California hosts exceptional linguistic diversity, yet faces rapid extinction of its 98 native languages—17 with only 1–5 speakers remaining and 45 completely dormant. This proposal evaluates two distinct strategies for language preservation: implementing bilingual education programs in schools serving federally recognized tribes, and pursuing alternative community-based revitalization projects. The paper examines the advantages, implementation challenges, and potential risks of each approach in the context of California Proposition 227 restrictions, community willingness, and educational capacity. A detailed cost-benefit analysis supports recommending the community-centered approach as more feasible and beneficial for long-term language revitalization while minimizing social controversy and fiscal burden.
While America as a whole is always considered to be a region with great linguistic diversity, this tendency of diversification reaches its climax in California. However, though California is famous for being one of the most linguistically diverse places in the world, it faces a rapid loss of its rich native languages. Currently, while none of the 98 languages originally spoken in California is used as daily communication among youth, 17 languages have only one to five speakers, 36 are spoken only by elderly speakers, and 45 have no fluent speakers and have fully died out. In this context, it is estimated that all Native American languages in California will disappear by 2050 (Hinton 83). By then, the cultural diversity, which is the most marked characteristic of California, will disappear together with the loss of the rich heritage of indigenous languages.
The original purpose of this proposal is to allow the government to reach agreement with the California Indian Council, which demands bilingual education programs for Native American Indians in California. Through this agreement, the government will be permitted further exploration of oil reserves located in the territory of Native American Indians. However, the two detailed approaches presented serve also as practical ways to save the languages of Native American Indians and to enhance the image of government with reasonable budget. This proposal includes detailed evaluation for selection and reasonable arguments prepared for negotiation, with a personal recommendation offered at the conclusion.
This approach, which fits the request of the California Indian Council, can perfectly satisfy the Indian tribes and minimize bargaining time while maximizing the possibility of reaching agreement. By this means, the government can access future exploration of oil reserves faster.
In this approach, Native American Indians and their languages will enjoy significantly enhanced status through bilingual education. As a result, the relationship between the California government and the Native American Indian tribes will be promoted. More importantly, the image of the government will improve as well.
Several major problems must be addressed when implementing this approach. First, California's Proposition 227, passed on June 2, 1998, requires that all non-English-speaking or LEP (Limited English Proficient) students be taught English through immersion classes rather than transitional bilingual education. Bilingual education in California is now not permitted unless language-minority parents request a waiver and request bilingual education under specific conditions (Felton 847).
A second critical factor is the willingness of Native American Indians and schools to participate. As Holstein notes, success depends on "the interest and support in the community for having a bilingually educated population." Research indicates that bilingual education is not always supported by language-minority parents. Many Native American Indian parents may be unwilling to send their children to bilingual education programs. As noted in "The California Bilingual Education Initiative," many parents consider "the only way for their children to succeed and move beyond jobs in garment factories and as street vendors is to learn English."
Schools' cooperation is equally important. In the US and California, the decentralized nature of education allows schools significant authority to implement state policy, creating potential difficulties. Given unequal academic resources and funding across California schools, schools may be unwilling to implement bilingual education programs for Native American Indians.
To address these challenges, the following framework is proposed:
Schools within Federally Recognized Tribes of California can request priority for bilingual education of English and Native American Indian language, submitting detailed implementation proposals that include the following:
Once the proposal is passed and the budget plan is evaluated, the government will provide appropriate funding for the school to develop bilingual education.
Although major problems are considered in designing this implementation plan, several potential risks remain. First, other minority language groups may feel unfair treatment and request bilingual education as well. Although the government can argue that Native American Indian languages are unique and require preservation under the Native American Languages Act of 1990, the social pressure and controversy will be difficult to manage.
Second, implementation is challenging because most Native American languages are not standardized. Considerable funds and effort will be needed to create academic materials. Additionally, since most Native American languages are spoken by small populations, hiring qualified teachers will be difficult.
This approach avoids the constraints of State Proposition 227 and the social pressure associated with selective bilingual programs, allowing for more flexible design to fit the goal of Native American Indian language revitalization.
Implementation aims at language revitalization as a long-term process. As Leap suggests in "American Indian Language Maintenance," the process includes "the community's recognition of the language problem, the community's decision to take action, as well as the action taken by the community to resolve the problem" (211). Projects focus on these three components:
The greatest threat of this approach is that Native American Indians may not agree to it, since it does not fulfill their immediate request for bilingual education in schools. To increase acceptance, the following arguments are offered:
First, offering bilingual education may have negative effects on Native American Indian students. Many linguists identify subtractive bilingualism—negative effects of exposure to two languages—as a risk when the Native American Indian language is not valued by majority English speakers with whom children interact daily. Children may develop negative attitudes toward the native language and reject learning it. Remaining native speakers of Native American Indian languages report that they consciously chose not to teach their children their native language to protect them from discrimination and abuse in school (Hinton 86). Without appropriate societal support, bilingual education may cause students to become semi-lingual, failing to reach proficiency in either language.
Second, practical writing systems must be developed before implementing bilingual education. When children attempt to learn a second language (L2) before acquiring adequate proficiency in their first language (L1), subtractive bilingualism results. Since most Native American Indian languages are not standardized, children will struggle to achieve native-level mastery of the native language, likely resulting in semi-lingualism.
"Policy recommendation favoring community approach over schools"
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