Perspectives on language materials for dormant and endangered language communities in North America and Northern Europe

• In Event: Plenary: Indigenous and Baltic Crossroads

Abstract

This presentation describes the development of language materials for communities whose languages are no longer used in daily interaction. Such communities are found around the world, but this talk focuses on communities in North America (Yuki — spoken in Mendocino County in Northern California) and Northern Europe (Lutsi, Livonian — spoken in Latvia) with which the author has worked. The materials he has developed for Yuki and Lutsi rely on archived documentation and show two different paths for creating such materials. The author’s Yuki reference grammar is a work created for linguists but also for Yuki descendants. It describes the sounds and structures of the Yuki language so that they are understandable to specialists and non-specialists alike, while also including extensive narratives, which previously had only been available as difficult-to-read handwritten notes in archives. His recent textbook on Lutsi language, history, and culture provides a guide to this little-known aspect of the linguistic and cultural heritage of Latgale. Finally, some comments will also be made about the work being done by the University of Latvia Livonian Institute to create language materials for Livonian, which is highly endangered but still spoken by a small number of people in Latvia.

Author

• Uldis Balodis, University of Latvia