Speaker: Ofelia Zepeda (The University of Arizona)
Title: The Varied Roles of Native American/Indigenous Linguists
Time: Friday, April 7th, 3:30pm – 5pm
Abstract: In the late 20th Century, a small handful of Native Americans who were speakers of their language were taken under the wing by a few established non-Native linguists with the intent to introduce them to linguistics and train them in the field so that they might become linguists working on their own language or related fields. This presentation will provide a review of the modern and short history of these Native American/Indigenous linguists. The presentation will then elaborate on the newest and upcoming group of Native American/Indigenous linguists and how some of them were called, designate, propelled or chose to go into linguistics primarily due to the dramatic and devastating impact of language endangerment and language loss in their communities. Having worked with some of these students I find that they know that they can find themselves in seemingly insurmountable situations in this field and within their communities. These students persevere understanding that skills in linguistics is one of the important tools in their efforts in language reclamation.