Indigenous Languages Thread - Navajo, Nahuatl, Yucatec Maya, etc.

[Alex Hogendorp]

What opportunities does learning a dead or nearly dead heya hoya language unlock for you, realistically? Why does having more info about a dead or dying heya hoya society matter?

If it's just a thing to do for fun then say that. But selling learning some nearly extinct language spoken by 5 native elders from a tribe that nobody cares about is not in practical terms going to give you anything other than a sense of satisfaction. Unless you're trying to be the lead heyahoyaologist of that tribe.

You preserve it's traditions and stories. Otherwise everyone would be speaking Skibidi newspeak brainrot language and that's what George Orwell fears. Does that scare you enough. Better to just learn a new language than let it all die to one language that dumbs down the entire population.

 

[VargReallyDidNothingWrong]

You preserve it's traditions and stories. Otherwise everyone would be speaking Skibidi newspeak brainrot language and that's what George Orwell fears. Does that scare you enough. Better to just learn a new language than let it all die to one language that dumbs down the entire population.

Will the world, realistically, be a worse place if a language that nobody cares enough about to preserve goes extinct and their version of the same native creation myths involving local animals (coyote and spider in the south west, raven and whale in the north) are forgotten?

I'm not against learning languages as a hobby but I can't take your whole spiel seriously.

 

[Alex Hogendorp]

Will the world, realistically, be a worse place if a language that nobody cares enough about to preserve goes extinct and their version of the same native creation myths involving local animals (coyote and spider in the south west, raven and whale in the north) are forgotten?

I'm not against learning languages as a hobby but I can't take your whole spiel seriously.

Yes. Letting information die including language warps our perception of the past. We forsaken language. We forsaken our roots to our vocabulary.

 

[Kosher Dill]

Have you read this post before about learning Cree? It's by someone who's apparently a deranged lolcow with a thread here, but the content itself is interesting.

https://medium.com/@eiselmazard/on-learning-cree-and-not-learning-cree-9429fc06b9d9

Apparently learning Cree as an adult is a total joke, and you're never going to obtain any useful grasp of the language unless you're either born on a reservation or go for deep immersion in one.

 

[invisibult plus+]

Have you read this post before about learning Cree? It's by someone who's apparently a deranged lolcow with a thread here, but the content itself is interesting.

https://medium.com/@eiselmazard/on-learning-cree-and-not-learning-cree-9429fc06b9d9

Apparently learning Cree as an adult is a total joke, and you're never going to obtain any useful grasp of the language unless you're either born on a reservation or go for deep immersion in one.

Polysynthetic languages are fucked up. I looked up Cree and found this "word" for school.

What this means is that, unlike languages like English, you have to understand the different forms of grammar and syntax to express even basic concepts. Imagine saying, "I went to school" in Cree. Lenape is in the same language family so here's an example of what it looks like in practice.

Spoiler: Lenape Hymn first two verses

1. Kishelëmùkòng òs'hakame ahpu,

He-who-created-us in-heaven he-dwells,

Our Creator lives in Heaven,



Kiluna hàking gëmei ktàpihëna,

We-people on-earth all-the-time we-dwell,

We always live here on the earth,



Kishelëmùkòng nèka wëlilìsu,

He-who-created-us that-one he-does-good,

Our Creator does good things,



Kiluna kehëla këtëmakawsihëna

We-people truly we-are-pitiful.

We are truly pitiful.





2. Kishelëmùkòng ahi xingwilësu,

He-who-created-us very-much he-does-great-deeds,

Our Creator does very many great deeds,



Kiluna kehëla ktàngìti lësihëna;

We-people truly we-do-only-small-deeds;

We can only do truly small deeds;



Kishelëmùkòng ahi chitanësu,

He-who-created-us very-much he-is-strong,

Our Creator is very strong,



Kiluna kìchi sòmi kshawësihëna.

We-people really very we-are-weak.

We are really very weak.

 

[Uncle Tom's Condo]

Because learning another language is better than rotting your brain with TV and Video Games while farting all day. It unlocks new opportunities and gives you more information about the certain indigenous groups. Imagine the tribes that have gotten along with another tribe because someone decided to hang out with them knowing about them more and more. I remember being taught in schools about the Iroquois tribe when they fought against each other before coming to terms with each other? They were also the guarding point between the war against the British and the French. Also, it helps prevent Alzheimers when you expand your vocabulary.

Nowadays Children are subject to faggot brainrot material and their IQ's went from 100 down to 78 (I wish I was joking). Gen Alpha may unfortunately be the first generation with widespread early onset dementia. Already most children in elementary schools and even middle schools don't know how to read properly and many schools spread psychological warfare on them intentionally making them dumb and not being able to be set for life giving them little time to expand their knowledge in this unforgiving brutal capitalist system.

I'm hoping maybe in the future I could be very conversational in Cree, Nahuatl, Yucatec Maya, Blackfoot. If not even Ket, Navajo and so on.

You're not wrong that it's better to learn another language than grind in an MMO or watch slop on the TV. It was more like why would you learn a language on life support and will be dead in 10 years vs. something like Yup'ik that actually has a body of work and lots of resources and schools out in the bush that have it as their main language curriculum for k-6 or w/e.

 

[Taser Confetti]

I've multiple times tried to learn other languages and always crashed and burned. It's hard for me as an American to get motivated to learn Spanish knowing I'll always be ignored in favor of a native speaker is frankly just demoralizing.
Thought about learning Welsh because that's what the majority of my heritage is but there's virtually no point as an American IMO.

 

[Accidental Protege]

Not sure if anyone is interested in a historic source, but I came across this Otchipwe/Ojibwe dictionary from 1845 today. Since I coincidentally also came across this thread, I figured I’d share it in case anyone else finds it neat.

 

[PointOfNoReturnPoint]

I've been studying African tribal languages myself.
*click click clack click clock clack*

Eh heem, bixnood muhfuggah

 

[Alex Hogendorp]

You're not wrong that it's better to learn another language than grind in an MMO or watch slop on the TV. It was more like why would you learn a language on life support and will be dead in 10 years vs. something like Yup'ik that actually has a body of work and lots of resources and schools out in the bush that have it as their main language curriculum for k-6 or w/e.

I understand that learning languages like Spanish, Japanese, Russian, etc are very useful for unlocking new opportunities however preserving dying languages also preserves culture too. Then again, you don't have to worry about languages dying out yourself as preservation attempts for such languages has already surpassed awareness anyways.

 

[Gorton Colu]

Mba'eichapa? Jajoecha peve.

 

[invisibult plus+]

Mba'eichapa? Jajoecha peve.

Bob Saget oviolá ha ojuka peteĩ mitãkuña'ípe ary 1990-pe.

 

[Gorton Colu]

Bob Saget oviolá ha ojuka peteĩ mitãkuña'ípe ary 1990-pe.

Ekirirĩ nde ivai. Ha’e va’ekue nde.

 

[Uncle Tom's Condo]

I understand that learning languages like Spanish, Japanese, Russian, etc are very useful for unlocking new opportunities however preserving dying languages also preserves culture too. Then again, you don't have to worry about languages dying out yourself as preservation attempts for such languages has already surpassed awareness anyways.

I can sing Happy Birthday in a native language and say yes/no/thanks/goodbye in a few others. I learned out of respect for working with elders in mostly native areas for people I am proud to call auntie or uncle.

Yes, some languages are more utilitarian than others. I do agree that native languages have an intrinsic value and propagate a different world view than Canadian or American English or, lmao, Quebecois. Now, we can argue about the value of preserving such languages when the native speakers don't or won't pass on the language. There's a lot of bad shit that went on when whitey tried to erase it. You can see my posts in the native thread that address that issue.

Anyway, there's a channel in Canada and the US called FNX and they have some native language programming. idk if any of you all get that but there's a decent amount of native language, mostly northern Canadian language programming. CBC North has various Inuktitut programming,

 

[Alex Krycek]

I have some Purepecha ancestry. Pretty much been told its useless. I am mostly Czech. I have told people its useless.

But conversely I have an obsession with learning Manchu. Which has maybe 11 living Native Speakers, so go for it if you want.

 

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

The attitude a lot of Kiwis have about Indians is some of the most ignorant shit I’ve ever seen. They’re ooga booga tribals living as warriors/hunters out in the wilderness fighting each other and taking scalps all the time. That is masculine and inherently cool. Theyre cultures that lived, as predecessors, on the same land as us. If a person has any sincere interest in their own country/environment that too is inherently interesting.

the same faggots popping off about them are the exact same types that suck the Vikings dick.

You’re not a real man if you don’t like the idea of scalping your enemies and stealing their children and corn

Add on the inherent value just of knowing about the world.

 

[Gorton Colu]

I'd be completely down with k-12 Cherokee language classes offered in places like Oklahoma and North Carolina.

We need indigenous languages to differentiate and separate Americans from all the ESLs trying to communicate in English to us.

 

[Ughubughughughughughghlug]

I'd be completely down with k-12 Cherokee language classes offered in places like Oklahoma and North Carolina.

We need indigenous languages to differentiate and separate Americans from all the ESLs trying to communicate in English to us.

I’d like to have local regional languages done like that, or even mandatory.

Louisiana French
Georgia South Carolina Gullah
Appalachian Cherokee
Southwestern Spanish
Pennsylvania Deutsch

 

[Smar Mijou]

*click click clack click clock clack*

Try saying that shit to my face, MOTHERFUCKER!

But I agree with others. I respect people who continue learning as a hobby when it's not necessary. If anyone hasn't, you should check out Xiaoman on YouTube. Hes got an almost unnatural ability to pick up almost any language to the point of cconversational fluency. My favourite is when he will go to nail salons or Chinese markets and troll the locals who don't know he cam speak and understand their language.

 

[Rekieta’s Broken Penis]

If anyone hasn't, you should check out Xiaoman on YouTube. Hes got an almost unnatural ability to pick up almost any language to the point of cconversational fluency. My favourite is when he will go to nail salons or Chinese markets and troll the locals who don't know he cam speak and understand their language.

Pretty sure you misread Xiao Ma NYC as is 小马NYC i.e. Mark from New York City but idk maybe he also stylises himself as “Small man”. He has studied Chinese for like over 10 years at this point so it’s like whatever. In general though, I’m pretty sure his gimmick is to just memorise set phrases relevant to that interaction. It’s not really conversational but also yeah pretty good wish my Chinese was as good as his.