Virtual Lunch and Learn: Indigenous Languages of the Southeastern United States
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USC-Lancaster Native American Studies Center 119 South Main Street, Lancaster, South Carolina 29720
Around 25 million people are native speakers of the more than 800 surviving Amerind languages. Most of these speakers live in Central and South America, where language use is vigorous. In Canada and the United States, only about half a million native speakers of an Amerindian tongue remain.
Before European contact, the American Southeast had a tremendous diversity of languages. In South Carolina alone, at least 26 languages of four different language families (Algic, Iroquoian, Muskogean, and Siouan) were spoken. Within 500 years, diseases, wars, migrations, voluntary and forced displacements had all but wiped out many spoken languages. Because of the great resilience of Native peoples, language revival and revitalization efforts continue to this day. This lecture will explore the changing landscapes of Native American Languages of the Southeast from the past to the present and beyond.
To register, send your email to usclnasp@mailbox.sc.edu and the Native American Studies Center will respond with the meeting ID and password required to join the program.