While all languages use shape to classify unfamiliar objects, some languages as diverse as Mandarin, Thai, Japanese, Mohawk, and American Sign Language lexicalize these and other types of description as noun classifiers. Classification does not develop from a fixed set of features in the object, but is discourse-sensitive and invoked when it would…

The curriculum guide on the Coast Miwok Indians includes an overview of the goals and objectives of social studies education and how they are used in an anthropologically based Native American social studies curriculum. The guide provides an educational rationale for using Native American curricula in the social studies program based on current…

A brief overview of the status of language use in Native American communities reveals that while approximately 206 different languages and language dialects persist today, an estimated 49 languages have fewer than 10 speakers aged 50 or over, while 6 of these languages have more than 10,000 speakers of all generations. That these languages persist…

This compilation contains the following research reports on child language: (1) "Nouns: Love 'Em or Leave 'Em" by Dianne Horgan; (2) "Logic in Early Child Language" by Roy D. Pea; and (3) "Theories of the Child's Acquisition of Syntax: A Look at Rare Events and at Necessary, Catalytic, and Irrelevant Components of…

This reader is intended for use in a bilingual education settinq and is geared towards students who are competent speakers of Gwitch'in Athabaskan with knowledge of the writing system. The third in a series of six booklets, it presents three mythical accounts of Athabaskan life at the time of first contact: "The Caribou and the…

This reader is intended for use in a bilingual education setting and is geared towards students who are competent speakers of Gwitch'in Athabaskan with knowledge of the writing system. The last in a series of six booklets, it presents two ethnographic accounts of Athabaskan life at time of first contact: "Fort Yukon" and "Ducks in…

This reader is intended for use in a bilingual education setting and is geared towards students who are competent speakers of Gwitch'in Athabaskan with knowledge of the writing system. The fifth in a series of six booklets, it presents two mythic and ethnographic accounts of Athabaskan life at time of first contact: "The Moose Among the…

In collaboration with native speakers, linguists at Mary College in 1973 established the North Dakota Indian Language Studies Program, which has provided native language instruction in three reservation elementary schools, prepared teaching and learning materials, and trained teachers in native language pedagogy. The program was initiated to…

A survey is presented of the Blackfeet language that is used in the Browning area of Montana. The purpose of the survey is to determine the extent to which the language is spoken and passed on at home, and the degree of interest in the language among the young people. The results are presented along with comments where appropriate. Generally, it…

One in a series introducing students to Southeast Alaska Native languages, this booklet presents simple dialogues in Haida with English translations following. The eight dialogues, consisting of three or four questions with replies, provide practice with a variety of basic sentence patterns. Dialogues include social greetings and questions about…

One in a series introducing students to Southeast Alaska Native languages, this booklet presents simple dialogues in Tsimshian with English translations following. The eight dialogues, consisting of three or four questions with replies, provide practice with a variety of basic sentence patterns. Dialogues include social greetings and questions…

One in a series introducing students to Southeast Alaska Native languages, this booklet presents simple dialogues in Tlingit with English translations following. The 14 dialogues, consisting of 4 responses each, provide practice with a variety of basic sentence patterns. Dialogues include social greetings and questions about name, age, and tribal…

Interviews with 108 Navajo children from bilingual first grade classes on Navajo reservations were recorded. Analysis of the interviews focused on phonological, grammatical, and lexical features that show a systematic variation within the speech of individuals or between individuals. Variable features were compared with background factors such as…

This elementary Inupiat reader is intended for use in a bilingual education setting. Each page of text is illustrated with pen-and-ink drawings. (AMH)

This elementary reader in Inupiat-Kivalina is intended for use in a bilingual education setting. Each page of text is illustrated with pen-and-ink drawings. (AMH)