User:DaniMcGonigal/sandbox

Dane-Zaa Language

(Beaver is closely related to the languages spoken by neighboring Athabaskan groups, such as Slavey, Sekani, Sarcee, Chipewyan, and Kaska.) The Dane-zaa occupy territory of the Peace River that includes northeastern B.C. and northwestern Alberta, including the Doig River and Blueberry River First Nations in British Columbia, situated in Doig River and Buick, BC. 

5. Grammar (end of section)

Dane-zaa has gender-neutral pronouns where less importance is put on the person.

His/Her/It: ma-

His/Her own: da-

4. Language Documentation (end of section)

'''In 1959 and throughout the 1960s, anthropologist Robin Ridington began working with the Doig River First Nation on the documentation and recording of Dane-zaa. He returned in 1978 with his second wife Jillian Ridington and they worked with Howard Broomfield and linguist Billy Attachie. His daughter Amber Ridington collaborated with Dane-zaa youth and elders to create Dane Wajich: Dane-zaa Stories and Songs-Dreamers and the Land, a virtual library that has made Dane-zaa pronunciations and other resources on Dane-zaa culture available to the public.'''

Dreamers

Dreamers, called Naachin, '''hold an important role in the Dane-zaa community. They have been important to the Dane-zaa since before colonization, and are both men and women. They are able to have out-of-body journeys to visit with the ancestors in order to guide their community. They are able to dream the future and help the Dane-zaa live in the changing world, and many Dreamers predicted the arrival of Europeans. Seen to be like Swans, they are able to "fly" from their physical bodies and follow a trail to heaven called yaak'ihts'ęʔ atanii in dreams and are able to bring dreams from this otherworldly place back to the community. With this gift, they teach their people to live in peace with the world around them. Through these dream journeys, they make sure the Dane-zaa know to sing and dance to uphold normal relationship to nature and for the celestial cycles to continue. They believe that song and dance is vital in understanding the Dane-zaa identity and experience with the world, and that songs are the trails they need to find meaning in the world around them. While the Dane-zaa believe that some individuals hold this special power and dream for the community, they also acknowledge that everyone is is capable of having the gift of prophetic dreams.'''

3. Language Loss

(...Because the language is orally based, Dane-zaa Zaageʔ becomes increasingly endangered as the fluent speakers pass away.) '''The 1918 Spanish flu epidemic was a contributor in language loss due to the fact that it decimated the Dane-zaa population, claiming the lives of hunters, mothers and the older population. To fully recover from this, it took several generations. Because fluency lay in the older generation, the epidemic played a part in that loss of language. The loss of Suu Na Chii K'chinge, the traditional meeting place for the Dane-zaa, along with residential schools, resulted in the loss of language. As schools were built on the reserves, a lack of teachers due to the isolation as well as them being forbidden to write about the poverty and realities of colonial violence added to that loss.'''

External Links

References

Ridington, Robin and Jillian Ridington. 2006. When You Sing It Now, Just Like New: First Nations Poetics, Voices, and Representation. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

Ridington, Robin and Jillian Ridington. 2013. Where Happiness Dwells: A History of the Dane-zaa First Nations. Vancouver: UBC Press.

"Dane Wajich-Dane-zaa Stories and Songs-Dreamers and the Land"

What is Language Revitalization?

Revitalization is the act of bringing sleeping or endangered languages back into common use within the community.

this is my sandboxIrish Shelta

Shelta (/ʃɛltə/) is the language of Irish Travellers in Ireland, parts of Scotland, and the United Kingdom. In the linguistic community, it is known as Shelta, and widely known as the Cant. To native Irish speakers it is called Gammon.

It is considered a mixed language, seen from the apparent adding, dropping and altering of certain sounds or words from English and Irish.

(Irish Travellers article: ...finally succeeding in 2017.) As of 2016, there are 30,987 Travellers within Ireland, and this has led to them becoming recognized as a minority group in Ireland .

Travellers

(Irish Travellers article: ... "Acte against peddlers".) '''Travellers make up a minority group of Ireland who are nomadic. They have a metalwork culture that dates to pre-Celtic arrival. The identity of Irish Travellers resembles other nomadic communities, some aspects being self-employment, family networks, birth, marriage, and burial rituals, taboos and folklore. Because they worked with metal, Travellers had to travel throughout Ireland and work on making various items ranging from ornaments, jewelry, or horse harnesses to make a living. As a result, by 1175 they were referred to as “tinkler,” “tynkere,” or Tinkers as well as Gypsies all of which are derogative names to refer to their nomadic way of life .'''

History

(Irish Travellers article: ...no written records of its own) The exact history of Travellers is not known. '''Deeper documentation of Shelta and the Travellers dates to the 1830s, but knowledge of Irish Travellers has been seen from the 1100s, as well as the 1500s-1800s. Many decrees against begging in England were directed at Travellers, passed by King Edward VI around 1551. One such decree was the “Acte for tynckers and pedlers.” '''

(Irish Travellers article: ...start of Origin Theories section. Replace most of the current information with sandbox information) '''There are three main theories as to the origins of Travellers in Ireland. The first idea is that Travellers are descended from a community that lived in Ireland before the arrival of the Celts. Once Ireland was claimed as Celtic, this group was seen as lower class. A second idea is of them being distantly related to a Celtic group that invaded Ireland. The last theory is that an indigenous, nomadic, community of crafstmen are the ancestors of Travellers, and they never settled down like the Celts .'''

Etymology

(Shelta article: ...The Dictionary of Hiberno-English cites it as possibly a corruption of the word "Celt", Irish Travellers article: ...derived from pre-13th-century Gaelic idioms with ten percent Indian origin Romani language vocabulary.) '''Since Shelta is a mixture of English and Irish grammar, the etymology is not straightforward. The language is made up mostly of Irish lexicon, being classified as a grammar-lexicon language with the grammar being English-based .'''

Language

(Shelta article: at start of Lexicon portion): '''While Shelta is influenced by English grammar, it is also a mixture of Gaelic and Irish words as well. The word order itself is altered, with syllables reversed and many of the original words are Irish that have been altered or reversed.' For example, the Irish word “Cailin,” meaning “girl,” is changed to either lakin or lakeen'' in Shelta. (Shelta article: ...the word rodas "door" from Irish doras.) The word for “son” is changed from the Gaelic mac to the Shelta kam.  Slang words are also present. (Shelta article: ...not mutually intelligible with either English or Irish, out of design; languages of Ireland: ...a refusal by the Travellers to share with non-travellers, named "Buffers"; Irish Travellers article: ...300 years before the first Romani populations arrived in Ireland or Britain. ) Shelta is a secret language. Travellers do not like to share the language with outsiders, named “Buffers”, or non-travellers. When speaking Shelta in front of Buffers, Travellers will disguise the structure so as to make it seem like they aren't speaking Shelta at all. (Irish Travellers article: ...300 years before the first Romani populations arrived in Ireland or Britain; languages of Ireland article: ...aren't speaking Shelta at all.) There is fear that if outsiders know the entirety of the language, it will be used to bring further discrimination to the Traveller community .

Phonology

(Shelta article, insert whole sequence as there is no explanation) Shelta has 27 consonants and six vowels.

'''The consonants are /p, pʲ, b, bʲ, m, mʲ, w, t, tʲ, d, dʲ, n, nʲ, θ, ð, r, rʲ, l, ʎ, ʃ, t͡ʃ, y, k, kʲ, g, gʲ, χ/. Many words are complex by incorporating numerous consonants within, as in the word skraχo for “tree, bush’ with the consonant /χ/ being a hissing sound that is held in the back of the throat, and is held longer than other consonants .'''

'''Incidentally, there is not as much importance put on gender in Shelta. Plurals are shown with the English suffix /–s/ or /-i/, such as gloχ for “man” becomes gloχi for “men” .''' Grammar Societal Impact on the Shelta Community

(Irish Travellers article: ...to integrate Travellers into Irish society.) '''Because Travellers are a minority group within Ireland and the United Kingdom, they have always faced discrimination on the basis of their ethnicity as Travellers. They experience discrimination in not having equal access to education, being denied service in pubs, shops, and hotels, and being subject to derogatory language.'''

References