LLC has remodeled its online store with a new look. Besides the usual availability of Lakhótiya Wóglaka Po! Speak Lakota! books and audio CDs for Levels 1-3, we have new posters from Level 3 for sale, the Matȟó Waúŋšila Thiwáhe DVD and the 2nd Edition of the New Lakota Dictionary. Coming in early 2012 is Vol. 2 Children's Songs, the print version of the Teacher’s and the Caregiver’s Guide for Matȟó Waúŋšila Thiwáhe, a 230-page comb-boundbook that contains the full episode scripts and discussion questions in Lakota.
We also expect to release a new Lakota Font and Keyboard CD, Version 2.0 in 2012. A smart-phone App that hooks into the online Dictionary is in the works and looks good for a 2012 release. The Level 4 Audio CD and Teachers’ Guide will both be published in 2012 as well, and a Level 4 question set will be added to our pre- and post-testing system.
Projects we’re working on in 2012 for fruition in 2013 and beyond are many and varied – many surprise are yet in store! The Level 5 textbook will be in development throughout 2012 for publication at the end of the year.
For those who have been looking for an online college-level Lakota language course, USD LLEAP instructor Armik Mirzayan is developing an intensive class on Lakota structure and grammar, which will be offered through the University of South Dakota, beginning in 2012. This will be a fantastic opportunity for serious language students to get deep into the subject, as a foundation for sustained fluency. Because this is will be an online course without face-to-face interaction, students should have another means of practicing conversation. Check the USD Continuing Education – Online Courses page . Registration is now and the eight -week class begins in January 2012. Look for LAKL 104.
Speaking of intensive grammar, LLC’s applied linguists are tantalized by the long-range goal of producing a Pedagogical Grammar for Lakota – similar to the English Composition and Grammar book that is a standard reference for high school English teachers. This Grammar will be designed for teachers and advanced students; it is envisioned as a crucial reference work for language learning, alongside the New Lakota Dictionary.
Language learners will also be happy to hear that the New Lakota Dictionary-Online (NLD-O) audio component is rapidly being put in place. This feature will allow NLD-O users to hear the Lakota words and phrases they search out and have translated from English, spoken in clear, correct Lakota.
Clear and correct will also be the high standards set for an upcoming “Audio Textbook,” a CD of conversational Lakota that will be a standalone product separate from the K-12 sequence. Finally!
Looking Ahead
When we can glance up from the work right in front of us, LLC staff and Board get excited about the future. Next year, a group of native Maori will come to the Lakota Summer Institute to tell their stories of language learning and cultural recovery. The Level 4 textbook will be fully introduced to teachers and test-class students at LSI. Production on Rising Voices/Hótȟaŋiŋpi will continue, and move out of research and development into the principal production phase. LLC will welcome Standing Rock pharmacist Travis Condon to the Board of Directors. Besides working hard for the health of his community in Standing Rock, Travis played “Farmer Ben” in Matȟó Waúŋšila Thiwáhe.
What else can we say? The Lakota language revival is strong, and well on its way to creating a new generation of speakers! |
