Indigenous Languages Information

September 20, 2007

This summer, the NC Agromedicine Institute funded a collaborative

outreach project with East Coast Migrant Head Start Project (ECMHSP)

and Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF). The SAF intern

interviewed parents and staff in order to determine which indigenous

languages are being spoken by families with children enrolled in

ECMHSP centers. In addition to making this determination, the intern

also made recommendations to ECMHSP staff regarding ways to improve

communications with indigenous language families. One of the

recommendations included accessing resources across the country that

can be of assistance with learning more about indigenous languages

and cultures as well as assisting with training materials and

interpretation. Below is the list of indigenous languages identified

in eastern NC (east of (I-95) as well as the resources. We hope that

you will find this information useful and that if you have any

resources to add to the list that you'll be sure to let us know!

Robin Tutor, MPH, OT/L

Education & Outreach Program Director

NC Agromedicine Institute

1157 VOA Site C Road

Greenville, NC 27834

252-744-1045

tutorr@...

The main indigenous languages reported by parents in ECMHSP centers

in eastern North Carolina were:

1. Mixteco, a tonal language most frequently spoken in the Mexican

states of Oaxaca, Puebla, and Guerrero. It is predicted that there

300,000 people worldwide who speak Mixteco, but the majority of

these speakers also have a working knowledge of Spanish. Mixteco is

mostly a verbal language, but a written form does exist.

2. Otomi, a tonal indigenous language most frequently spoken in the

Mexican states of Mexico, Puebla, Veracruz, Hidalgo, Queretaro, and

Tlaxcala by an ethnic group that refers to themselves as the

Hñähñu. It is estimated that there are 200,000-300,000 speakers,

and 5-6% of these speakers are monolingual.

3. Zapoteco, most frequently spoken in the Mexican states of

Oaxaca, Puebla, and Guerrero. There are about 500,000 speakers of

Zapoteco worldwide. It is predicted that there may be as many as 60

varieties of Zapoteco, and some of these varieties vary considerably

from each other.

4. Triqui, a tonal language most frequently spoken in the Mexican

state of Oaxaca. It is predicted that there are 14,981 speakers of

Triqui in Mexico alone. Triqui is considered a Mixtecan language,

and most who speak Triqui speak Mixteco as well. Men or children in

this community usually speak Spanish also, if they have completed

elementary school.

RESOURCES:

This section contains a number of organizations and other resources

that are currently working with indigenous populations.

National Models: The following organizations currently serve large

populations of Indigenous Language speakers. Some of their

techniques and practices might be applicable to ECMHSP.

1. Oregon Law Center: This organization, based in Woodburn,

Oregon, has 3 community outreach workers and a receptionist in their

office who speak indigenous languages (Mixteco Alto and Mixteco

Bajo).

They utilize the following strategies to communicate with clients

who speak indigenous languages:

1 Audio Materials: The Oregon Law Center puts important

information and scenarios on tapes and CDs in indigenous languages

for their clients

2 Radio: The employees at the Oregon Law Center who speak

indigenous languages create radio ads for local Spanish language

stations in indigenous languages. They also participate on 2-3

radio shows per month.

3 Presentations: They also do around 5 community presentations

per month for workers (some of which are done in indigenous

languages).

4 Identifying and training interpreters for indigenous

languages: They collaborate with the Oregon Judicial Department to

provide training to become court interpreters for people who speak

both an indigenous language and Spanish.

Contact Information:

230 W. St.

Woodburn, OR 97071

Samples juliesamps@...

(503) 981-0336

1-800-973-9003

2. Mayan Ministries: Organized through the Diocese of Palm Beach

in Florida, Maya Ministries works to address the needs of Mayan

immigrants to the area. These Mayan workers speak up to 25

different dialects of Mayan indigenous languages, but most can speak

Spanish as well. The organization's main services are literacy

programs for families, adult education programs, and early childhood

education programs for children who have English as a second

language. They also offer a variety of social services referrals

and translating specifically for Mayan immigrants. They have a

Literacy Program funded by the Department of Education that was

written in the Mayan indigenous language Canjobal.

Contact Information:

1615 Lake Ave.

P.O. Box 209

Lake Worth, Fl 33460-0209

General information: http://www.mayaministry.com

3. Western NC Workers Center: Located in ton, North

Carolina, the Western NC Workers Center is a non-profit group of

community organizers. This organization currently has a number of

outreach and education projects which work to uphold the rights of

immigrant and low wage employees in Western North Carolina. They

also work with high levels of Guatemalan immigrants who speak

indigenous languages. One of their projects designed to reach

indigenous language speakers is their Promotora Education project,

which uses scenario picture books without words to educate low

literacy populations about health and work safety.

Contact: Francisco

Risso

(828) 432-

5080

fjrisso@...

General Resources About Indigenous Languages:

1. www.ethnologue.com

This website, owned by SIL International, provides detailed

background information about less common languages. Many of the

indigenous languages have profiles.

2. Wikipedia also contains a variety of sites describing the basic

characteristics of each of the indigenous languages.

Language Aides (Dictionaries and Online Translators)

1. http://www.oberlin.edu/faculty/svolk/latinam.htm

This site provides online dictionaries in a variety of languages

under the section " Foreign Language Aides for Latin America and

Iberia " . Mixteco, Nahuatl, and Zapoteco are included in these

resources on the Word2Word site.

2. Mixtec-Spanish Online Dictionary http://aulex.ohui.net/es-mix/?

idioma=en Mixtec dictionary created by the SIL:

http://www.sil.org/mexico/mixteca/00i-mixteca.htm

3. Mam-Spanish Dictionary

http://www.cscd.osakau.ac.jp/user/rosaldo/Mam_Esp_DICC_COM.html

Organizations producing resources in or about Indigenous Languages:

1. AILLA: The Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America

http://www.ailla.utexas.org/site/welcome.html

This digital archive features a number of recordings and texts in

the indigenous languages of Latin America. Materials are available

in Mixteco, Mam, Nahuatl, Otomi, Triqui, Zapoteco, and many other

indigenous languages. These materials give information about the

cultures of these indigenous groups. Original works of literature

in indigenous languages are also published on this site. AILLA

works to preserve written forms of these languages, but it also

collects grammars, dictionaries, ethnographies, and research notes

that can be used as teaching materials. Most of the archive is

free and available to the public.

2. Oaxaca Language Preservation Center

http://www.literacyonline.org/Projects/explorer/oax_act.html

The Native Literacy Center in Oaxaca, Mexico was founded by a group

of professionals and native educators from Oaxaca to support

literacy projects for indigenous peoples. This center is involved

with preservation, helping indigenous peoples to write their

languages, print and publish individual works, write their

histories, and record their knowledge for future generations.

People come from Central and South America to this Center, where

they learn how to produce their own works. The center also works

with education, teaching indigenous peoples how to write their

languages so that they are able to produce their own works.

3. SIL

International

http://www.sil.org/

This faith-based organization works to document and study lesser-

known languages. It has developed a number of materials, ranging

from dictionaries to literature sources, in a wide variety of

languages.

4. Rosetta Stone

http://www.rosettastone.com/en/endangered-languages

Contact n Bittinger: mbittinger@...

Rosetta Stone is a software company which markets a variety of

language learning software. This company also has an Endangered

Languages Division, which creates software to preserve less

prevalent languages. The company currently does not have any

software available in the Indigenous Languages of Latin America but

is possibly interested in developing software with ECMHSP and its

parents who speak indigenous languages.

5. UCLA Language Materials

Project

http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/

The Language Materials Project works to provide a variety of

materials, such as dictionaries, phrasebooks, grammars, and cultural

materials. Currently, the website only provides materials in one

indigenous language (Nahuatl), but the project continually updates

the language profiles, so additional languages may be added at a

later date.

Organizations working to assist Indigenous Peoples:

1. Frente Indígena Oaxaqueño Binacional (FIOB)

http://www.fiob.org/indexenglish.html

The Oaxacan Indigenous Binational Front (FIOB) is a non-profit

organization based in California. It is a coalition of indigenous

organizations, communities, and individuals from Oaxaca, Baja

California and in the State of California. This organization works

to empower the indigenous peoples of Oaxaca and make sure that human

rights are upheld for these communities in both Mexico and the

United States.

2. Radio

Bilingüe

http://www.radiobilingue.org/archive/

Radio Bilingüe is a Spanish language network on public radio.

Although it is mostly California based, there are affiliate stations

in Carrboro, Asheville, and Greenville, North Carolina. There is

also a radio program broadcast in Mixteco called La Hora Mixteca.

Contact: Filemón López, Coordinator of La Hora Mixteca

lopez.f@...

(559) 455-5784

3. Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas

(CDI)

http://www.cdi.gob.mx/index.php?id_seccion=1

The CDI is an organization that was created in 2003 to ensure that

indigenous communities and people in Mexico have the rights

guaranteed to them by the Mexican Constitution. It collaborates

with state governments and federal dependencies to evaluate current

strategies and works to form new programs that will ensure equality

and fight against indigenous discrimination. It also works to help

indigenous peoples to improve their quality of life. Their website

includes a number of resources on indigenous areas of Mexico

including news stories (some of which are written in an indigenous

language), music, and research information on the indigenous

populations. There is also a section of basic information on the

indigenous languages of Mexico.

4. Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP)

The MICOP is an organization of English, Spanish, and indigenous

language speakers who are working to aid Oaxacan immigrants in

Ventura County, California. They mostly provide direct services.

The " Necessities of Life " program distributes clothing, diapers,

blankets, and other items to those in need. The organization also

has programs which provide food, resources for medical care,

education and literacy classes for adults, and weekly community

meetings.

Contact

info:

325 W. Channel Islands

Blvd.

Oxnard, California

93033

(805) 385-8662

5. Honoring Mixtec Families through Cultural Sensitive Practices:

This article contained in the Farmworker Health Services Fall 2007

newsletter provides simple strategies for providing culturally

sensitive services to Mixtec families as well as additional

resources for learning about Mixtec culture.

http://www.farmworkerhealth.org/docs/Fall2007OutReachNewsletter.pdf

Translating and Interpreting Organizations:

1. Frente Indígena Oaxaqueño Binacional (FIOB)

One of the FIOB's projects is the Mexican Indigenous Interpreters

Project, which trains and coordinates Mixteco and Zapoteco

interpreters for the state of California. Although the majority of

their services are in California, they have stated that the Migrant

Head Start Centers in North Carolina can contact them with

interpretation needs.

General information or Questions: fiob@...

List of interpreters available through FIOB:

http://www.laneta.apc.org/fiob/interpretes1.html

2. Language

Line

http://www.languageline.com

Language Line is a company which provides a number of interpretation

services. One of their services is over-the-phone interpretation in

Mixteco for $3.95 per minute.

General information or questions: 1-877-886-

3885 info@...

3. MEJ Personal Business Services Inc., Global Language Solutions

http://www.mejpbs.com/document_translation_nyc.php

M E J Personal Business Services, Inc. is an interpreting,

translation, and financial service based in New York City. They

provide Foreign Language Interpreting, Telephone interpreting, video

remote Interpreting, and Financial and Translation Services. Their

website specifies that they provide document translations in

Mixteco.

General information or a free quote: 866-557-5336

Other Resources:

1. Department of Pesticide Regulation: Provides Videos in Mixteco

about Pesticide Safety. Contact Charlene Martens at (916) 445-4261,

or by e- mail at cmartens@... to get copies or more

information

2. Cultural Sensitivity Training: FIOB has a good presentation

that they use to teach the general community about indigenous

cultures. This PowerPoint could be used to teach staff about

indigenous languages. http://www.fiob.org/indexenglish.html

3. " Isolated By Language: The Indigenous Oaxacans of Greenfield,

CA "

http://journalism.berkeley.edu/ngno/reports/language/index.html

The town of Greenfield, CA has a high population of indigenous

immigrants from Oaxaca, Mexico, many of whom speak little Spanish

and/or English. This website is a compilation of work done by

students from the UC-Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and

reports on what the town of Greenfield is doing to improve

communications and relations with these indigenous peoples

4. Less Commonly Taught Language

Project http://carla.acad.umn.edu/lctl/

The goal of this project is to create awareness about less common

languages. This website offers a database of less commonly taught

language classes, instructional materials, and other resources for

teaching these languages. There are some resources for Zapoteco,

Nahuatl, and Mayan indigenous languages.

5. Spanish Language Resources for Staff:

http://www.learn4good.com/languages/spanish_lessons/free_lessons.htm

This website offers some free online lessons which teach basic

Spanish concepts. More detailed and advanced lessons can be

purchased on CDs from the website.

http://www.studyspanish.com

Learn Spanish from Spanish Learning Resources provides hundreds of

free lessons and practice activities in the Spanish language. The

core curriculum includes pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and word

drills. The site provides quizzes, tests and oral exercises and a

virtual report card so students can see their progress.

6. Spanish Language Resource for the Parents: The Mexican

Consulate's Plaza Comunitaria is an education program which teaches

Spanish to Mexican citizens who may be illiterate in their own

language.

September 21, 2007

We appreciate Robin mentioning this resource. The JUSTA project at Wake Forest

University School of Medicine (Sara Quandt - PI) worked in collaboration with

Workers Center of Western NC to develop these materials as part of a

NIOSH-funded environmental justice project. These materials were not developed

specifically for Indigenous Language speakers, but for all low-literacy

communities. They include 3 flip chart presentations -- one on repetitive

motion injuries, one on falls, and another on financial scams. Each flip chart

is about 8 pages long and has scripts in Spanish and English to assist

promortoras in their presentations. We will be happy to share electronic files

with these flip charts.