The study of endangered languages is highly indebted to the work of the late Kenneth Hale. Not only did Hale do pioneering work on understanding the structure of dozens of languages, he mentored many native speakers who subsequently made significant contributions to the linguistic study of their own language. Among the languages Hale worked on was the Athabaskan language Navajo, spoken in northern New Mexico and Arizona; he also trained several native speakers of Navajo to become accomplished linguists in their own right. His efforts with this one language have influenced work on languages from the entire family, which stretches from Navajo and Apache in the south to Slavey and Carrier in the north. All these languages exhibit a complexity that is not easily accounted for by current linguistic theory. The many ways in which the scientific study of these languages benefited from the attention of this extraordinary linguist will be explored.
This award will support a special session at the 2007 Athabaskan Languages Conference at Window Rock, AZ, and the first time this conference has met within the borders of the Navajo Nation. It will be hosted by the Navajo Language Academy (NLA) with additional support from Swarthmore College. The conference will broaden participation of underrepresented groups in scientific research and education by the inclusion of many native speakers of Athabaskan languages. Participants in the conference will include linguists at all stages of their careers (including graduate students), language teachers, and other members of the Navajo community. The conference will also benefit Athabaskan communities by bringing together language scholars and educators to share strategies to deal with common problems of language attrition. Papers from this session will appear in a special issue of the International Journal of American Linguistics. The conference is designed to eliminate boundaries between communities to strengthen the efforts of all.
