User:Emmawiddifield/Blackfoot language

Blackfoot Lullabies Revitalization Project

Efforts were made to revitalize the Blackfoot language in 2007, when a Native Blackfoot speaker and a linguist came together to uncover various Blackfoot lullabies and use them as tools for language learning. They interviewed native speakers to ask if they could remember lullabies of their language, and if they could they were asked to sing them. The authors (Mizuki Miyashita and Crow Shoe), were able to uncover five lullabies, and these songs were recorded. They then transcribed the songs and extracted meaningful words and phrases from them. Finally, the songs were recorded and put on CDs with the intent to use them in educational settings. The authors argue that these lullabies will be useful tools for children and adults to use when learning the language because singing enhances brain activity, due to the left and right hemisphere of the brain being used while singing. Because of this, languages can be learned and remembered more effectively through the use of songs. They also argue that songs bring an essential element of fun to language learning.