Using computers for reversing language shift : ethical and pragmatic implications from a Wasco case study
Indigenous languages worldwide are rapidly disappearing, forced out of use by the spread of dominant Western culture and its languages. On the Warm Springs reservation of Oregon, the Culture and Heritage department, the tribal agency in charge of language preservation, is offering instruction in all...
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| Other Authors: | |
| Language: | en_US |
| Published: |
2012
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| Subjects: |
Wasco language
> Oregon
> Warm Springs Indian Reservation
> Computer-assisted instruction
> Case studies
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/32282 |
| Summary: | Indigenous languages worldwide are rapidly disappearing, forced out of
use by the spread of dominant Western culture and its languages. On the Warm
Springs reservation of Oregon, the Culture and Heritage department, the tribal
agency in charge of language preservation, is offering instruction in all three
languages of the reservation: Wasco, Sahaptin and Northern Paiute. Most of the
class offerings target the children of the tribes. In an effort to stimulate their
interest, Culture and Heritage has considered creating language learning computer
games. During a ten-week internship with Culture and Heritage in the spring of
1999, I did preliminary research for a Wasco computer game. Using participant
observation and informal interviews with children, elders and Warm Springs
Elementary School teachers, I developed a possible structure and scenario for a
game centered on traditional subsistence activities. I also identified obstacles to
the realization of language computer games, such as lack of technological
resources in Warm Springs, and elders' resistance to computers. Results and
recommendations were issued in a public meeting in Warm Springs and presented
in a report. This thesis is a case study exploring in greater depth issues that arose
during my internship, like the politics of anthropological fieldwork on
reservations, and issues related to the Wasco computer game project, such as the
pragmatics of language preservation and the role of computers in reversing
language shift. On the latter, it was found that the introduction of computers tends
to disrupt traditional hierarchies and patterns for the transmission of knowledge.
In view of the cultural, financial and logistic costs, the benefits of Computer
Assisted Language Learning for the preservation of severely endangered
languages are uncertain at best. === Graduation date: 2002 |
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