Languages get "Breath of Life"

American Indian languages get 'Breath of Life'

An intensive five-day workshop at OU's Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History taught participants how to study and teach the linguistics of tribal languages

By James S. TyreeTracey Moore is a member of the Osage, Otoe-Missouria, Pawnee and Sac & Fox tribes who aims to help keep their disappearing languages alive by learning, speaking and teaching them.

She learned how recently during the Breath of Life workshop at the University of Oklahoma's Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.

The May 24-28 program taught participants how to conduct linguistic research on tribal languages, starting with archival materials at the museum.

The program is designed for people from tribes that lack fluent speakers of their language who want to help preserve the language for future generations.