OLAC Record oai:scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu:10125/26120

Metadata
Title:		I’m not learning a second language, I’m learning my language: Being Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw and learning Kwak’wala
Bibliographic Citation:		Rosborough, Trish, Rosborough, Trish; 2013-03-02; “My journey with Kwak’wala is so different from my failed attempts to learn Spanish. I am not learning a second language; I am learning my language. It is not uncommon to hear Indigenous people say, “I don’t know my language”; yet not being able to understand or speak our languages does not mean that these languages are any less ours.” (author, 2012, p. 181) Kwak’wala, the language of the Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw people in British Columbia, Canada, is considered endangered. For Indigenous peoples in colonizing societies, language revitalization is a complex endeavour. Within the fields of language revitalization and Indigenous studies, the practices and policies of colonization have been identified as key factors in Indigenous language decline. This paper draws on the author’s doctoral study that was conducted through a Ḵ̓a̱ngex̱tola framework, an Indigenous methodology based on the metaphor of creating a button blanket, the ceremonial regalia of the Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw. The research has built understanding through the author’s experience as a Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw person learning Kwak’wala through the use of various approaches to language learning, including two years with the Master-Apprentice approach. The research employs the researcher’s journals and personal stories, as well as interviews with individuals who are engaged in Kwak’wala revitalization. The study identifies the need for Kwak’wala revitalization efforts to employ multifaceted approaches that take into account the impacts of colonization. Learning or recovering one’s mother tongue is not akin to learning a second or foreign language. Working to recover Kwak’wala involves deep personal, interpersonal, and social processes and an untangling of messages carried at a profound level. Encouragement, safe environments and relationships for language work through explicit agreements and commitment, are identified as important supports for Kwak’wala learning and speaking. Further, it is important to sustain the spirit of the language by maintaining the literal and symbolic meanings and constructs of Kwak’wala that are important in the transmission and maintenance of Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw culture. This research has led to an understanding of the necessity for Indigenous language revitalization efforts to give consideration to what it means for community members to learn and speak their own languages.; Kaipuleohone University of Hawai'i Digital Language Archive;http://hdl.handle.net/10125/26120.
Contributor (speaker):		Rosborough, Trish
Creator:		Rosborough, Trish
Date (W3CDTF):		2013-03-02
Description:		“My journey with Kwak’wala is so different from my failed attempts to learn Spanish. I am not learning a second language; I am learning my language. It is not uncommon to hear Indigenous people say, “I don’t know my language”; yet not being able to understand or speak our languages does not mean that these languages are any less ours.” (author, 2012, p. 181) Kwak’wala, the language of the Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw people in British Columbia, Canada, is considered endangered. For Indigenous peoples in colonizing societies, language revitalization is a complex endeavour. Within the fields of language revitalization and Indigenous studies, the practices and policies of colonization have been identified as key factors in Indigenous language decline. This paper draws on the author’s doctoral study that was conducted through a Ḵ̓a̱ngex̱tola framework, an Indigenous methodology based on the metaphor of creating a button blanket, the ceremonial regalia of the Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw. The research has built understanding through the author’s experience as a Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw person learning Kwak’wala through the use of various approaches to language learning, including two years with the Master-Apprentice approach. The research employs the researcher’s journals and personal stories, as well as interviews with individuals who are engaged in Kwak’wala revitalization. The study identifies the need for Kwak’wala revitalization efforts to employ multifaceted approaches that take into account the impacts of colonization. Learning or recovering one’s mother tongue is not akin to learning a second or foreign language. Working to recover Kwak’wala involves deep personal, interpersonal, and social processes and an untangling of messages carried at a profound level. Encouragement, safe environments and relationships for language work through explicit agreements and commitment, are identified as important supports for Kwak’wala learning and speaking. Further, it is important to sustain the spirit of the language by maintaining the literal and symbolic meanings and constructs of Kwak’wala that are important in the transmission and maintenance of Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw culture. This research has led to an understanding of the necessity for Indigenous language revitalization efforts to give consideration to what it means for community members to learn and speak their own languages.
Identifier (URI):		http://hdl.handle.net/10125/26120
Language:		English
Language (ISO639):		eng
Rights:		Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
Table Of Contents:		26120.mp3
		26120.pdf
OLAC Info
Archive:		Language Documentation and Conservation
Description:		http://www.language-archives.org/archive/ldc.scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu
GetRecord:		OAI-PMH request for OLAC format
GetRecord:		Pre-generated XML file
OAI Info
OaiIdentifier:		oai:scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu:10125/26120
DateStamp:		2024-07-29
GetRecord:		OAI-PMH request for simple DC format
Search Info
Citation:		Rosborough, Trish. 2013. Language Documentation and Conservation.
Terms:		area_Europe country_GB iso639_eng