Material Anchors in Language Learning

Abstract

Language-learning materials are cognitive technologies that aim to facilitate the complex cognitive task of acquiring the means for effective communication in a second language. Blackfoot and Plains Cree are two closely related Indigenous languages spoken in Canada and the United States. Both languages are now rarely learned by children, but both have growing language teaching traditions. As polysynthetic agglutinating languages, Blackfoot and Plains Cree pose a challenge for speakers of English, due to the typological distance between Germanic and Algonquian languages. Developing language-learning materials to overcome this challenge constitutes an important step in ensuring language sustainability. Cognitive Anthropology and Cognitive Linguistics offer theoretical frameworks for the study of language-learning materials as cognitive technologies. This study examines the Plains Cree Syllabary chart as a cognitive tool for acquiring a new writing system. On this basis, a new chart is developed that supports the learning of Blackfoot grammatical structure.