Louise Erdrich Endangered Language Summary

Report on language extinction

Louise Erdrich is a critically acclaimed Native American genre writer. Biographical research from the Harper Collins Publisher’s website (2018, January 1) cites Edrich is an accomplished author of fifteen novels, volumes of poetry, children’s books, short stories, and a memoir of early motherhood. Additionally as the website continues to explain, Erdrich is an acclaimed author, having received many awards for her work; The Round House won the National Book Award for Fiction, The Plague of Doves won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), Love Medicine won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her biography continues to note her accolades which also include the Library of

The English are partly to blame for her lack of cultural language awareness through their nearly successful eradication attempts of the Native language in the early 1900’s. It was shocking to me to read that as recently as the 1960’s, Native people were still being severely punished for speaking their indigenous language, as stated in Anthony C. Woodbury’s online article, What Is an Endangered Language? Picturing this population of people being forced to ignore or denounce their inherent culture is heartbreaking to me. Erdrich's passion for her native language reminds me of my husband's love for his native Patois. While my husband grew up speaking proper English, as is taught to all Jamaican students in school, he spoke a more relaxed slang, Patois, at home. When we were first married, I tried my best to replicate his accent and cadence when speaking, but I was usually met with laughter. After a few rounds of laughter from the people I was trying so desperately to impress, I stopped trying. I am happy that Erdrich did not receive the same negative feedback as I did for that may have stopped her love affair with her native tongue. As a result of my negative experiences, my children know even less Patois than I do. I hardly speak Patois for fear of being ridiculed by Jamaican friends and family when I do. My husband has taught our sons some words and phrases but they mostly know the curse words my husband resorts to when he is stressed out over his job. These are not the words I wish my sons to remember about their father’s cultural language. A person’s heritage and culture should be honored and cherished. I wish for my son’s the same passion and respect that Erdrich had for her Native Ojibwemowin. She enlightened me to the fact that just as her grandfather could have been the last in her family to speak the Ojibwe language, my sons may be the last in their family to speak their father’s Native