Re: World Lingos

"SMITH,MARCUS ANTHONY" wrote:

> On Mon, 28 Aug 2000, Thomas R. Wier wrote:
>
> > > Perhaps we can say that languages with a substantial literary
> > > tradition are more readily revivld.  Revival of hiterhto unwritten
> > > languages is not unheard of either: Menominee, e.g.
> >
> > But surely Menominee was not entirely extinct, right?
>
> Lowest count I've ever read for it was 7 speakers, back in the late 70s.
> I had assumed it was dead by now, but I guess that isn't the case?
That is, FWIW, about what the Ethnologue says:

    MENOMINI (MENOMINEE) [MEZ] 8 speakers out of 3,500 population
    (1977 SIL). Northeastern Wisconsin, on what was formerly the Menomini
    Reservation. Algic, Algonquian, Central. Only elderly speakers are left.
    Grammar. Nearly extinct.

If you just think about the state of most Native languages in the US, you
would not assume from that data that it would have much life left in it.  But
there've been considerable efforts over the last two decades to save these
languages, so who knows.  I assume John is right.

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Tom Wier   |     "Cogito ergo sum, sed credo ergo ero."
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