JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The Alaska House of Representatives has urged Gov. Bill Walker to declare a “linguistic emergency” to protect Alaska Native languages.
The House on Monday passed a resolution to the Senate calling for the governor to protect native languages, the Juneau Empire reported .
Independent state Rep. Dan Ortiz, the resolution’s sponsor, said he believes the emergency declaration is warranted “because of the predictions that many of Alaska’s languages will become extinct by the end of the century.”
“That’s unacceptable, and we should dedicate time and resources to make sure that does not happen,” Ortiz said.
The Alaska Native Languages Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks recognizes 20 distinct Alaska Native languages. One has no fluent speakers and another has only one who is over age 90. All of the languages are considered threatened.
Several lawmakers said that religious, governmental and other institutions suppressed Alaska Native languages during the 19th and 20th centuries, causing their decline in favor of English.
Ortiz said the resolution is a first step toward more concrete actions intended to halt and reverse the decline of Native languages in the state.
The resolution calls on the governor and Legislature to adopt “legislative and policy measures” to “prioritize the survival and continued use of Alaska Native languages.”
“Language loss is a loss of vital human experience and we should all feel that,” said Rep. Tiffany Zulkosky, a Democrat.
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Information from: Juneau (Alaska) Empire, http://www.juneauempire.com
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