The quote alone raises many alarms and if you are a speaker of the language, it raises the stakes of wanting to learn. In order to really get someone’s attention, we have to find ways to call for action, in this case, it’s a call that needs to shake the very core of those who are practicing the language, who speaking, praying, singing, or teaching the language, and its especially endearing for those who have great care for Diné Bizaad (‘Navajo Language’).
The quote in its current form, seems to be all too common as the years continue forward and language teaching and acquiring are at a standstill. The support, responsibilities, and blame can really go in many directions. In some sense, we can point at ourselves as individual learners and speakers. Yet, the time to change the mindset, attitudes, and ideologies of what can be done with our language.
It’s reasonable to to understand that support comes from family, knowledge that comes from our Shimasanii Bimasanii , understanding that comes from caring teachers and instructors (whether it be our parents or individuals we turn to), and most of all, positivity, optimism, and motivation that comes from the language speaking community – whether its on Diné Bikeyah or those in large urban populations.
That scope and network of where and how language can be supported maybe large and extensive. That same network is built into our Clan Systems to extend our family wherever we may roam. We like to think of where we are is rooted yet our stories and saying that home is always between the Four Sacred Mountains. If we have found opportunities beyond the Mountains, we’ve certainly built a life and enacting prayers long ago said by Shimasanii Bimasanii.
As a learner of Diné Bizaad, I find myself in the middle of these conversations. I have heard from the perspective of those we consider fluent speakers, and those like myself, are learners of Diné Bizaad. The stronger perspectives I hear from are those that are trying to gain understanding when they encounter the speakers.
It is slowly beginning to be a common theme when questions are posed:
- “What advice can you give to help us learn in our efforts?”
- “Why can’t you help us learn what you already know?”
- “Why don’t you just let us know everything?”
Those questions when critically thought about might have a great deal of answers and questions that could be skimmed, look over, or directed at the person asking. Both the question and answer can also be folded into each other when a speaker is giving direction, or even, advice that is well-meaning and given. All too often, the common answers might be that the language should be taught at home – there it must thrive. Yet, we live in a time where social and cultural dynamics may not make that as easy as we would like that answer to sound.
In order for language to truly thrive at home
Language Revitalization is an idea as much as anything presented forward like bilingualism or immersion. We have a huge population, even those that are considered fluent are more than some tribal populations altogether. Yet, their proficient speakers are little – not fluent – enough to remember how it sounded fluently like many of the tribes in Oklahoma.
I had a relative pose a question about why Diné Bizaad is not taught at the Navajo Technical University for free?
It makes sense, because they are a tribally located and Diné serving school.
As far as NTU is concerned, and from what I know, they are very short staffed in their language/linguistics department, the main linguistics person there is way up there in age. We have a lot of learners and proficient speakers who are learning as much as they can too. The process that many of us learning these concepts of linguistics is a matter of how to help folks improve their sound systems, that creates muscle memory and helps them adjust to the sounds that they will begin to make. That’s why everyone’s clan system sounds sharp if they rehearse it more than once a week.
I know Diné College likes to boast to everyone that SNBH lives at their school because they have all the Medicine people there and teaching. They had the immersion institute and the medicine man apprenticeship there too. Far too many younger folks are being pushed into STEM, Law, Health, and those don’t leave a lot of room for language or culture, many seem to think back on it or figuring out ways to inject into their field. The schools have a huge collection because that’s what academia did, they came to communities, asked and mapped out how and what sounds and sentences did what in the language. They never bothered to explain how or why they did it. That’s how some got fame and tenured track.
If the tribe had a sustainable economy and the tribal casinos were booming, we might have a situation like the O’odham – where they have free beginning and advanced courses for their tribal population, or even the Maori, who have so much going for them that they no longer consider their language in revitalization, as they are evolving it for future generations.
The thing about all that is going on, revolves around the mighty dollar. It says how and what way NTU and DC operates, and why language courses are not free at NTU or DC. Money is the reason that instructors are paid for their knowledge, kept on staff, paid to teach, and paid to feed the academia machine.
If that were to shift where capitalism of Diné knowledge is distributed in a way that makes language and culture available to Diné as learners and listeners, I’m sure the trend and shift towards providing knowledge would change the landscape entirely, but everyone feels the need to guard because of how long it may have taken some to gain it. That leaves many of us to recondition and re-adapt as much as we can.
Elders hear the frustration in younger speakers when they are teaching. That might be the reason stop because they don’t want to have their learners be in that state of mind. From that perspective, hopefully, we can understand how elders were taught in a far different manner and time too. Some were constantly exposed to the language and it was the means of survival. They had no influence and English was not a dominant language. We’re talking on much of this from a secondary learners and speakers perspective. As much as we want our elders to teach us, their experiences differ, and they just had to speak it.
If one could stop school and work to live in a sheep camp or live with our grandparents, then that would be the greatest way one can learn because at the root of it and wanting to be strongly tied and connected to our culture and language, you have to give up all these conveniences to live as our cheiis and nalis to preserve the language and culture for yourself, others, and the next generation.
Language is emphasized to be spoken at home, but what if Diné Bizaad is not spoken there? What if it’s just with grandparents and what if they don’t speak the language? We have elders who do not always use the language too as they want to be able to connect with their grandchildren too.
If many are serious about wanting to learn the language, to speak, to pray, to sing, and to preserve, then it can be done. One will have to let go of english, one will have to re-configure their sound systems so that they can learn the language. Beyond sound, our language bi grammar is complicated, especially if all we were ever exposed to was speaking and thinking in english, where do the action words go? How do we say it for not one but pluralize, what aspect or what sound is in to provide more accurate meaning. That’s where many are having the most difficult; building sentences/phrases, adjusting sounds, and providing accurate meaning.
Language attitudes and ideologies not only from our perspective as learners but from those who do speak our language fluently and practice culture easily, it’s not a simple generation answer this is undoing and untangling all the webs and braids that have led us to this point.
Our language and culture is not dying, because others have documented so much that its going into dormant. The thing about Diné Bizaad we have so many speakers in various age ranges that others envy how we’re doing it and look to us to lead that charge.
Diné Bizaad has to be the dominant language wherever we consider Diné space. What will we do to be a Amasanii, Acheii, Analii Asdzaan, or Anali Hastiin to make steps and measures to turn it all around? I do not see my education as a capitalization as I’m learning as much as anyone, but figuring out how to turn my process of understanding into a flickering light that so many can find in all that dark and cold we call life.