Navajo version of Rosetta Stone

Navajo language software hits the market

By Alysa LandryRosetta Stone, creator of the renowned language learning software, on Tuesday released its Navajo version, the first large-scale language revitalization project for the dialect.

Navajo, traditionally an oral language, still is spoken by more than 100,000 people, making it the most common American Indian language north of Mexico.

Yet use and fluency among the younger generations is on a decline with about 50 percent of Navajo age 17 and younger unable to speak their native language at all, according to data from the 2000 U.S. Census.

The software is the result of thousands of hours of work and hundreds of volunteers who provided expertise, photos, audio recordings and cultural support to the project.Rosetta Stone Endangered Language Program Releases Navajo Language Software

Language-Learning Provider Helps Promote Native American Language Use among Younger GenerationsRosetta Stone Inc., a leading provider of technology-based language learning solutions, announced today the release of the Navajo-language version of Rosetta Stone(R) software for use by Navajo in language revitalization. Though Navajo is the most-spoken Native American language north of Mexico (still spoken by more than 100,000 people), its use and fluency among younger generations is in dramatic decline. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 50 percent of Navajo ages 17 and under were able to speak their native language at all in 2000. Rosetta Stone Navajo software will be available for use in Navajo Nation schools, homes and chapter houses in an effort to help reverse this decline.

"We're excited that the Rosetta Stone Endangered Language Program can play a role in encouraging younger generations to use the Navajo language," said Marion Bittinger, manager of the Endangered Language Program. "We're optimistic our work with indigenous groups will be a step toward reversing the tide of global language extinction."Comment:  For more on the subject, see Rosetta Stone Releases Chitimacha Language and Software for Learning Navajo.