The Age: New chapter for ancient songbook

In New chapter for ancient songbook, Andrew Bock writes about The Song Peoples Sessions, a project to produce both archival material, and commercial releases of traditional and contemporary indigenous Australian musicians.

The article claims that "This is the first project to help contemporary indigenous musicians learn traditional language and record music with song people from their own families", and relates the stories of some of the musicians involved.

Languages mentioned: Yanyuwa, Warumungu

The Economist on the Berber Spring

In Springtime for them too?, The Economist reports on the "Berber renaissance taking place across north Africa", alongside the Arab Spring.

The article notes that "Moroccan Berber" has recently been recognised by the Government there. Ethnologue lists Five Berber languages spoken in Morocco: Ghomara, Tamazight (Central Atlas), Tachelhit, Senhaja de Srair, and Tachawit



It includes a short history of written Berber:

A written script for the various Berber dialects was created only in the 20th century. Algeria’s Kabyles, a Berber people said to number 4m, have usually preferred the Latin alphabet, whereas a Tuareg alphabet, called Tifinagh, is now officially used in Morocco and has been adopted by Libyan Berbers who were banned from using it under the colonel. (The Tuareg are nomadic Berber pastoralists living mainly in southern Algeria, eastern Mali and western Niger.)

Although, in the most part, it speaks of Berber Languages as a group, Tamazight is mentioned by name, referred to as: "Tamazight, the Berber tongue". In context, that phrase could be interpreted as having an implied "... spoken in Libya", but a casual reading might assume it is the Berber language. Although not identified as languages, the Tuareg and Kabyle people are also mentioned.

Crikey Reposts a Paradisec post.

In Deeply depressing news from the North – the slow death of bilingualism in remote Northern Territory schools, Bob Gosford reports on a post by Jane Simpson on the Endangered Langauges and Cultures blog, bringing the issue to a broader audience

Gosford states (about Simpson and her post):

She knows what she is talking about, so when she writes in such dramatic terms we should all sit back and listen.

ABC Reports on Indigenous translation of National Anthem

In Kutju Australia, our land is girt by red dust
, ABC reports on a new translation of the Australian National Anthem into Loritja Pintupi.

The translation was undertaken by "politician Alison Anderson and musician Ted Egan", "to increase awareness about the language of Australia's first people."

The article claims that it is the first translation in to an indigenous Australian language.

FastCompany reports on LiveAndTell

LiveAndTell, A Crowdsourced Quest To Save Native American Languages

FastCompany reports on the LiveAndTell Project. Originally set up "as an efficient, easy-to-use way to pass the Lakota Sioux language (and others) from older generations to younger ones", with a goal of "just lowering the barriers and the costs for everybody"; and described in the article as " an attempt to preserve endangered indigenous dialects such as Lakota and Ho Chunk"

The author comments that although there is plenty of learning material available in Spanish, French or German, "For Native American languages, there's a scarcity of learning materials,”. The article contrasts the organic, crowdsourcing nature of LiveAndTell with the scientific approach of Rosetta Stone.


Other projects mentioned in the article:

• Livemocha
• Rosetta Project
• Rosetta Stone Endangered Langueages Project

Al-Jazeera on Libyan Berbers

Al-Jazeera English reports on Amazigh speakers in Libya.



Although the language appears not to be endangered (Ethnologue reports the language to have at least 2,540,000 speakers in Algeria, and it isn't included on the UNESCO list, notably, ehtnologue does not list any speakers in Libya); this clip describes attempts by the Libyan Government to stamp it out, and a new radio station, newspaper, and school class in the language. All coming into existence since the recent uprising.

Breath of Life Project

In: UTA helps Native Americans learn to save own languages, The
Arlington Star Telegram Reports on the Breath of Life Program.

The program is "a joint effort by experts from the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Oklahoma -- in which linguists mentor American Indians so they can better recover endangered languages."

According to the article, members of the Osage, Otoe and Natchez communities took part in the first workshop.

The project is modelled after a project of the same name at Berkeley