Talk:Indigenous language

[Untitled]
I wasn't finished!!! --Jason 20:05, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

very very very POV
Peter Ladefoged and Salikoko Mufwene might not have let this version stand as it is. When the semester is over, I'm gonna change it.--Ling.Nut 12:57, 5 December 2006 (UTC)eduardo w/h

Agreed: everything below the first section appears pretty much copied/pasted from a Green Party organic locally grown hippie type rant. (I know that's a rant of my own, but this is a discussion page...) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 165.176.7.3 (talk) 14:36, 5 June 2009 (UTC)

Various meanings of "indigenous language"?
Does "indigenous language" have more than one meaning, perhaps relating to the varying the linguistic situations found in different world regions? Could one for instance say that Mandarin Chinese is an indigenous language in China? One could say that almost all African languages are indigenous to the particular areas of Africa where they are spoken, but are they "indigenous languages"? --A12n 03:55, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

Ambiguity
The phrase "Indigenous languages may not be national languages" is ambiguous. "May not" should be avoided in written English as it can mean either "might not" or "must not", depending on whether the emphasis is placed on "may" or "not". I assume that the former is intended (in which case, I think "Indigenous languages are not necessarily national languages" would be a better phrasing) but I don't know for sure so I've not changed the article. Dricherby (talk) 21:54, 5 June 2008 (UTC)

I agree, your phrasing would be much better. I'll change it, since no one has objected to your proposal for four years. --98.19.39.99 (talk) 15:13, 26 July 2012 (UTC)

Vast Storehouses of Ancient Knowledge
Is there any evidence at all to support that last statement? It sounds like hyperbole to me. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.175.63.218 (talk) 15:53, 24 April 2011 (UTC)

Merge to Endangered language
The text of this article is in fact not about Indigenous languages but about threatened and endangered languages, which is of course not the same thing. An indigenous language as defined here is a language spoken by an indigenous people - not all such languages are endangered. So either this article should be rewritten entirely or merged to endangered language.·ʍaunus·snunɐw· 19:07, 13 December 2012 (UTC)
 * I'd oppose the merge. The text could and should be about indigenous languages. Editing could rectify it, if you're so inclined. Much of any article on indigenous languages would logically include discussion of endangeredness among indigenous languages, but the two encyclopedic topics do not coincide: not all indigenous languages are endangered: see Pohnpeian (majority), Guaraní (major and official language), Tshangla (major and unofficial language), and Lepcha (minority everywhere) for examples. Topically, endangered and indigenous languages are also independently and differently notable. If I'm at all convincing, I hope you'll consider removing the merge tag. Cheers! JFHJr (㊟) 05:08, 19 December 2012 (UTC)
 * I don't know of any sources about Indigenous language, or of any way the could be described as a whole since they don't have any common features. If I remove the part that is not about indigenous language, but about endangered ones, the only thing that wil be left here is: "Indigenous languages are langues spoken by indigenous peoples". And I don't see how the article could be expanded much more than that.·ʍaunus·snunɐw· 12:06, 19 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Belated support. It's difficult (and politically problematic) to define an indigenous language to begin with (is, say, German indigenous? Nahuatl? Uighur?), and defining them as necessarily minority languages is both illogical and ill-defined (minority on what scale? a modern state? a province?) Calling a language indigenous to an area in any given case is more an expression of our ignorance of local history than anything else. 70.75.233.253 (talk) 03:49, 28 August 2013 (UTC)

I support merger - indigenous does not mean native american. If this article is to be about Native American langauges than it should be retitled — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.158.78.253 (talk) 03:31, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

Linguicide
I have added the following sentence:

"Furthermore, many indigenous languages have been subject to linguicide (language killing).(see Language Revival: Securing the Future of Endangered Languages, MOOC...)"

to the following sentence:

"Many indigenous peoples worldwide have stopped passing on their ancestral languages to the next generation, and have instead adopted the majority language as part of their acculturation into the majority culture."

For some reason, User:Mean as custard reverted it.

My edit was an improvement to the entry. Many indigenous people do not wish to stop talking their language. But they are not allowed to talk in their language, as in the case of Australian Stolen Generations, which I learned about in the MOOC mentioned above.

Please revert this edit and others, User:Mean as custard.

ElenaCobb (talk) 09:03, 25 September 2017 (UTC)
 * The reference provided was just an advertisement to enrol on an online course. . . Mean as custard (talk) 09:29, 25 September 2017 (UTC)

Mean as custard
 * Thanks. How can I refer to a MOOC then? The link I provided is where I watched that free MOOC and where I obtained the insight that I added to the entry. Should I create a Wikipedia entry for that MOOC and then refer to it within Wikipedia? Or should I just refer to the MOOC without the link? Thanks.

ElenaCobb (talk) 11:20, 25 September 2017 (UTC)
 * I don't think you should refer to a MOOC. Refer to peer reviewed, published literature. I also don't think specific MOOC's are usually eligible for wikipedia entries. ·maunus · snunɐɯ· 12:03, 25 September 2017 (UTC)


 * I'm familiar with that MOOC (and its presenters) and it is trustworthy and of high standard, but surely in watching it you were pointed to relevant literature that makes the same point? So redo your edit, making reference to that literature to support your edit. Dougg (talk) 00:48, 26 September 2017 (UTC)
 * Thanks, Dougg. I followed your advice. ElenaCobb (talk) 05:37, 14 October 2017 (UTC)

External links modified
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Indigenous, national, and official languages
The opening paragraph needs some reworking. One sentence giving a parenthetical example of Aymara as indigenous & official seems to give an equivalence to national and official. Also "national languages are not necessarily indigenous to the country" is not always true - in a definition common in Africa, national languages are languages indigenous to the countries in question, but official languages most often are not. (See National language.) --A12n (talk) 15:17, 31 July 2019 (UTC)

"Aboriginal language" listed at Redirects for discussion
An editor has asked for a discussion to address the redirect Aboriginal language. Please participate in the redirect discussion if you wish to do so. Steel1943 (talk) 21:50, 29 August 2019 (UTC)

Indigenous languages vs Indigenous peoples' languages
A user identified only by IP address changed the initial line of the section titled 'Disappearence' from Indigenous languages are disappearing to Indigenous peoples' languages are disappearing. I feel that this changes the meaning from referring specifically to traditional Indigenous languages, which I believe to be the intent of the passage, as opposed to referring to the full suite of languages used by Indigenous people in the present day, which would include contact varieties such as creoles, mixed languages, and Indigenous varieties of the national language, etc. I have therefore reverted the edit. Long-winded explanation for a very small change! Dougg (talk) 09:19, 23 June 2021 (UTC)

5566666
6 AM is t 41.13.228.19 (talk) 09:18, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples
— Assignment last updated by Carwil (talk) 16:47, 3 November 2023 (UTC)

New Edit Proposals/Suggestions
I am proposing some additions to certain portions of the article. First, I think that it would be beneficial to change the titles of the sections to be more specific (Disappearance --> Language Loss ... Learning --> Indigenous Language Education and Preservation). I think that by specifying these titles, we are able to make the content within each section more specific and comprehensive.

Along those notes, I believe that the inclusion of more background on language loss/extinction is crucial. I think on its own, the current "Disappearance" section has some good examples of language loss, I think that adding examples that are not exclusive to just North America would be beneficial to give a broader overview that doesn't just confine itself to the usual "Native American" category, considering Indigenous Peoples exist all over the world. So, I would add in a section specifically about Australia's experience with language loss, as it is one of the most prevalent cases of linguistic extinction, and would also include reasons for the language loss. I would also propose including a sort of conclusion paragraph to this "Disappearance" section that gives a pseudo-summary of the general reasons of linguistic extinction.

Next, there needs to be way more information in the "Learning" section. I would propose starting the section with context as to why Indigenous languages need to be preserved, and how they are being preserved (which is through both UN intervention and local community programs). Thus, it would be beneficial to include what the UN has put in place to ensure preservation and protection of indigenous languages. Additionally, it would be very useful to include examples of different communities that were successful in using education as a means of lingual preservation. So, I would propose including a few examples of different groups spanning throughout the world, not just concentrated in North America, and explain what these programs did, how they succeeded in their missions, and any implications that resulted from them.

Lastly, I am unsure of how crucial the final section is ("Treasure language"). Although it makes an interesting point and distinction between the term "treasure language" and other more widely used terms like indigenous language, ethnic language, and heritage language, I am unsure if this section is necessarily fundamental to the aims of this article... I am planning to look deeper into this concept and its origins to see if it is necessary or not, and will update this talk page on my conclusion once I am done researching. Oliviachung5 (talk) 05:38, 31 October 2023 (UTC)