Review of A world of indigenous languages: Politics, pedagogies and prospects for language reclamation Larkin, R. (2020, November 4). Review of A world of indigenous languages: Politics, pedagogies and prospects for language reclamation by T. L. McCarty, S. E. Nicholas, & G. Wigglesworth (Eds.). Education Review, 27. http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/er.v27.2943 November 4, 2020 ISSN 1094-5296 McCarty, T. L., Nicholas, S. E., & Wigglesworth, G. (Eds.). (2019). A world of indigenous languages: Politics, pedagogies and prospects for language reclamation. Multilingual Matters. Pp. 240 ISBN: 978-1-78892-306-4 Reviewed by Rickey Larkin University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa United States Indigenous language reclamation is a global struggle that requires a global view. A World of Indigenous Languages: Politics, Pedagogies and Prospects for Language Reclamation addresses this need by bringing together narratives on the subject from every inhabited continent into a coherent and systematic volume. Editors Teresa L. McCarty, Sheilah E. Nicholas, and Gillian Wigglesworth use these experiences to tell a collective story of hope, a story that offers examples of success in the field. This story is meant to be read by a wide audience, especially readers interested in indigenous language rights and education. The text is organized into three broad sections: Politics, Pedagogies, and Prospects, with the Pedagogies section making up the largest portion. The cover photo, depicting Hawaiian Kupuna (elder) Isaia Kealoha passing on their language to a new generation through teaching how to maintain a sweet potato farm, aptly captures the key idea of the book: reclamation. A term used throughout the text, reclamation 2 Education Review is “a paradigmatic covering concept” (p. 3), that emphasizes the decolonization act inherent in reclaiming one’s rights as an oppressed people. Other important terms in this text include resurgence, revival, revitalization, regeneration, and reversal of language shift. Resurgence refers to the social re-acknowledgement of the value of indigenous languages, and revival and revitalization encompass the efforts and activities done to establish new speakers in situations where there are no longer living speakers. Reversal of language shift is “the deliberate re-engineering of the social mechanisms and contexts that support language transmission” (p. 4). Each chapter in the volume is able to stand alone, so readers can skip to the sections that most interest them. Opening with a broad overview of the current state of the world’s indigenous languages, the introduction provides important historical context, and describes why reclamation is important, detailing issues surrounding the state, boarding schools, and language loss and using personal examples from various community leaders. For example, the incorporated statements by Myaamia Center’s Daryl Baldwin about his work in Miami outreach programs is a helpful starting point to discuss the importance of youth involvement in the reclamation movement. Mr. Baldwin raised his children using Myaamia in the home, an indigenous language that has become increasingly rare. This example illustrates the vital importance of generational transfer—that is, the passing down of knowledge, including language, from one generation to the next. The Politics section contains chapters that demonstrate different language policies and their impact on indigenous languages of an area. In her chapter on the history of identity for the Aboriginals in the Yukon, Canada, Barbara Meek analyzes the effects Canadian language policy had on the emergence of ethnolinguistic identities, and exhibits the importance of cultivating such identities. In a chapter on language policy in post-apartheid South Africa, Nkonko Kamwangamalu makes the case that in order to demolish existing hierarchies, language policy cannot be the sole tool used to transform society. These two outlooks show both the benefits, and the limitations of language policy, as well as showing how language policy can shift overtime due to changing attitudes regarding race and ethnicity. Thus, the reader is guided to examine alternative paths policy might take in regard to language reclamation. The Pedagogies section details teaching methods used by indigenous language teaching in New Zealand, Latin America, Australia, North America, and Finland. The chapter by Hermes and King shows success in transitioning adult Ojibwe learners from beginner to advanced speaking proficiency in under a year using a task-based language learning approach. Utilizing mostly online classes, the participants focused on ‘verb transitive animate’ paradigms. Nouns such as “bread (bakwezhigan), apple tree (mishiiminaatig), or frog (omagakii)” (p. 137) are ‘animate’ and require a special grammatical pattern. By focusing on this unique language variation in their lessons, the authors explain how participants were able to achieve an overall higher speaking proficiency. Further, the use of information technology is a substantial focus of the Pedagogies section. Olthuis and Gerstenberger describe the use of machine translation to help promote literacy in Saami through the development of tools such as spellcheckers, electronic dictionaries, and translation services. They conclude with a set of suggestions for future cooperation between researchers and language activists. These technology-oriented teaching resources provide a unique opportunity to reinvigorate language learning. Those interested in technology assisted language teaching should also read Serafin Coronel-Molina’s chapter on using media and technology to revitalize Latin American Review of A World of Indigenous Languages 3 Indigenous Languages. Coronel-Molina argues that extended social networks enabled by social media can be further utilized in the struggle for language reclamation, and that “it is necessary to take robust measures at every level” (p. 110) in order to successfully reclaim a language. Similarly, the chapter by Kral and Ellis, detailing the Ngaanyatjarra Lands region in the Western Desert of Australia, emphasizes an increased use of indigenous languages on social media. This is a critical argument, as a situation often seen as dire requires robust measures at every level. It has been argued that “language activists need to concentrate on the methods, materials, and motivation” of indigenous language education (Reyhner, 1999), and use of technology can easily fall under the materials and methods categories. In discussing the Prospects of language reclamation, the final section contributions focus on the perspectives of the Hopi in the United States, the Limbu indigenous peoples of Nepal, and the Nahuatl, or Mexicano, of Mexico. Each chapter here shares an emphasis on critical thought, participant self-awareness, and the struggle of the youth. This section appropriately focuses more on the coming generations than the rest of the book. For example, Prem Phyak reports that while neoliberalism is one two competing ideologies in the sociopolitical sphere of Nepal, the youth are confronting this power structure, pointing out flaws of a system in which “foreign employment has promoted individualism, the break-up of families, and other casualties of modernity,” one of those casualties being their culture’s native language (p. 208). The final chapter, written by Rosalva Mojica Lagunas, offers a worrisome claim that Mexicano speakers are unaware of the risks their language faces. This is mainly because there are still millions of speakers, making the danger of language loss seem far off. However, due to generational language shift the reality is new generations are not learning Mexicano as before, and instead focusing on Spanish. The emphasis this author puts on grandparents’ ability to pass down their culture is echoed throughout the previous chapters and offers a solution to maintaining Mexicano. The problems concerning language reclamation are real and immense, and this book offers a variety of ideas on how language reclamation might occur. With an aging population of indigenous language speakers and the difficulties of passing language onto the next generation, one might assume these problems are insurmountable; however, the contributions in this volume offer hope. Examples of successful teaching strategies, the majority of which involve technology such as social media and machine translation, are found in the Pedagogies section. Many of the youth mentioned share a common goal to “continue to seek meaningful participation in language policymaking processes” (p. 210). This is significant because it shows that, cross- culturally, the youth possess a renewed interest in language revitalization, which may lead to an increase in indigenous language acquisition in the coming generations. There are a few critiques. While the author and subject indexes are useful, a glossary of terms could benefit those new to the field. Considering the significance and urgency of political struggle for indigenous language representation in societal power structures – a language may be decimated within a generation – the Politics section (only two chapters) would have benefited from additional material. Such material could have focused on the topics of land and place. While language and culture are inseparable, so too is land as the “strong ecological tie between people and place mean that certain aspects of...culture and language are not easily adaptable in other places (Baldwin, 2018). For example, it has been shown that the decline of the Hawaiian language has had negative aspects on Native Hawaiian health, which can begin to be remedied through the use of a bilingual linguistic landscape (Townsend, 2014). While the establishment of a bilingual 4 Education Review linguistic landscape is applicable to Hawaiʻi, it may be less applicable to communities that have been forcefully removed from their historic homelands. More discussion could be helpful on how best to approach language reclamation in relationship to the specific intricacies of the environments where the work being done is taking place. Overall, this volume presents a strong collection of local voices embraced in a global struggle for indigenous language reclamation, and is filled with examples and strategies of success. While the Pedagogies section provides specific interest to language teachers, content/curriculum developers will also benefit from the abundance of technological tools for language learning. The text also underscores how despite the struggles, “the specter of language death” (Perley, 2011, p. 3) need not be perpetuated. Instead hope exists, as communities worldwide rediscover the inherent power of their collective voices. As Freire states, “To exist, humanly, is to name the world, to change it” (Freire & Ramos, 1970, p. 88). By reclaiming one's language, one is reclaiming the ability to name the world, and thus change it. References Baldwin, D. (2018) eehi nakaaniaki pimpaaliciki: Where the Old Ones have walked. aatotankiki Myaamiaki, 15(2), 6B. Available from https://miamination.com/sites/default/files/MTO- NEWS-2018-15.pdf Freire, P., & Ramos, M. B. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Continuum. Krauss, M. (1992). The world's languages in crisis. Language, 18(1), 1-42. Perley, B. C. (2011). Defying Maliseet language death: Emergent vitalities of language, culture, and identity in eastern Canada. University of Nebraska Press. Reyhner, J. (1999). Some basics of indigenous language revitalization. In J. Reyhner, G. Cantoni, R. N. St. Clair, & E. P. Yazzie (Eds.), Revitalizing Indigenous languages. Northern Arizona University. Available from http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jar/RIL_Intro.html Townsend, C. M. (2014). Impacts of Hawaiian language loss and promotion via the linguistic landscape [Doctoral dissertation, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa]. UH Mānoa ScholarSpace. About the Reviewer Rickey Larkin, is a first year PhD student in the Department of Second Language Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Prior to this, he earned his MA in Applied Linguistics at Ohio University and taught language courses in Taiwan, the Philippines, and the United States. During his undergraduate at Miami University he had the privilege of working with the Myaamia Center on their language reclamation project. Review of A World of Indigenous Languages 5 Education Review/Reseñas Educativas/Resenhas Educativas is supported by the Scholarly Communications Group at the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University. 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