At risk languages - Diné
When a language dies, a culture also dies, and that is a tragedy. Luisa Maffi writes that “in the life of languages, change is the rule rather than the exception.” Today, 918 out of 7,096 languages are endangered. Some language changes are natural, and others happen because of oppression. Minority languages are endangered when people who speak those languages lose their children and cannot pass on their language through story. Diné is part of the Southern Dene branch (also known as Athabaskan) of the Na-Dene family and is spoken around New Mexico and Arizona and is a Western Apachean language. Historically, Navajo children were stolen from their parents and sent to colonial boarding schools. They were physically punished when they spoke Diné and other Native American languages instead of English. Although many people call this minority language “Navajo”, most indigenous people refer to it as Diné, so respectfully I will discuss it as the Diné language. However, many young Diné people are bilingual – and therefore tend to participate in multiple cultures along with languages.
Does multilingualism threaten America’s national unity, or does it bless America with rich culture and diversity? Indigenous North American culture is often matriarchal and clan-based and tends to honor elders. Diné children inherit their mother’s clan, but still tend to learn about their father’s clan. If the Diné language is lost, this matriarchal culture might be lost as well. According to the Endangered Language Project, there are 120,000 speakers of Diné worldwide. This might seem to be a huge number, but it is very restricted. Often Diné speakers are of the older generation – often older than fifty, and monolingual speakers older than seventy. Younger speakers understand but do not speak Diné, and if these young Native Americans cannot (or don’t want to) pass their language onto their children and grandchildren, then the language will be lost. This can be calamitous, not only for the language but for the people who speak it.
Importantly, there are many factors that determine whether today’s youngest generation will pass on the Diné language. Palakurthy writes that “external factors such as socioeconomic class, age, gender, ethnic group, regional dialect, and social network” can affect language innovation. One interesting phonological aspect to language change in minority languages is when “a bilingual identifies a phoneme of the secondary system with the one in the primary system, and in reproducing it, subjects it to the phonetic rules of the primary language” (Palakurthy). The phonology of Diné is complex and interesting and is something I would like to study in the future.
Speaking of phonology, “Many ways to sound Diné” reveals that Diné has four vowels; /i e o a/. It also has dipthongs, which are /ei ai oi/ (Palakurthy). Like Chinese, Diné is a tonal language. Tonal languages change their meaning when a sound is said with a different inflection. In Diné, there are only two tones – rising and falling. Often there are minimal pairs that show that different tones have different meanings. For example, based on the dissertation “Many ways to sound Diné", I will analyze the difference between two minimal pairs: [ʼazéeʼ] and [ʼazeeʼ]. The first one, which uses an accent to express that it has a rising tone, means “mouth, throat, neck, or death.” The second one means “medicine, drug, herb” (Palakurthy). These two words are on contrastive distribution. This is just one example of how vital it is to pronounce the tone correctly in a tonal language. If the tone is incorrect, the language being conveyed would vary from being incorrect to being incredibly rude.
The word Diné itself means “The people”, which shows that it is a language that respects people. The spirituality that comes along with Diné culture will be lost along with the words if we do not take action to protect Diné and other indigenous languages. Language loss can result in loss of minority religions because if a tribe’s language is lost, their spiritual traditions and customs – along with their way of life – will also be lost. This threatens indigenous ways of life and can result in incredible oppression.
The history of Diné people is one way to convey the effects of this oppression and racism. One tragic thing that happened to the Navajo people is a march – the long walk -that happened in 1864. 8,500 Diné people were marched to Fort Summer, New Mexico. The long walk itself is pronounced ‘Hwéeldi’ in Diné. Many Native Americans died during the march, and those that did not were imprisoned from 1864 to 1868 (Benally). Factors such as disease and starvation made this ordeal even worse for the indigenous people who were taken from their land. Although later a treaty was signed later, oppression continues to happen in other ways.
Since Diné is rich with culture and respect for all life, it is interesting to look at how Diné syntax reflects this way of life. Specifically, nouns are often inflected with a possessive prefix when the words spoken are about kinship terms. For example, according to lessons with the DuoLingo application, the term ‘Shimá’ means ‘my mother.’ Diné has several important lexical categories, ranging from nouns, pronouns, particles, enclitics, post positions, and verbs. Verbs are preceded by postpositions, and the boundary between the postposition and the verb is not always set in stone. Verbs usually must consist of two syllables and occur at the end of the sentence, clause-finally. An example of a Diné verb with a prefix is ‘nicha’, separated into the morphemes ‘ni - cha’, carrying the meaning ‘you are crying.’ Verbs are often entire clauses. Kinship verbs often end with a plural suffix ‘-ké’ (Palakurthy).
“Many ways to sound Diné” offers an incredible amount of data on this at-risk language. Some tenses for Diné verbs include imperfective, iterative, usitative, perfective, future, and optative. Using a verb that means to drink, here are some statements describing each of these tenses. For imperfective tense, ‘yishdlá’ means ‘I drink it.’ For iterative tense, ‘náshdlííh’ means ‘I regulaly drink it.’ For usitative tense, ‘yishdlííh’ means ‘I customarily drink it.’ For perfective tense, ‘yishdláá’ means ‘I drank it.’ For future tense, ‘deeshdlíít’ means ‘I will drink it.’ For optative tense, ‘wáshdlą́ą́’ means ‘would that I drink it’ (Palakurthy). This is one example of the rules for tense changes in this language.
The use of minority languages should be considered a vital, foundational human right. According to AnCita Benally and Denis Viri in Bilingual Research Journal, “on several levels the [Diné] language appears to remain strong and viable, but on others the telltale signs of impending extinction are becoming apparent” (Benally). Colonization is one factor that has historical impact on Diné and other indigenous North American languages. Because people are afraid to speak their native language(s) and pass them on to their children, Diné continues to be at risk. Indigenous cultures offer an abundance of spiritual traditions that need to be preserved. Reverence for kin, for animals, and for the planet itself are values that come from Diné culture. Language is a social construct, and Diné and other minority indigenous languages represent the culture and spirituality of the people who speak it. Often this is born out of respect for older kin and various clans. If Navajo people stop speaking Diné, will their language disappear? Will their way of life also cease to exist? In Arizona, Diné is a language that is both frequently spoken and respected. Even so, there is a shift in Navajo tribes to shift to speaking English, especially when in governmental roles. This shift to English is because of economic, social, and political factors. In meetings, it is easier to use English. Additionally, some indigenous people speak “Navajo English” as a dialect.
Native Americans often engage in codeswitching between various indigenous languages as well as English “to emphasize certain words and ideas [and] to claim and empower personal and tribal identities” (Kroger). Navajo is a family of languages, and Diné is only one of the more well-known tribal languages. Kroger also writes that, at least in indigenous poetry, “the use of indigenous language, where it exists, is poignant, powerful, and deliberate” (Kroger). As a creative writer, it is interesting to look at how minority languages use words to tell stories and write poems. This is one other way for languages such as Navajo to pass on their language to younger generations. For example, after the poems and stories are written, schools on reservations then teach them, and the language is preserved. Poetry itself is a way to express one’s identity, so Diné poetry is incredibly important in documenting Diné cultural traditions and spiritual ceremonies.
Kroger writes, “Identity is not a static internal state; rather, identity is something one negotiates daily, moment-by-moment in their interactions with others.” If indigenous languages are tainted by a negative light, many indigenous people may be afraid to identify as Native American. Does this create the need to conform to traditional American values?
In Diné religion, the Great Spirit is worshiped instead of Christianity’s Jesus. Although these two beings may in actuality be the same being, it is still incredibly selfish to force Native Americans to worship Jesus instead of the Great Spirit. It is also selfish to assume that Jesus does not accept indigenous people that have never heard of him, or to assume that Native Americans don’t have a place in traditional, white churches. I believe it is very possible to integrate the Diné way of life while also being a leader of a church. When minority religions are oppressed, ways of life are also oppressed. This is unfortunate, but it happens all too often. This often results in despair for many indigenous people.
Native American bilingualism is very interesting. Kroger writes that “Bilinguals display their gender, class, racial, ethnic and other identities by following the social and linguistic rules for the ways of speaking that reflect those identities in their homes and primary networks” (Kroger). Intersectionality comes into play when looking at Native American identity from several different identities. What of the female Native American? Native Americans with darker skin? Gay Native Americans? How do these people communicate with each other? Some communicate with Navajo English, some only speak Diné, and others stop speaking Diné altogether. Many Diné people on reservations are, unfortunately, fated to be unemployed, homeless and uneducated. This is often because of the resulting oppression of colonialism. English is the prestige language, and Native Americans who refuse to speak it are painted in a very negative and very untrue light. Often marginalization is the result.
Becoming bilingual by nature changes the structure of the brain. Studying a foreign language, therefore, creates a more creative brain. For this paper, I started studying Diné on a language learning app called DuoLingo. Unfortunately, DuoLingo classifies this language as “Navajo” instead of “Diné.” Many people in mainstream society have never even heard of Diné. Relevant to Native American culture and the dire effects of colonialization, I talked about Diné with my family during Thanksgiving dinner. None of my family members had ever heard of Diné. When I explained it was Navajo, one of many traditional Native American languages, they smiled and nodded their heads. I wonder if this lack of awareness about the Navajo language’s name for their language (Diné) is a result of the colonialization that started on the first Thanksgiving.
I plan to continue to add Diné to my regimen of foreign languages I am learning, along with other languages I have been studying such as Chinese and French. Studying Diné on DuoLingo, as well as talking to my friends Mary and Dick Church, who are Navajo themselves, has enriched my life. I would not be the person I am today without Diné. I also would not be the person I am today without Mary and Dick Church’s kindness to me.
Kroger says that “Language choices reveal how bilingual individuals living in the hyphen—between two cultures—can and sometimes need to write in both languages in order to fully express themselves.” A person can stay true to Native American identity while also participating in mainstream society. Does language create thought? Although many theorists say that being able to study a foreign language proves that language does not create thought, I have a different idea. What if language does create thought, and learning a foreign language such as Diné or Chinese changes the structure of the brain? Could future linguistic studies show that language creates thought because learning a second language and becoming nearly fluent in it can often change a person’s identity as well as their view of the world as a whole? The grammars studied by bilingual to polylingual people are often combined, and because of this, the brains and created thoughts that follow are often unique.
Linguistic change is a social phenomenon. Often the communities affected by it are losing their rights to pass on their culture to the next generation. This is sad, but part of life. Aztec languages (in their native tongue, Nahuatl) in South America, which may be like many minority Native American languages, was lost. Although this language is dead, it is possible for Nahuatl to be revived, and a few people in Central America still speak it (Pynes). Learning a dead language is a vital way to raise a culture from the dead. When a language is revived, so are ideologies. Steven Pynes writes that, “Nahuatl is a well-documented, indigenous language of the Uto-Aztecan family with considerable typological differences from the majority languages with which Nahuatl currently has contact (i.e., Spanish and English respectively)." Pynes continues to write that the Aztec language was centered around the Nahuatl world view and has a unique grammar. What were these grammars? Because Nahuatl is dead, there is not a lot of data on them. The semantics attached to the grammar were, then, largely lost and forgotten. However, Pynes provides some data: ‘-nemi’ means ‘elsewhere’ and ‘-ya(u)h means ‘movement along a path.’ I chose these two words because they are metaphorically relevant. The Aztec civilization is long gone, but the people who spoke it are elsewhere – they have moved on to the afterlife. There is much to learn about Nahuatl, and although the Aztecs are gone, Pynes’ dissertation makes me wonder if Spanish speakers in Central America will claim, as well as study, this ancient language.
What would happen if Diné culture, as well as Diné government and its traditions, were lost like Nahuatl was? These beautiful ways of life would become mere ghosts. One hundred years into the future, mutual knowledge and beliefs could be lost, just remnants of a different way of life that was celebrated a long time ago. The stories would stop being passed on; the mythology of the Great Spirit also lost. I do not know the Diné stories, because no one ever told them to me. My Greek grandparents also never taught me any Greek. Though Greek is not an endangered language, this is another example of heritage language not being passed on to newer generations. I want to learn Diné, because I want to change the way my mind works. I want to think differently, so I can be a better person. Intersectionality is a factor here – I don’t want to be racist, or to think that my religion, Christianity, is the only correct one. Language death causes culture death. This has happened already with Aztec languages. Much work needs to be done to save endangered and at-risk languages, and I would like to be a part of it.
Works Cited
Caudal, Patrick. Bednall, James. “Aspectuo-Temporal Underspecification in Anindilyakwa: Descriptive, Theoretical, Typological and Quantitative Issues.” Languages 8(1) https://doi.org/10.3390/languages8010008
Benally, AnCita. Viri, Denis. “Diné Bizaad [Navajo Language] at a Crossroads: Extinction or Renewal?” Bilingual Research Journal. Spring 2005.
Unknown authors. “Endangered Languages Project.” Accessed 7 December 2023. Endangered Languages Project - Diné Bizaad (Navajo)
Gao, Ya. Liu, WenQi. “Measures to sustain endangered languages: A bilingual competition model with sliding mode control.” PLoS One, 18(6). June 2023. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287850
Kroger, Kristina. "From the roots to the fruits, we are our ancestors: Codeswitching and identity performance in indigenous performance poetry” Northeastern Illinois University ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. 2016. https://montgomerycollege.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/roots-fruits-we-are-our-ancestors-codeswitching/docview/1877973983/se-2
Law, Howard W. “Rules of the Aztec Language.” American Anthropology Association. vol. 77, no. 4, 1975. Accessed 7 December 2023. http://www.jstor.org/stable/674884.
Maffi, Luisa. “Endangered languages, endangered knowledge.” International Social Science Journal. 1 September 2002. https://montgomerycollege.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/endangered-languages-knowledge/docview/85565273/se-2
Palakurthy, Kayla Pearl. “Many Ways to Sound Diné: Linguistic Variation in Navajo.” University of California, Santa Barbara ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. 2019 https://montgomerycollege.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/many-ways-sound-diné-linguistic-variation-navajo/docview/2303837594/se-2
Pynes, Steven Jeffrey, Jr. “Functional Morphology in Nahuatl Language Revitalization” The University of Utah ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. 2017. Accessed 8 December 2023. https://montgomerycollege.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/functional-morphology-nahuatl-language/docview/2189849448/se-2
Von Ahn, Luis, creator. DuoLingo app. Created in 2009. Accessed 8 December 2023. Duolingo - The world's best way to learn a language
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