How One Man Is Teaching America to Speak Navajo

Townhall.com ^ | November 27, 2018 | Salena Zito

[nevergore]

It’s nice they can preserve a now useless language.....

[EEGator]

"Navajo!"

[Vermont Lt]

It took us 120 years to get them to use contractions. Now this guy goes and screws it up.

[Vigilanteman]

Very useful during World War II . . . and the concepts of learning a language carry over into other fields as well. Yah-ta-hey!

[Responsibility2nd]

 

"We translated (the Pledge of Allegiance),

"To the Sacredness of Our Flag. From the land of the 50 United States of America. We pledge our allegiance to God and our flag. It stands for hope and compassion. We stand united as People of all cultures on our beloved land. We are preserved by the power of peace and harmony."

and now we say it for the United States flag, and also for the Navajo Nation flag," said Clayton Long, the bilingual education director for this sprawling school district, located partially within the Navajo Nation reservation.

 

Ugh. Translate it back. Spout that all you want for your Navajo flag. But NOT for the United States flag.

[fishtank]

[Inyo-Mono]

I think this is great. There are teachers on the Rez near me teaching students their native Paiute language.

[Prolixus]

I live in Massachusetts. Not only were the Massachusetts a tribe, there is a Massachusetts Language. Alas, the statist teachers in public school ignored our native language and, instead, forced Spanish upon us.

[nevergore]

It was, but that cat is out of the bag....

[MeanWestTexan]

I actually like the “pledge allegiance to God” bit.

Besides, I doubt words like “republic” exist in Navajo; most of these languages are very much stuck in time.

[Fightin Whitey]

There are teachers on the Rez near me teaching students their native Paiute language.

I'm with you on that.

It's all heritage, and tribal and personal history, and if it helps the kids build context and context, that's good for everyone.

The reservation nearest me produces many a young man who eagerly joins and serves the U.S. military. Sure, they see themselves as belong to a certain tribe, but a hell of a lot of them are proud, brave Americans as well.

[jmcenanly]

They could use a definition, say ‘Free Nation” for “Republic”. The Code Talkers of WWII used circumlocutions for words that weren’t in the Navajo language.

[Retrofitted]

Yeah, me too, MWT. I started on the beta of this (Duolingo Navajo) and truly, it’s definitely stuck in time, which does make is useless as a functional language I guess. But I’d also say there’s zero harm in learning it and if it helps some kids get a bit more meaning and knowledge in their lives, doesn’t that make it useful? Just wish they’d do Tsalagi.

[FrankR]

Why...would America want to learn Navajo?

[MayflowerMadam]

When I lived in Hawaii I helped with a couple fundraisers for the “Punana Leo o Maui” program. IIRC, it immersed pre-schoolers during the school day to immersion in the Hawaiian language. At home, they’re back to English (a little pidgin sometimes). As long as English is primary, learning a second language is positive, I think.

[Moonmad27]

Duolingo was a wonderful discovery. I have started with Spanish, then will have a long list of other languages after that. I recommend it to friends and relatives often.

[dainbramaged]

My 8th grade Washington State History teacher (1965) taught us to converse in Chinook Jargon and it was fun to learn.
From an article: Chinook Jargon is the most accessible of all the Native American languages. With a small utilitarian vocabulary and straightforward syntax, it was the lingua franca of the Northwest for most of the 1800s. One hundred thousand Native Americans, settlers and immigrants were using it in 1875.

[married21]

“Why...would America want to learn Navajo?”

---

Why not? Just about any language can be interesting and helpful to understand something of history, culture, even botany and weather. Not everybody needs or wants Navajo, but we have room in our vast country for expertise in all sorts of random things. Might be useful to know that in Navajo, a certain plant name means “cure for hangover” or a place name means “flood zone”. Just sayin.

[higgmeister]

How One Man Is Teaching America to Speak Navajo

Cherokee I could understand because they go back to our founding but why Navajo?