Slide One: The Wampanoag language is the eponymous language of the people of Southeastern Massachusetts, the area that includes Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and the adjacent land. Prior to the arrival of the Pilgrims, the people had lived as far north as Cape Ann and throughout New England but were mostly wiped out by a yellow fever epidemic. After that English arrived, they began publishing Bibles in Wampanoag in order to hasten the conversion process. Through the 17th and 18th centuries, there were extensive written records in the language including both civil documents and stories about issues of the day, including conversions. This gives Wampanoag the largest written corpus of any native language in North America, something that has proven beneficial in reviving the language. The language would eventually be discouraged and the last fluent speaker died over a century ago.
Slide Two: There is a now a revival effort underway. Jessie Little Doe is a Wampanoag lady who had a dream about bringing the language back. She spearheaded an effort to bring back the language, working with Ken Hale and other linguistics at MIT. They used the old texts and pronunciation from other Algonquin languages. A program...
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