Doctoral student Mariann Skahan (University of New Mexico), under the supervision of Dr. Les Field, will undertake research on the bearing of Jicarilla Apache language ideologies on current efforts to revitalize the Jicarilla language. The study will examine how past and present practices and notions of communicative competence have shaped language use.
This research focuses on language biographies of Jicarilla Apache language advocates, supplemented by information obtained in structured and semi-structured interviews, participant observation, sociolinguistic analysis of interactions, and archival research. The researcher's goal is to produce an account of the social and cultural vicissitudes of a Native American language that has gone from being a language in daily basis to one experiencing marked linguistic shift. This methodological and theoretical framework will provide the context to answer questions related to: 1) What is the relationship between language socialization experiences of Jicarilla Apache men and women and their attitude towards language revitalization; 2) What is the impact of the earlier Jicarilla Apache revitalization programs on former language students who are now adults; and 3) How do differing sects of Jicarilla Apache men and women define language competency and proficiency?
This project will help social scientists to theorize the effects of social framing on language revitalization programs by examining language shift in the personal histories of tribal community members. This research also will give voice to qualities of discursive performance and forms of agency and authorship by members of minority speech communities that are otherwise difficult to recognize. This research supports the education of a social scientist.
This project centers upon an investigation of Jicarilla Apache language ideologies and their bearing on current efforts to revitalize the Jicarilla language. It investigates how local practices and notions of communicative competence in past and present day settings have shaped language use during the lifetime of Jicarilla men and women who are regarded as language advocates. This research examines the relationship between language socialization experiences of language advocates including teachers, tribal officials, educational policy makers, and elders, and the bearing of their personal histories on current tribal language revival initiatives. Additionally, it examines how heritage language experiences of novice speakers today are shaped by current language revival efforts. This research addresses the following questions: What is the relationship between language socialization experiences of Jicarilla Apache men and women and their attitude towards language revitalization?; What was the impact of the earlier Jicarilla Apache revitalization programs on former language students who are now adults?; and How do differing sects of Jicarilla Apache men and women define language competency and proficiency? In order to address these research questions, data was elicited from the following subgroups of community members: Jicarilla Apache Tribal Government Officials; Jicarilla Apache educators and teachers; and parents, grandparents, caretakers, and retired language advocates. At the time of this report, this project was in the data analysis stage and therefore, the findings are preliminary. However, there have been several interesting patterns that have emerged. One prevalent theme derived from fieldwork is the relationship between the Jicarilla Apaches' former role as culture brokers prior to reservation status (1887) and the modern-day value of multilingualism. The value of multilingualism differs from other tribal communities in the Southwest, particularly with other New Mexico tribal communities. This may be due to the fact that prior to reservation settlement, the Southern Athabaskan sects that are now known as the Jicarilla Apache Nation, spoke several distinct, but mutually understandable dialects. Additionally, Jicarilla Apaches played a role as itinerate traders and cultural brokers in a diverse region that linked Puebloan, Southern Plains, and Hispanic communities. Their role as cultural brokers gave need to Jicarilla Apache community members to learn other languages. It is argued that because of their history, currently, Jicarilla Apache community members place continued value on multilingualism, and do not in general blame the use of English as the central factor for the demise of speaking Apache on a quotidian base. This view of language revival is in contrast with the established views of heritage language revival goals and objectives found in the literature. Other themes being examined are the influence of religious upbringing on Jicarilla Apache advocates' goals for language revival and the generational differences and notions of language learning in teaching heritage language between the first group of language teachers (who taught between the 1970s-1980s) and those teaching today.
