Language for Peace Forum
indigenous languages
Language and Exclusion
At the Symposium for Language and Exclusion hosted at the United Nations Plaza in New York City on May 7 of this year, Fernand de Varennes delivered the keynote address, poignantly titled “Unfinished and Challenging Business: Language, Exclusion and Human Rights at the United Nations.” Varennes discussed in the address the sometime problematic nature of official … Continue reading
Learning indigenous languages in Japan to rebuild identity
For many indigenous people around the world, language learning as peacebuilding comes in the form of fighting to learn and keep one’s native language in the face of political, social and cultural oppression. In Okinawa, an island annexed by Japan in 1879, language is key to revitalizing Okinawan culture and identity. Continue reading
Speaking Our Language
This article entitled “Qanuippit?” on the Canadian Education Society website highlights the challenges and importance of choosing to speak one’s language even while learning English to access more opportunities. Inuktitut speakers had been forbidden in the past to speak their language in schools. Now, this teacher is committed to speaking their language with students. Connecting … Continue reading
