Linguistics Celebrates UNESCO International Mother Language Day

This second annual event has the broad theme of contributing to knowledge and appreciation of languages of cultural identity.

The specific focus this year will be Indigenous and Minority Language Revitalization.

The campus community is warmly invited to the following events:

12:00 – 02:45 pm     Speaker’s Platform

• Special guests Robert Gomez and Tina Guerrero, speakers of Pahka’anil, an endangered language spoke in Kern County, California, who will be on hand to talk to visitors about how linguistics and speakers collaborate in language revitalization projects.
• student and faculty posters
• language-related activities run by the Linguistics Student Association
• tables from faculty and student club partners in American Indian Studies, RGRLL, Anthropology, American Sign Language and Deaf Linguistics, Asian and Asian American Studies, Africana Studies, Chicano and Latino Studies
• Calligraphy tables (Japanese, Chinese, Persian)

11:30 – 1:00 pm     Multicultural Center (FO-3) Short Research talks

11:30       Dr. Barbara LeMaster (Anthropology, Linguistics, ASLD)

              “Whose Mother Tongue? Irish Sign Language in fluz”

12:00       Saleem Alfaife (MA grad in Linguistics)

              “A Grammar of Faifi, an endangered minority language of Saudi Arabia”

12:30       Dr. Alexandra Jaffe (Linguistics, Anthropology)

              “The Smithsonian Project on Revitalizing Minority Languages in Europe”

4:00 – 6:00 pm     AS 384 Longer presentations

Dr. Wesley Leonard (UC Riverside Ethnic Studies Department) A member of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, whose tribal national language is myaamia, Dr. Leonard focuses on culturally appropriate ways of applying Linguistics for language reclamation purposes that support tribal sovereignty and survivance.

Robert Gomez, Tina Guerrero, “Challenging De-Acquisition” Revitalizing Pahka’anil.