Learning Mohawk Language (Kanien'kéha)

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Johann, Jun 13, 2017.

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  1. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

  2. CindaJohnson

    CindaJohnson member

    Good resources and information for learning Mohawk language. Mohawk is one of the most complicated languages to learn. Today, so many resources available to help you in learning this language in an easy way and becoming a fluent speaker.
     
  3. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  4. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Oh cool! Mr. Johann is going to love this! :smile: He has Mohawk in his family tree. oops, I didn't notice that Mr. Johann started the thread. Ay Abner! :)
     
  5. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    What is the band's name - Cayuga

    from the movie Ghost Dog. The dude plays a Cayuga, and he really is a Cayuga who has a band.

    What was his name? Or the bands name for that matter?
     
  6. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    That's Gary Farmer and the Troublemakers, Abner. And yes, he's a real Cayuga; his character's name was "Nobody." (I think we once mentioned him in another thread.) The Cayuga are another of the (Six) Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy -Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Tuscarora and Seneca. The Tuscarora were originally from the Carolinas; they spoke a language of the same family and were helped to re-settle by the other Iroquois tribes when their land was taken from them.

    Well, definitely Native in a couple of recent branches of my family tree (by marriage etc.) Not sure if any is Mohawk. (Some could easily be. Other is probably not.) Me personally - not a drop, unless they have Mohawks in England. My kids- yes, definitely some. However, I did take some Mohawk language lessons and right now I'm wearing a Clan totem (turtle) I bought on the Reserve about 30 years ago. That count? :smile:

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 18, 2017
  7. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  8. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Good to know. The professor is, as reported, "riding a wave." I believe there are presently about a million Nahuatl speakers in Mexico - and two million speakers of Mayan. Plenty of radio broadcasts etc. in both. There's even a Mayan-language telenovela (soap opera) called Baktun. (A baktun is a unit of time - 144,000 days in the Mayan Calendar.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baktun_(telenovela)

    Conversely - Mohawk has about 4,500 speakers. Cayuga only a few hundred. The Mohawk classes I attended were suspended when funding dried up, as money was only available for languages with less than 1,000 speakers. Cayuga was still offered, but I really wanted to continue Mohawk, so I didn't stick around. Of course, if they'd offered Nahuatl or Mayan, I'd have stayed -- but this was a long way away, in Iroquois territory.

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 19, 2017
  9. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    BTW - I first learned about the cultures of Nahuatl- and Maya-speaking peoples in Spanish class, in college (night school) back in the 80s. Our wonderful profesora was Mayan, on her mother's side. I firmly believe there is nothing like the study of language and music to bring people together.

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 19, 2017
  10. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    And yes, of course, Dr. Bear. Circle Dancing. Definitely. :smile:

    J.
     
  11. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 20, 2017
  12. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Hmmm, I had no idea. I had never heard of that on Spanish TV before. Very interesting.
     
  13. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 20, 2017
  14. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

  15. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

  16. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    So do I -- those wonderful evenings drinking mezcal, bouzoukis playing, Johann breaking plates and yelling "Opa!" Εκπληκτικός! (Wonderful!) I'm kidding, of course. :smile:

    We have some people of Nahuatl background here in frozen Canada. A few years ago, I had a part-time job. My boss was named Xochitl (flower). Nice lady. Rotten company. Not her fault.

    J.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 20, 2017
  17. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    "Para todo mal, mezcal, y para todo bien, también." :smile: (Old Oaxaca proverb.)

    J.
     

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