Lakota is through the use of those five hundred syllables that once comprised the spoken language.

Sword's version of "Stone Boy" in both old and modern forms
amertribes.proboards.com/thread/2597/swords-version-stone-modern-forms

[henry1990]

wopila, ill look into it

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I think that Delphine Red Shirt is the last best hope for a resurgence of the Lakota language. She is the one true expert on the thoughts of George Sword and best knows his thinking on the matter. I am in the midst of reading her doctoral dissertation and would suggest any student of Lakota to read it along with me. It is an eye opener.

George Sword's Warrior Narratives: A Study in the Processes of Composition of Lakota Oral Narrative by Delphine R. Shaw
arizona.openrepository.com/arizona/bitstream/10150/311217/1/azu_etd_13116_sip1_m.pdf

[dT]

It would be a tragedy if the Lakota language disapoeared. But i understand the great challenges you are describing.

I think your best bet is to develop a Learning System for the Lakota language. Try going down to your local bookstore. Look at all the booka and audio tapes on foreign languages. All those people faced a similar problem ... how do we teach our language to other people - including our own children? I think that if you explore, you will find some good ideas!

Finally - my impression is that the next 25 years will be the greatest challenge that the Indigenous People of the world have ever faced. Many, many tribes and cultures will disappear altogether. The reasons are just what you say:
(1) The Dominant Culture is very destructive towards Native lifestyles.
(2) Many young people in indigenous cultures don't see the point of investing a lot of time to learn their own culture well. It does take a lot of time and effort.

Not many tribes will make it to the year 2030. I hope the Lakotas will be survivors!!

Pete (dT)

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Thanks for your support!