A Look into Saving Polysynthetic Languages in Indigenous Communities

Two contemporary Native American elementary age best girlfriends together happily hug and embrace each other

Indigenous cultures have historically been mistreated and disregarded in North America due to years of colonization and forced assimilation. In America, these communities are part of the most vulnerable with levels of formal education consistently lower than that of non-Indigenous peoples. This inequitable access to education ultimately leads to socioeconomic disparities furthering the harmful cycle (4). Indigenous communities too are rich in culture and tradition, yet knowledge is not being handed down at a rate sustainable for the preservation of these vibrant customs. With each passing generation, cultural knowledge and personal experiences are forever lost (12). It’s a race against time to revitalize these Indigenous communities.

Within a community, the most explicit example of this loss is the drop in fluency in native languages. For example, the number of L1 Cree speakers experienced a drop of 2,110 from 2006 to 2011, a trend that is only continuing and echoed in countless other communities. Therefore, in cases such as these, language revitalization is crucial to cultural sustainability (4). There is a direct relationship between a healthy community and the revitalization of languages (11). Across the world, there have been many successful and continuing language revitalization projects, yet most are targeted at analytic languages. In contrast, many of these Indigenous languages are polysynthetic. These languages utilize holophrasis or the ability to express the ideas of an entire sentence in one word (2). Instead of focusing on nouns, prepositions, and other separate grammatical features like analytical languages, they rely on roots which serve as the basis for countless morphemes (4). Instead of having a fixed, distinct inventory of syntactic categories, there is a quasi-continuum from verbs, adjectives, and nouns without clearly segmented distinctions, a phenomenon known as squishiness (2). Not only are polysynthetic languages incredibly challenging for speakers of analytic languages due to these vastly different grammatical structures, but they are also among the world’s most endangered (3). Therefore, more crucial than ever that strides are taken toward the preservation of Indigenous languages.

At the source, revitalization efforts in their inception must occur within the community itself. Work solely done by outside researchers is often inaccessible and demeaning to the very people meant to be helped (11). In addition to this, due to the history of assimilation of these groups, outside efforts can be met with suspicion. Traditional knowledge and ways of teaching in the past have been discouraged in educational settings. Even within communities, many in the younger generation view native languages as a relic attached to elders, with English representing “modernity” (9). The struggle to find a compromise between traditional and modern knowledge as well as Indigenous Euro-American ways of teaching is ongoing. Methods such as language nests, mobile learning, and bilingual programs, while not perfect, prove promising, and perhaps have the ability to become the blueprints of polysynthetic language revitalization.

Findings

Language Nests

One of the most proven methods for language acquisition comes in the form of language nests. Originating in New Zealand for the Maori language, this childhood immersion program puts heavy emphasis on local cultural practices and worldviews. Similar programs in Hawaii and the aforementioned Maori program spurred the creation of fully-fledged k-12 Indigenous language initiatives (13). Essentially, language nests are targeted towards young children, creating an environment in which only the native language is spoken. Classes and activities are led by a native speaker with English, even English names, banned in the nest. In addition to simply being an environment for this Indigenous language use, it also serves as a place to learn a group’s traditions, values, customs, and perspectives. Even contemporary subjects are taught through the lens of the Indigenous culture, creating a unique space for the youth to comprehend the intricate connections between themselves, the community, and the world around them (13).

Although the language nest is a valuable tool for the revitalization of languages in communities, it is not the end all be all. Language revitalization needs to be a community effort. No single individual is capable of passing down a language to a generation. In fact, the natural acquisition of a language is dependent on sociolinguistic interactions (12). To remedy this, communication with parents and community members is vital, especially since formalized education can be met with suspicion in Indigenous groups. In the Enweyang program, a language nest focusing on the revitalization of Ojibwe, parents were invited on field trips, and regularly received emails, parent-teacher conferences, newsletters, etc. in order to facilitate the connection between them and the program (13).

Another struggle often faced in language nests is the lack of experienced and qualified teachers (12). On a large scale, a handful of teachers will be inadequate for the continuation of such programs. The nature of language nests themselves provides a solution. Along with educating children in the native language, teachers and graduate students can be educated as well (13). This can vary between having a teacher-apprentice teaching pair per class (12) or simply having future educators and graduate students observe lessons (13). Pedagogical skill development is very important in the long-term continuation of language nests and other immersion programs (13).

Bilingual Curriculum

A bilingual curriculum, while in and of itself not successful in the creation of fluent speakers, is a great additional tool for reinforcement and awareness of a language (13). Like all other methods though, it requires the straddling of two worlds, especially in the way knowledge is regarded. In the greater Western world, education is focused on the formalization of a language while in traditional Indigenous communities, knowledge is passed down through community systems intrinsically tied to their way of life (10). Literacy in and of itself can be seen as another form of assimilation, as many elders tend to hold the belief that the native language was not meant to be written (10).

Written Performance

Storytelling is held to high importance in many Indigenous cultures. Not only is it the traditional way of passing down knowledge, but it also holds incredible linguistic value. The manner of speaking differs from everyday speech, with a poetic quality that enriches the words with further meanings. These stories are culturally significant as they are directly related to a group’s values, while subversively reflecting on personal and cultural issues within the community. When language is lost, the act of storytelling does not fade, only its medium shifts. Recounting knowledge traditionally in English, while still preserving its general purpose, results in the loss of the crucial performance aspect (10).

Written materials for teaching native languages have many issues as well. Most bilingual classrooms not only lack adequate materials, but those they do have are either too complex or not culturally significant. To remedy this, written teaching materials can be structured with elements of traditional storytelling in mind. For instance, in the Northern Arapaho community, booklets were made for a bilingual curriculum. They contained conversations in both the written Indigenous language as well as English translations. Their content, mostly in the form of short conversations or stories, took on the witty storytelling performance aspect, making learning them enjoyable and relatable to the students. They not only come from everyday life within the community but also reflect on personal and cultural issues being experienced (10).
Such efforts have been resisted by both sides to an extent: whites and teachers don’t view it as proper education while purists do not believe the native language was meant to be written down. In fact, literacy in a broad sense is not the enemy, only large-scale coerced literacy. Small-scale literacy similar to these booklets can be empowering (10). Due to great cultural and linguistic variations in groups even 100 kilometers apart, bilingual materials such as these must remain grounded in their specific communities to be effective and relatable (4). This means that they must be made by the community, for the community, furthermore retaining the personal and insular aspect of traditional storytelling customs (10).

Mobile Learning

In addition to being neglected in the education sector, Indigenous communities often do not have universal access to the internet. Despite this, mobile learning technologies have been shown to have a strong potential (4). While some online dictionaries and digitized resources exist, there are very few examples of language acquisition apps or specific-focused tools for native languages. In addition, a variety of different dialects exist causing issues in creating an all-encompassing, standardized app. As a general guide, found by (4), any type of mobile learning software should include online/offline use, to mitigate lack of internet access, dialect switching, syllabic fonts, and the ability to switch between syllabics and Standard Roman Orthography (SRO).

In many Indigenous communities, their syllabic alphabets are neglected in favor of Western writing systems, essentially enforcing an “alphabet hierarchy”. In fact, many syllabic systems are not only phonetic but echo cultural values and insert nuance into sentences (7). Opening media to different scripts alters the inherent definition of literacy, and therefore, would be beneficial to be incorporated into modern life. In order to accomplish this, standardization of scripts and translations is vital for digitization and teaching purposes (4).

In addition, any type of mobile acquisition app would benefit from utilizing traditional methods of learning as well as modern teaching modes. For instance, implementing music and songs, whether they be traditional or modern translated ones, has been shown to be helpful in retaining vocabulary (4). In addition, kinesthetic methods — matching up actions to words — helped create sustained interest in learning a second language (4).

Despite the benefits of mobile learning, many communities may be wary of new technologies due to colonialism. Some elders may not wish to be recorded or lose their privacy. Additionally, signing away rights to developers could lead to the loss of ownership of cultural property. Mobile learning must be done carefully and respectfully with emphasis on a group’s cultural values and the intent to maintain Indigenous ownership (4).

Music

Music has long been a part of traditional and modern-day culture. In addition, it has been shown to have linguistic benefits for L2 learners. Therefore, the use of music as a teaching resource is highly applicable, especially in Indigenous communities. Bilingual music can be the catalyst for revernacularization or the process in which a once-threatened language comes back into common usage with hip-hop, in particular, not only the strongest medium for the process but also containing messages of cultural interest. It bridges the gap between old and new (9).

Hip-hop has many educational benefits. In a classroom setting, it facilitates the retention of words and phrases, allowing students to produce the language in a low-stakes environment and forcing inferences of meaning. Vocabulary in song is usually used within a theme, allowing students to naturally define words based on context. In addition, the natural flow of hip-hop music utilizes a similar cadence to speaking, allowing students to practice skills and be exposed to different accents. Most importantly though, it spurs motivation for self-learning. Hip-hop music actively engages in social issues while imparting cultural teachings. Students are more likely to speak outside of the classroom and carry the language into their everyday life (9).

In order for revernacularization to occur, there needs to be spaces for the language to actually be used in a relevant and topical manner. Not only does hip-hop provide that external factor, but it also is inherently a medium for disenfranchised groups to express their struggles and stories. In fact, many of these bilingual artists are not fluent, instead using music as a motivation to learn their native languages. While many fully Indigenous songs or resources may be intimidating for young students, the casual use of native language in bilingual music allows for enjoyable and simple understanding (9).

At the end of the day, music is fun and can make learning a second language a pleasant experience. The use of Indigenous languages in hip-hop brings these communities into the modern world while still incorporating and respecting the native cultures from which they originate (9).

Documentation

The effort to document Indigenous languages is also a crucial piece to the revitalization process. Many bilingual materials are reliant on normalized systems of writing, grammar, and vocabulary. The struggle faced by many researchers, though, stems from the fact that many commonly understood theoretical notions of languages are found to be inapplicable to polysynthetic languages (6). Although this review is not mainly focused on language documentation, the intersection between documentation and revitalization practices is nonetheless important.

Computational Documentation

The collection of polysynthetic language corpora has only happened recently but is still a difficult process. Significantly more data is needed to create viable databases of these endangered polysynthetic languages (3). To mitigate the fact that many of these languages are low-resource, the use of unsupervised (unsegmented words) data for training has proven to be promising (2). So too has the use of neural networks and machine learning in speech recognition (3).

Despite this, natural language processing programs are trained on human data, making them inherently biased. It was found that gender bias was prevalent in machine learning. English especially has an impact on other languages, disempowering the Indigenous female community in places that otherwise had gender equality. Also, strategies that are useful in minimizing bias in English sets may not be transferable to Indigenous languages. Whatever data sets are utilized in machine training must be vetted for human bias as well as imputed into algorithms created with bias reduction in mind (5).

Emotional Documentation

To get a more holistic perspective of a language, common, everyday usage is just as important as high-density documentation. A place where more colloquial usage is found is in emotional speech. For instance, in emotional speech, certain words occur more frequently, allowing for their meanings to be discerned in context. Additionally, some grammatical structures appear more often to the same result (1).

Ethically though, the recording of this data presents a problem. There must be a line between data collection and privacy while still preserving the spontaneity needed to be considered emotional speech. Culturally too, everyday discussions may not hold high value in Indigenous communities, making the recording of them difficult. To remedy this, tailored stimuli were created, creating a balance between a laid-back atmosphere and a method to accurately record data (1).

Struggles

Any method of revitalization or documentation is certain to be met with some sort of resistance. Within communities, the disconnect between elders and the younger generation is clear. Many of the older generation reject the notion of borrowing or creating new words, or allowing for the alteration of grammatical structures (8). In addition, the notion of “literacy” is sometimes seen as another form of Western assimilation (10). This attitude of linguistic purism can stunt the ability to preserve these languages when in fact structural and functional compromises can enhance their survival chances (8).

Also to be cautious of is a sense of apathy within a community. At the end of the day, any revitalization effort must be spearheaded by community members. Outside researchers, while still important to the process, need to work in tandem with a group’s interests (12). The most important aspect of this preservation work though, is the emphasis on the culture of the Indigenous group. There is no use in recording a language without the traditions that tie the community together (9).

Conclusion

Polysynthetic languages are among the world’s most endangered languages while also belonging to some of the most overlooked communities. Revitalization of these languages not only has the ability to restore the vitality of a group but also saves a unique culture in the global ecosystem. Indigenous communities in particular, affected by historic disenfranchisement and assimilation have been the most at risk of losing their Native languages and cultures. To mitigate this, not only is documentation important but so too is the education of the next generation. Some of the most promising methods include immersion from language nests and bilingual curricula including mobile learning, written texts, and music.These methods, in combination, could prove to be promising additions to already established and eventual revitalization programs.

Whatever efforts are made cannot be a repeat of the past. Culture and language are fundamentally intertwined, and educational programs must incorporate both with respect to the wishes of the community. Although some efforts may be met with resistance and puristic attitudes, compromise and mutual understanding are vital for the continuation of joint efforts between researchers and community members.

Indigenous communities have been through many trials and changes on their journey to this modern world. It would be amiss to not acknowledge their struggle and the effect it has, not only on day-to-day life but within language use as well. During and after the implementation of revitalization programs, the language that has been produced and standardized may differ from its use traditionally. This, though, is the beauty of language. It evolves. It changes. It is a living, changing medium of communication that reflects the scars and strength of those who speak it.

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References

1. Documenting the language of emotions in Dalabon (Northern Australia): Caveats, solutions and benefits
2. Unsupervised Morphological Segmentation for Low-Resource Polysynthetic Languages
3. Challenges in Speech Recognition and Translation of High-Value Low-Density Polysynthetic Languages
4. Mobile Learning as a Tool for Indigenous Language Revitalization and Sustainability in Canada: Framing the Challenge
5. Indigenous Language Revitalization and the Dilemma of Gender Bias
6. Revitalization in Polysynthetic Languages
7. Learning from the Cherokee Syllabary: A Rhetorical Approach to Media Research and Teaching
8. Purism vs. Compromise in Language Revitalization and Language Revival
9. Bilingual Hip Hop from Community to Classroom and Back: A Study in Decolonial Applied Ethnomusicology
10. Bilingual Curriculum among the Northern Arapaho: Oral Tradition, Literacy, and Performance
11. INDIGENOUS LINGUISTS: BRINGING RESEARCH INTO LANGUAGE REVITALIZATION
12. In Retrospect, Revitalizing the Cochiti Language — A Proposal for Community Re-engagement in Collective Spirit and Mutual Respect
13. The Enweyang Program: Indigenous Language Nest as Lab School

Image:

Two contemporary Native American elementary age best girlfriends together happily hug and embrace each other. Photograph. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. quest.eb.com/images/110_1320148. Accessed 23 Oct 2023.