Linguicide Seminar Guide Linguicide and Legacy
Instructional Facilitation Guide • Undergraduate Anthropology/Linguistics
Teacher Resource
Learning Objective
Students will critique the concept of 'Linguicide' and analyze the socio-political factors driving language shifts within Indigenous North American communities.
Essential Questions
Can a language be "murdered," or is language death a natural evolutionary process?
How does the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis inform our understanding of the trauma associated with language loss?
What is the measurable link between linguistic retention and community public health?
Pacing
Hook / UN Context 10 min
Video Screening 15 min
Seminar Discussion 30 min
Written Reflection Flexible
Phase 1: The Hook (10 min)
Display the 1948 UN Convention on Genocide definition. Specifically, point out that the original draft included "Cultural Genocide," but it was removed from the final version.
"Genocide means any of the following acts... with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group..."
Seminar Launch Questions:
Does 'Linguicide' (the killing of a language) fit into the legal framework of genocide?
Is destroying a language fundamentally different from destroying a physical population?
Phase 2: Video Screening (15 min)
Screen: Native Languages & The Indian Education Act. Focus students on the transition from historical diversity to the "State of Emergency."
Note for 2:09
Discuss the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis . How does changing an apple from a "what" to a "who" (animacy) alter human-ecological relationships?
Note for 6:26
Contextualize the 2018 Alaska Declaration. Why use the word "Emergency"? What are the legislative implications?
Phase 3: Seminar Discussion (30 min)
Divide students into small groups using the Discussion Cards . Circulate and guide the discourse toward the intersection of linguistics and public health.
Challenge Prompt:
"Can culture survive without the language?"
Reference the video's claim that language loss correlates with suicide and poverty. Ask: Is this a causal link or a shared symptom of colonization?
Key Academic Terminology
Animacy Grammatical distinction between living/non-living.
Hózhó Navajo concept of harmony and balance.
Assimilation Forced absorption into dominant culture.
Sapir-Whorf Theory that language determines/shapes thought.
Tongue Ties Presentation HÓZHÓ LANGUAGE IDENTITY VOICE LEGACY CULTURE
Linguicide & Legacy
Undergraduate Seminar in Anthropological Linguistics
Phase 1: The Hook
The Definition of Genocide
"The deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation."
— UN Convention on Genocide, 1948
Discussion Point A
Can a language be "murdered"? Does the legal term "Genocide" require a physical body count?
Discussion Point B
If language is the "foundation of culture," is linguicide simply "cultural genocide" by another name?
Phase 2: Video Screening
Native Languages & The Indian Education Act
Viewing Focus
The transition from "diversity" to "emergency."
The mechanics of **animacy** in Potawatomi.
The legacy of **Federal Boarding Schools**.
Modern **revitalization** through tech and media.
"Our language and culture is the window through which we see the world. To lose it is to lose part of ourselves."
— Paul Desmain, Diné Elder
Embedded media
Phase 3: Seminar
The Foundation Challenge
"Language is the foundation of culture."
The Declaration
Why did Alaska declare a "Linguistic Emergency" in 2018?
Public Health
Discuss the link between language loss and suicide rates.
Survival
Can an identity exist if the language that birthed it is gone?
Phase 4: Synthesis
Reflection Paper
Prompt: The Ethics of Mono-Linguism
Analyze the history of "English-only" policies in the United States. Compare the coercive policies of the 19th-century boarding schools with modern social/economic pressures for linguistic homogeneity.
Length: 750 - 1,000 words
Focus Questions:
Is modern English-only sentiment a continuation of "Linguicide"?
What is the cost of economic assimilation?
How do we measure linguistic agency?
Identity Echoes Journal Reflection Journal
Linguicide and Legacy • Unit Reflection
Student:
Date:
Part 1
Screening Notes
Capture specific evidence from the Crash Course video regarding the shift from "Historical Diversity" to "State of Emergency."
Mechanisms of Linguicide (Boarding Schools)
Signs of Revitalization (Modern Efforts)
Part 2
Semantic Worldview
Consider the Potawatomi example of animacy (apple as "who"). How does this grammatical structure reflect a socio-political relationship with the environment?
Part 3
English-Only Ethics
Essay Prompt:
Critique the historical shift from the physical enforcement of "English-only" (boarding schools) to the modern economic and social coercion that encourages linguistic homogeneity. Does the term "Linguicide" still apply to the voluntary abandonment of heritage languages for economic mobility?
Thesis Idea
Historical Evidence
Modern Counterpoint
Synthesizing Reflection:
Linguistic Shift Discussion Cards DISCUSSION CARD 01
The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
The video highlights that many Indigenous languages use animacy (e.g., calling an apple "who" instead of "it").
Prompt:
How does the grammatical "killing" of animacy in translated English alter a community's relationship with the land? Is it possible to maintain Indigenous ecology without the language that defines it?
DISCUSSION CARD 02
Defining 'Linguicide'
The video defines Linguicide as the "deliberate killing of language as part of a broader effort to erase Native culture."
Prompt:
Critique the choice of the suffix "-cide." Does using this term elevate language loss to the status of a human rights violation, or does it dilute the gravity of physical genocide?
DISCUSSION CARD 03
The 2018 Emergency
Reference the Alaska Governor's 2018 declaration of a "Linguistic Emergency."
Prompt:
How does the switch from "historic preservation" to "emergency response" change the socio-political leverage of Indigenous activists? What specific resources does an "emergency" unlock?
DISCUSSION CARD 04
Language & Public Health
Indigenous communities with higher rates of language retention report lower rates of suicide and better academic outcomes.
Prompt:
The video suggests language is "the window through which we see ourselves." Discuss the psychological impact of seeing oneself through a "colonized window" (a dominant language).
DISCUSSION CARD 05
Revitalization vs. Relic
The video shows Star Wars dubbed in Navajo and the game "Never Alone."
Prompt:
Is the digitization of heritage languages a form of revitalization, or a form of museumification? Does playing a game in Iñupiaq replace the social context needed for a "living" language?
DISCUSSION CARD 06
Institutional Trauma
Consider the quote: "Grandma, I don't understand you."
Prompt:
Discuss the intergenerational severance caused by boarding schools. How do you rebuild a linguistic bridge once the "elder-to-youth" transmission link has been physically broken for 100+ years?
