Flutes of fire : essays on California Indian languages

Book

Flutes of fire : essays on California Indian languages / Leanne Hinton.

Summary:

Before outsiders arrived, about 100 distinct Indian languages were spoken in California, many of them alive today. Each of these languages represents a unique way of understanding the world and expressing that understanding.

Flutes of Fire examines many different aspects of Indian languages: languages, such as Yana, in which men and women have markedly different ways of speaking; ingenious ways used in each language for counting. Hinton discusses how language can retain evidence of ancient migrations, and addresses what different groups are doing to keep languages alive and pass them down to the younger generations.

Record details

ISBN: 0930588622
ISBN: 9780930588625
Physical Description: 270 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm
Edition: 2nd print., rev.
Publisher: Berkeley, Calif. : Heyday Books, 1996, ©1994.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:: Includes bibliographical references (pages 259-264) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:: Introduction: The California mosaic. Living California Indian languages / by Leanne Hinton and Yolanda Montijo -- pt. 1: California languages at work and play : four portraits. Song : overcoming the language barrier ; Coyote talk ; Upriver, downriver : the vocabulary of direction ; Language and the structure of thought -- pt. 2: Language and history. Language families ; What language can tell us about history ; Native Californian names on the land ; History through the words brought to California by the Fort Ross Colony / by Robert Oswalt -- pt. 3: Words. California counting ; Specialized vocabulary in the languages of California ; "Slapping with the mouth" and other interesting words : ; Instrumental prefixes in Kashaya ; Men's and women's talk ; Songs without words -- pt. 4: Language and dominion. On the origin of California tribal names ; A pinenut by any other name ; Languages under attack / with Vera Mae Fredrickson ; The Native American Languages Act -- pt. 5: Keeping the languages alive. Ashes, ashes : John Peabody Harrington--then and now ; Writing systems ; Language action in California ; Rebuilding the fire -- Afterword: Linguists and the California languages -- Appendix: Reference guide to linguistic symbols.