Language Revitalization on the Web: Technologies and Ideologies among the Northern Arapaho

Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/fq977v17b

Abstract

This thesis explores the language ideologies of the Arapaho language and online Algonquian language learning resources to determine the most successful way to further develop the Arapaho Language Project and assist revitalization of Arapaho. The observations of Arapaho language instructions on the Wind River Indian Reservation show that Arapaho language ideologies may be harmful to language revitalization. In particular, because of reification and commodification, Arapaho indexes authority, identity, and social status all of which prevent learners from speaking Arapaho. Further, my examination of the Algonquian web resources shows that similar indices can be avoided using CALL procedures, whereas the survey regarding the Arapaho Language Project points to common difficulties in the website accessibility. The development of the Arapaho Language Project depends on accounting for language ideologies and is argued to bridge the gap between the language and the community by providing contemporary contexts for language use.

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