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This booklet is an introduction to the linguistic study of the Indigenous languages spoken in Canada. The following topics are covered: approaching the study of Indigenous languages from an informed and respectful perspective; the geographical distribution of Indigenous languages in Canada; some notable structural properties of Indigenous languages; the writing systems used for Indigenous languages; the effects of contact between Indigenous and non-Indigenous languages; the current vitality of Indigenous languages in Canada.

Much attention has been focused on the survival of Indigenous languages in recent years. Many, particularly anthropologists and linguists, anticipate the demise of the majority of Indigenous languages within this century and have called on the need to arrest the loss of languages. Opinions vary concerning the loss of language; some regard it as a hopeless cause, and others see language revitalization as a major responsibility of linguistics and kindred disciplines. To that end, this review explores efforts in language revitalization and documentation and the engagement with Indigenous peoples. It remains unclear why some attempts at language revitalization succeed, whereas others fail. What is clear is that the process is profoundly political.

AbstractMany of the 138 living languages in Malaysia are listed as endangered and some listed as vigorous are undergoing language shift. Most of these languages are shifting towards Malay, the national language, and to English, an international language. Since standard Malay is the language of instruction in the government schools, many indigenous parents are speaking Malay to their children with the hope of giving them a better start in school. People in a number of the indigenous minority groups in Sabah and Sarawak recognize that language shift is occurring and are taking steps to reverse it. In the past 15 years several of the indigenous minority groups have been engaged in language development projects and, as awareness grows, more groups are joining them. They have developed appropriate writing systems and produced linguistic papers to increase understanding of the vocabulary and grammar of their languages. They have also implemented early childhood education programmes with the intention of increasing the number of speakers of the languages, and raising their status. This article presents some of the methods, activities, successes and challenges that these groups have experienced in their language development projects while seeking to revitalize their vulnerable languages.

Drawing on evidence from indigenous language immersion programs in the United States, this article makes the case that these immersion programs are vital to healing the negative effects of colonialism and assimilationist schooling that have disrupted many indigenous homes and communities. It describes how these programs are furthering efforts to decolonize indigenous education and helping further United Nations policies supporting the rights of indigenous peoples. The fit between place-, community-, and culture-based education and immersion language programs is described with examples from Apache, Ojibwe, Diné (Navajo), Hawaiian, and Blackfeet language programs, illustrating how traditional indigenous values are infused into language programs to help build strong positive identities in indigenous students and their communities.

Pakistan is a multilingual state with 74 languages (Siddiqui, 2019), with Urdu being its national language while English is its official language (Article 251 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan). However, the linguistic diversity, as per the law, has not been given proper status in Pakistan (Rahman, 2002). In the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, the role of medical health professionals, local police officers, media persons and educationists to create an awareness about the precautionary measures to fight Covid-19 among the indigenous communities in different regions of Pakistan is important. However, there is no practice prescribed in the law, to disseminate awareness in the local languages. Moreover, as most of the lexical items regarding the pandemic have been borrowed, the shift to local languages is more than challenging. In urban areas, indigenous communities are aware of the precautions to be taken during this pandemic as they use the mainstream languages (Ali, 2017 & Abbasi, 2019.) However, in the rural and northern areas of Pakistan this is not so prevalent. Some language activists and concerned members of the community in different parts of the state took this opportunity to educate the masses and started an awareness campaign about coronavirus pandemic in local languages (posters in local languages and short video messages on social media and YouTube). Yet, linguists and community members have not been able to work with many indigenous languages, which Rahman (2004) lists in his study, and these speech communities urgently need the required information in their respective heritage languages. Such small steps by community members and NGOs in providing necessary information in local languages suggest that proper education in the mother tongue can protect communities in times like this. The government has to protect endangered and indigenous languages by an effective law-making process that actively encourages the use of local languages and helps provide information in their respective languages in such situations as this pandemic.

Pakistan is a multilingual state with 74 languages (Siddiqui, 2019), with Urdu being its national language while English is its official language (Article 251 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan). However, the linguistic diversity, as per the law, has not been given proper status in Pakistan (Rahman, 2002). In the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, the role of medical health professionals, local police officers, media persons and educationists to create an awareness about the precautionary measures to fight Covid-19 among the indigenous communities in different regions of Pakistan is important. However, there is no practice prescribed in the law, to disseminate awareness in the local languages. Moreover, as most of the lexical items regarding the pandemic have been borrowed, the shift to local languages is more than challenging. In urban areas, indigenous communities are aware of the precautions to be taken during this pandemic as they use the mainstream languages (Ali, 2017 & Abbasi, 2019.) However, in the rural and northern areas of Pakistan this is not so prevalent. Some language activists and concerned members of the community in different parts of the state took this opportunity to educate the masses and started an awareness campaign about coronavirus pandemic in local languages (posters in local languages and short video messages on social media and YouTube). Yet, linguists and community members have not been able to work with many indigenous languages, which Rahman (2004) lists in his study, and these speech communities urgently need the required information in their respective heritage languages. Such small steps by community members and NGOs in providing necessary information in local languages suggest that proper education in the mother tongue can protect communities in times like this. The government has to protect endangered and indigenous languages by an effective law-making process that actively encourages the use of local languages and helps provide information in their respective languages in such situations as this pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: LANGUAGE, STRUCTURE AND AGENCY: OPTIMISING MEDIA DIVERSITY IN AFRICA USING THE INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES -- INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY IN AFRICA / Abiodun Salawu -- INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE MEDIA AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN UGANDA / Monica B. Chibita -- ISIZULU LANGUAGE AND ILANGA NEWSPAPER AS CATALYSTS FOR PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY IN SOUTH AFRICA / Thabisile Buthelezi -- THE RETURN OF THE LOCAL: COMMUNITY RADIO AS DIALOGIC AND PARTICIPATORY / Brilliant Mhlanga -- TOWARDS EFFECTIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES IN NIGERIA: COMMUNITY MEDIA AS THE WAY FORWARD / Chima Onwukwe and Uzoma C. Okugo -- INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE BROADCASTING IN GHANA: RETROSPECT AND PROSPECT / Ufuoma Akpojivi and Modestus Fosu -- INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE RADIOS IN KENYA AND THE NEGOTIATION OF INTER-GROUP RELATIONS DURING CONFLICT PROCESSES / Philip Onguny -- MOBILISING NIGERIANS TOWARDS NATIONAL POPULATION CENSUS: THE ROLE OF INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE MEDIA / Sunday Oloruntola -- THE DYNAMICS OF LANGUAGE POLITICS IN RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION IN AFRICAN INDIGENOUS CHURCHES / Ijeweimen Solomon Ikhidero -- POVERTY, PROPHETS AND POLITICS: "MARXIST" DISCOURSES IN MALAWI MUSIC, 1994-2012 / John Lwanda -- List of figures