Language and Identity
Advanced English
Fall 1999
Tokyo International University of America

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Worksheet for
"Words from the Heart" (Oregonian, June 28, 1998)
Due Monday, November 1, 1999

Last name __________________ First name _________

For English practice, answer the questions below in short paragraphs and in your best English. Each answer should summarize all the key information in the article that relates to the question. If you wish, you can type the information on another page and attach it. Use several appositives in your answers.

1. Why is "time running out" with regard to the preservation of American Indian languages? ("Time running out" is an idiom meaning "there is only a short time left -- to do something". Example: "Time is running out; I must do my presentation in 30 minutes!")

2. According the article, how is identity in mainstream American society different than the identity perceived by some Native Americans in the United States?

3. Why are many world languages "dying"?

4. About how many Native American languages are still spoken to children in the United States and what is the possible future of these languages?

5. Summarize the ways Native American languages are being preserved.

6. In your opinion, when a language is "lost", what is really lost and by whom? Does it matter?

7. Are there situations in Japan in which indigenous languages are becoming extinct?

8. Do you have other comments or questions?