In a linguistics laboratory, Marsheena John of the Coyote-Pass Clan studies the science of language. Using books as microscopes and her culture as a lab coat, John delves into the language passed onto her by her grandfather. The language: Navajo. The laboratory: the University of New Mexico’s Department of Linguistics.
Photo: Marsheena John
Members of the Navajo Language Program Committee recently voted to give John the Robert Young Scholarship, which supports students who are engaged in the study of Native American linguistics. Fostering the Navajo language and furthering education are values, John said, imbued to her by her grandfather.
“Growing up in the midst of bilingual educators I always thought I was going to be a bilingual teacher but I had my own interests, which were in the health science field,” John said. “Becoming a speech and language pathologist could enable me to make use of both my language and my interest in health sciences.”
Recently adapted into a minor, UNM’s 36-year-old Navajo Language Program offers opportunities to students from small communities within the Navajo Nation, such as John’s hometown Tsaile, Ariz. The program accommodates students aspiring to obtain one of the many degrees offered at UNM according to Nancy Montoya, Department Administrator, Department of Linguistics. It also allows students from two-year institutions, such as Dine College and San Juan College, to continue onto a four-year degree at UNM, she said.
“While enrollment by members of Native American groups is on the rise, it is still quite low,” Montoya said. “Many of these students have access, at best, only to junior college-level institutions in their areas. Hopefully, programs like this will help attract more of these students who would like to further their educations.”
In August, John and several other Navajo students spoke to the Indian Affairs Committee of the State Legislature about the importance of the Navajo Language Program and its future expansion. This coincided with the Department of Linguistics’ proposal to the State Legislature seeking support to expand the program. The proposal is one of the top 2007 State Legislative Priorities.
“This will serve the Navajo community and ensure that Navajo remains a vital language, actively learned by members of that community,” Montoya said.
The scholarship achieved by John was in honor of past UNM Professor Dr. Robert W. Young, a key figure in the support and promotion of sustaining the Navajo language, Montoya said. He is the co-author of a dictionary of the Navajo language – a thick, blue book that John remembers flipping through during her youth.
Posted by scarr at December 18, 2006 04:55 PM