"Each year, many languages die. We must act now to protect our indigenous heritage!"

Protecting the Saami Language

Ellen Inga Hætta, the Saami Parliament, Kautokeino, Norway, provides these perspectives of the importance of strengthening all indigenous languages.

Many confirm her claims. M. Kraus says: "as many as half of the estimated 6,000 languages spoken on earth are "moribund"; that is, they are spoken only by adults who no longer teach them to the next generation. An additional 40 percent may soon be threatened because the number of children learning them is declining measurably. In other words, 90 percent of existing languages today are likely to die or become seriously embattled within the next century." Krauss classifies 155 of the US indigenous languages as moribund. Increasingly, young Native Americans grow up speaking only English, learning at best a few words of their ancestral tongue.

A Proposed Cure

An educational program called Who-Am-I? Children wants to participate - using their native language - because it makes sense. It helps them get friends. Teachers use it because it helps them realize their curriculum objectives.
To an indigenous community, it is a means to increase its youth's knowledge and appreciation of their area, people, language, culture, the way the society works, history.
Also, it it is a means to recover heritage.

Language is essential to human identity.

The Saami Parliament and Kidlink hereby invite all people of Saami origin to join the program in their language.

Back

Hvem-er-jeg? på samisks hjemmeside
Sponsorer | Priser | Vil du hjelpe?
Hvem-er-jeg?s hjemmeside
Web version maintained by Odd de Presno. - Updated January 16, 2002.
Copyright ® 2001-2 Kidlink . All rights reserved.