June Book Recommendation
By Tavi Lorelle Carpenter
Summer is here! And while some may think of reading as an indoor activity on a cold rainy day, there’s nothing like sitting in the sun with a cool drink and a great read!
For this month, I am sharing a Heyday book that celebrates and deeply reflects on the language revitalization and reclamation processes. This book shares stories from families dedicated to reviving languages ranging from Mohawk to Yuchi to Karuk to Scottish Gaelic, to many more.
I’ve always found linguistics very intimidating, as so many terms and concepts are genuinely challenging to understand; I would almost feel like I was back in my high school physics class. I take my hat off to those of you who navigate the world of linguistics and language learning with ease.
However, I think quite a few people, like me, find language learning more of a challenge. That does not mean anyone who takes a little longer to learn should become discouraged.
Bringing Our Languages Home: Language Revitalization for Families edited by Leanne Hinton is a worthwhile edition to anyone’s reading list who is interested in language revitalization and reclamation. It’s easy to call this book practical as it offers tangible wisdom, but I would also include the word encouragement. With autobiographical accounts of language revitalization from around the world and a How-To Guide for Parents written by Leanne Hinton, this is a book that acknowledges the challenges surrounding language revitalization while offering insight into how to approach obstacles through the lived experiences of those who’ve been through similar challenges.
Bringing Our Languages Home offers a contemporary and accessible approach to language learning by highlighting the struggles, successes, and emotions that come with cultural revitalization, particularly regarding language learning. In a linguistic class I took in college that focused on the methodology of language revitalization, what often felt missing (keeping me at a distance) was the lack of acknowledgment of the emotions that come with reclaiming one’s ancestral language(s). The narratives shared by the authors cover various topics, feelings, and personal experiences that help ground the process of language learning, particularly for more endangered languages, in a place that feels more accessible. It isn’t an academic journey but one of connection, communication, and responsibility.
That is not to say that I walked away thinking that learning my ancestral languages would be an easy journey. Instead, it felt like each author was encouraging readers not to be daunted but to keep going.
This book is geared towards parents and families looking to bring their ancestral languages into their homes and considers various fluency levels. However, that does not mean the advice, wisdom, experiences, and approaches do not apply to those in different circumstances.
While reading the last section, it struck me that the bottom line of language learning is that it is about community. There certainly is something to be said about the personal significance of speaking one’s ancestral language. The few words I know of my ancestral languages are precious and loved in my heart; repeating those few words or hearing others speak them brings strong emotions. But language is far greater than a personal endeavor; it is a means by which we connect and share our world.
Staying determined is one of the most potent takeaways. In the How-To Guide at the end of the book, Leanne reminds readers that language learning must be worked at, practiced, encouraged, and nurtured. There is always a path for a language to awaken. There may be bumps and stumbles along the way. But always, for the determined learner, there will be a way.
And as this book illustrates, there are many ways to learn.
If you are interested in reading Bringing Our Languages Home: Language Revitalization for Families edited and with a How-to Guide for Parents by Leanne Hinton, visit: https://www.heydaybooks.com/catalog/bringing-our-languages-home-language-revitalization-for-families/.
