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Programme: accepted abstracts

Abstract ID: 213

Part of Session 142: Deconstructing the urban-rural dichotomy (Other abstracts in this session)

Ojibwe language revitalization, multimedia technology, and family language learning in urban contexts

Authors: King, Kendall Amy; Hermes, Mary Fong
Submitted by: King, Kendall Amy (Univ of Minn, United States of America)

Within the United States, there are fewer than 5,000 living speakers of Ojibwe, most of whom are elderly. Recent community activism and language revitalization efforts have given rise to a growing number of immersion schools and increased attention to the ways that new technology can support efforts to teach and renew endangered languages such as Ojibwe. However, most research on multimedia and learning endangered languages thus far has focused on individual, adults in contexts of higher education (e.g., Coronel-Molina, 2008). In contrast, the present research project examines how a recently released immersion software program, Ojibwemodaa, might support Ojibwe language revitalization among urban (non-reservation) Ojibwe families learning at home. Intentionally designed to revitalize Ojibwe as an everyday spoken register, this software uses unscripted video conversations as the basis for all language content.

Scholars and supporters of language revitalization have long pointed to the family as a critical domain for language transmission and regeneration (Fishman, 1991). Decades of research have indicated that school-based efforts --- while effective in teaching some vocabulary, grammatical structures --- alone do not promote use and transmission of the endangered language outside of school (e.g., King, Schilling-Estes, Fogle, Lou & Soukup, 2008).  Further, most Ojibwe speakers do not live in Native communities, but rather in urban centers, thus making home the crucial context for Ojibwe language learning and use.

In light of these challenges, given a software tool that attempts to re-create informal conversation, what is the potential for restoring productive speech in home use? Can urban families use this tool as a starting point to bring Ojibwe back into family routines? Is it possible that multimedia could replicate or spark usage events? To begin to answer these questions, this project analyzed data from eight families collected over a two-month period. Each family was visited weekly for language and technology-based observations (that is, using the software) and interviewed about their language learning and use; each family also self-recorded Ojibwe-language interactions and kept a language log. Findings suggest the range of ways in which families utilize the software productively as well as the challenges they face in using Ojibwe off-line in face-to-face home interactions. This presentation analyzes how technology-based language learning was incorporated into existing family dynamics, and was helpful in providing a starting point for learning and language use within established urban-rural extended networks.