NationStates Jolt Archive

...do you speak any Indigenous languages? Do any of you Australians speak an Aboriginal language? Do any of you Americans speak a Native American one? How many New Zealanders here speak Maori? Etc, for Canada (Aboriginals), Japan (Ainu), Sweden/Norway/Finland (Sami), and so on...

(Forgive my ignorance about most. I know quite a bit about Australian Aboriginals and about Maori, but my knowledge of other Indigenous peoples is, sadly, basic at best).

I'm taking Turkish classes (just started). Hopefully, I will be.

I am one of those 'indigenous minorities':) I'm Cree, and yes, I speak Plains Cree (the 'y' dialect). There are so many aboriginal languages in Canada...it's really quite incredible when you look at it. Most people tend not to (in my experience) speak any indigenous languages, and even many aboriginals are no longer fluent, simply because of the Canadian government's programs of assimiliation (no longer continued). However, many place names in Canada are from a native language, and some words do make their way into everyday speech.

I once knew a couple of words in Sami. But quite frankly, I didn't bother with memorizing them :D

I'm taking Turkish classes (just started). Hopefully, I will be.
Are you thinking of just minorities, or are Turks classed somehow as indigenous?

Other than the news in Sami, "Oddasat," on SVT, I have not come into contact with the Sami language.

Click here to see the news in Sami (http://svt.se/svt/road/Classic/shared/mediacenter/index.jsp?&d=22673) (Click any of the "Oddasat" links to the right). Very interesting language.

I am German and know no sorbian. If I lived in a region where it is spoken, I would be interested to learn it, but here, it has no use for me.

Does Essex count, most people speak a dialect from Jamaica:p

I speak... well, Irish. Techinally its a indigenous language and to a certain extent its an indigenous monority if taken alongside the Anglophones and English settlers' descendants.

Are you thinking of just minorities, or are Turks classed somehow as indigenous?
Oh, wait. I didn't catch the nuance...
Still, they are indigenous in Dobruja. It was colonized by Romanians at quite the same time as the Far West by Americans (by which I mean "White Americans"... and Blacks, and Asians).
Do they qualify? Or does an ethnic group have to have been there for ever (although, there is no "for ever")?

Most people tend not to (in my experience) speak any indigenous languages, and even many aboriginals are no longer fluent, simply because of the Canadian government's programs of assimiliation (no longer continued).

That's awful. The same happened in Australia, until the 1970s. :( Relatively few Australian Aboriginals still speak their people's language (there are an incredible number of Aboriginal languages in Australia, just like in Canada then), and hardly any non-Indigenous Australians do to my knowledge. In New Zealand, by contrast, Maori has (from what I know) being undergoing a revival these past few decades. My mother knew a Pakeha (non-Indigenous New Zealander) woman who spoke Maori fluently.

To people in countries with Indigenous minorities... ...do you speak any Indigenous languages?
I'm learning Kernewek (Cornish). Of course England doesn't have much of a Celtic population any more...

Other than the news in Sami, "Oddasat," on SVT, I have not come into contact with the Sami language.

Click here to see the news in Sami (http://svt.se/svt/road/Classic/shared/mediacenter/index.jsp?&d=22673) (Click any of the "Oddasat" links to the right). Very interesting language.

I imagine very few Sami live in the major population centres in Sweden (i.e., where most non-Sami live)? Would they all be up north and most of you down south? Or am I wrong?


Oh, wait. I didn't catch the nuance...
Still, they are indigenous in Dobruja. It was colonized by Romanians at quite the same time as the Far West by Americans (by which I mean "White Americans"... and Blacks, and Asians).
Do they qualify? Or does an ethnic group have to have been there for ever (although, there is no "for ever")?

"Indigenous" usually means they were there first. Hence the Maori are Indigenous to New Zealand although they've only been there for, at most, eleven centuries (and, at minimum, seven). Before that, there was no-one living in New Zealand at all.

I imagine very few Sami live in the major population centres in Sweden (i.e., where most non-Sami live)? Would they all be up north and most of you down south? Or am I wrong?
Pretty much, yeah. Though there are quite a few non-Sami living up north, there aren't very many Sami living further south.

I speak... well, Irish. Techinally its a indigenous language and to a certain extent its an indigenous monority if taken alongside the Anglophones and English settlers' descendants.
I would count any of the Gaelic dialects as indigenous...well, there are many dialects throughout Europe that would be minority dialects indigenous to the area...

"Indigenous" usually means they were there first. Hence the Maori are Indigenous to New Zealand although they've only been there for, at most, eleven centuries (and, at minimum, seven). Before that, there was no-one living in New Zealand at all.
Hm. But you see, no people that inhabeted Dobruja before the (roughly) 14th century still exist - in fact, it is arguable if you could extend the notion of ethnos to cover ares before that.
Compare: Maoris would not have been "a people", but several, lest for European infiltration, with a forecefull and arbitrary definition applied to them that turned into a self-designation (sure there was a generic term before that, but it ammounted to "them" calling themselves "people" - as in: "humans", "world-inhabitants"); the very same for Australian Aboriginals (they speak several languages and it mattered more that they were classified as "fauna", the uttermost case of European arogance). Also, I'm pretty sure that most - or all - "European aboriginals" are not, and cannot be, "first inhabitants" (someone mentioned the Sorbs, right? weren't there Huns, Gots, indefinite Slavs and Germans before those on the very same spot? - and Basques, and probably the Sami as well, live in lands once occupied by Neanderthals, apparently. There are some weirdos who say that Basques are descendants of Neanderthals, but... it's not necessary to point out the flaws in that theory).

Oh, wait. I didn't catch the nuance...
Still, they are indigenous in Dobruja. It was colonized by Romanians at quite the same time as the Far West by Americans (by which I mean "White Americans"... and Blacks, and Asians).
Do they qualify? Or does an ethnic group have to have been there for ever (although, there is no "for ever")?
Good questions. I mean, no one is truly the first First People...I guess you'd go with who was there the longest before the latest official colonisation (and I'm not including current immigration trends as colonisation). It's a bit tougher in the Old World to say who is indigenous and who is not...there is so much history of mixing and conquest and settlement there...it's easier to pick out the indigenous peoples in the New World. But even India and China have their own 'aboriginal' minorities...I don't think strict definitions are necessary really.

That's awful. The same happened in Australia, until the 1970s. :( Relatively few Australian Aboriginals still speak their people's language (there are an incredible number of Aboriginal languages in Australia, just like in Canada then), and hardly any non-Indigenous Australians do to my knowledge. In New Zealand, by contrast, Maori has (from what I know) being undergoing a revival these past few decades. My mother knew a Pakeha (non-Indigenous New Zealander) woman who spoke Maori fluently.
The strongest indigenous languages in Canada are the Inuit dialects, mainly because of where they live, they've avoided a lot of the assimilation that other groups have gone through. Their isolation has kept their culture strong, and although things are changing, and more non-aboriginals are moving into those territories (due to incredible mineral and petroleum wealth in those areas) I think they are strong enough now to whether any further encroachment. Cree is also pretty strong, again because many of our communities are bush communities...fly in, few outsiders. Plus Cree is spread out all accross the plains. Other language families are not so lucky, and many dialects have died out completely. There is more focus now on preserving indigenous languages, but for some, it is too late...too many of the elders have died and not enough people speak it as a first language any more...so much is lost that can never be regained.

Pretty much, yeah. Though there are quite a few non-Sami living up north, there aren't very many Sami living further south.

The thing is, Sami aren't superficially different from non-Sami. You can't spot a Sami on the street if (s)he's not wearing traditional clothing and/or speaking Sami, so it would be hard to tell how many live further south, as they would tend to be more assimilated in that sense.

I'm learning Maori.

The strongest indigenous languages in Canada are the Inuit dialects, mainly because of where they live, they've avoided a lot of the assimilation that other groups have gone through. Their isolation has kept their culture strong, and although things are changing, and more non-aboriginals are moving into those territories (due to incredible mineral and petroleum wealth in those areas) I think they are strong enough now to whether any further encroachment. Cree is also pretty strong, again because many of our communities are bush communities...fly in, few outsiders. Plus Cree is spread out all accross the plains. Other language families are not so lucky, and many dialects have died out completely. There is more focus now on preserving indigenous languages, but for some, it is too late...too many of the elders have died and not enough people speak it as a first language any more...so much is lost that can never be regained.

This is very similar to Australia. The more remote the aboriginal communities, the more likely they are to speak their own language first & English second. In the south-east of the country, where I live, many languages have died out because the orginal aboriginal nations have been completely displaced. It is still quite common for an aboriginal language to be spoken in the centre, north & west of Australia.

I know a few basic maori terms, numbers, colours, 'hello, how are you' etc, but I wouldn't be able to hold a conversation. I know what a few names around mean, 'Rua' is two, and 'roto' is lake, hence the town of Rotorua is next to two lakes.

This is very similar to Australia. The more remote the aboriginal communities, the more likely they are to speak their own language first & English second. In the south-east of the country, where I live, many languages have died out because the orginal aboriginal nations have been completely displaced. It is still quite common for an aboriginal language to be spoken in the centre, north & west of Australia. This is true. The genocidal policies of the early Australian government, coupled with the infamous "Stolen Generation" effectively destroyed most of the tribes who once existed. It is estimated that well over 300 entirely different dialects were around within Australia before the Europeans arrived. I think only about 40 languages still survive and the only Aboriginal groups who maintain any sense of cohesion are those who live in remote areas.

Unfortunately, due to the idiotic welfare programs enacted since the 70's, Aboriginals are classified as people living in 3rd-world conditions. There have been no work incentives, no education programs and no apology from the Australian Government. Nowadays, drug addiction, alchoholism and apathy have begun to truly rot even the remote tribes.

...do you speak any Indigenous languages? Do any of you Australians speak an Aboriginal language? Do any of you Americans speak a Native American one? How many New Zealanders here speak Maori? Etc, for Canada (Aboriginals), Japan (Ainu), Sweden/Norway/Finland (Sami), and so on...

(Forgive my ignorance about most. I know quite a bit about Australian Aboriginals and about Maori, but my knowledge of other Indigenous peoples is, sadly, basic at best).I must admit that I don't speak Sorb, but my University does offer classes...