Laura Bliss Spaan sends news of a new Eyak Language Workshop scheduled for the next two weekends in Anchorage. Since the passing of Marie Smith in 2008, Eyak has become a "sleeping" language with no fluent Native speakers. This workshop will thus be the first effort in Alaska to focus on revitalization of a sleeping language.
Workshops will be held on the weekends of June 4 and 5 and June 11 and 12 in the Reynolds Classroom at the Anchorage Museum. All sessions run from 1 to 5 p.m. The public is welcome. All workshops are free.
The complete press release follows.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Laura Bliss Spaan • Project Director (907) 272-3878 • eyaklanguageproject@gmail.com
First Eyak Language Workshops Set for June
The first endangered Alaska language to lose its last native-born speaker is about to get a second chance. A series of innovative workshops will launch this weekend at the Anchorage Museum to take revitalization efforts to the next level.
Guillaume Leduey, a 22-year old from France who taught himself how to speak the language, is back in Alaska to lead the sessions. He is being joined by Roy Mitchell, a sociolinguist from UAA, who has developed immersion workshops for a number of Alaska Native languages.
This is the first time there’s ever been an opportunity or attempt to begin teaching Eyak systematically. Techniques such as Total Physical Response (TPR) and Accelerated Second Language Acquisition (ASLA) have been highly effective in helping new speakers learn a lot about their language in a short time.
Project Director Laura Bliss Spaan says the goal is to give learners the confidence and tools they need to bring their language back into their daily lives. Followup video lessons will be posted the project’s website so new speakers can continue to learn at their own pace.
Eyak Language Workshops will be held on the weekends of June 4 and 5 and June 11 and 12 in the Reynolds Classroom at the Anchorage Museum. All sessions run from 1 to 5 p.m. The public is welcome. All workshops are free. Participants are asked to RSVP by going to the Eyak Language Project Website or by emailing:
http://sites.google.com/site/eyaklanguageproject/
eyaklanguageproject@gmail.com
About the Eyak Language Revitalization Project
The project is a grassroots, community effort to bring back Eyak as a living, spoken language. The Eyak Preservation Council, a non-profit based out of Cordova, is spearheading the organizational effort to find long-term funding for the project. To date, the revitalization efforts have been supported with donations and grants from the Alaska Humanities Forum, The Eyak Corporation and the Chugach Heritage Foundation.
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