Language Preservation: It’s not enough to know what to do; you have to know why…

 

Countless Native languages have been lost forever, and 45 percent of those still in existence are spoken by only a few elders.* When these elders pass on, they will take not only the language, but the culture, the values, and the society that forms the essence of Native people.

It is imperative that language preservation begin today in order to safeguard the past, present, and future for our young people.

 Language preservation is more than rote learning or archiving data.  It is the story of lives, the day to day rememberings of childhoods, and lessons from the elders.  It is a common history waiting to be re-discovered.  It is, as expressed in so many Native languages, the “ears that see so the mind understands and the spirit is satisfied.”

Deer Star Productions is taking the lead in expanding the goal of language preservation to include numerous technologies to capture the “why” of who we are before all opportunity is lost.  Focusing on Native youth, Deer Star has developed programs that appeal to young people and, through proven learning curriculum, are effective.

Deer Star Productions maintains recording, restoration, and production facilities in Alcoa, Tennessee, and our studios use state-of-the-art digital and analog equipment to assist you with all your language preservation needs and goals.  We offer on-site and remote recording equipment rentals and are available to travel to your location.  Post production services include restoration and audio cleanup, K through 12 lesson plans as well as post-graduate certification of teachers.

In addition, Deer Star offers on-line game creation to incorporate the language as an integral component to game play.  This approach captures the interest and attention of many of our youth and has the immediate capacity to reach them in unique ways.  Our game creation strategy includes the opportunity for native speakers to be on-line and interact with the other players from an administrative standpoint.  This allows our native speakers to influence and direct the game play to teach lessons and create virtual experiences not otherwise possible.

Deer Star Productions is a pioneer in distance learning technology and is uniquely qualified to help support your current and future language preservation efforts.  

 

 

*Data from MIT Linguistic Study: http://web.mit.edu/linguistics/mitili/language%20loss.html

I’m based in New York and currently work at GTX Studio. I also shoot a lot of portraiture as well as assignments for agencies.