Musings on Native American language reclamation and sociolinguistics

Abstract

Sociolinguistic approaches to Native American languages are best conducted as part of a project of "language reclamation," argues Wesley Y. Leonard. He discusses how framings of Indigenous languages as "endangered," while in some ways well-intentioned, replicate the distance of language communities from scholarly research. An emphasis on reclamation - "efforts by Indigenous communities to claim the right to speak their heritage languages" - highlights the role of the community members in the production of knowledge on and the revival of Native American languages.