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It is estimated there were approximately 300 American Indian languages in existence prior to European contact; by the end of the 20thcentury only 169 languages remain and according to the American Communities survey only 20 languages can claim 2,000 speakers.[1]Language loss continues to be one of the most critical issues indigenous communities are forced to contend with today. The academic and community-based response to combat this issue is widely acknowledged as the indigenous language revitalization movement. With UNESCO having named 2019 the International Year of Indigenous Languages, the indigenous language revitalization movement only serves to grow stronger and increase headway in the journey to awaken sleeping languages. The objective of this LibGuide is to aid users in their search for information on American Indian language revitalization. The scope of this LibGuide is limited to sources and efforts that pertain to American Indian communities such as challenges and evaluations of language loss, programs and impacts, and resources that support language revitalization efforts.
[1]"Native American Languages." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th Ed. 2018. Accessed October 17, 2018. https://www.encyclopedia.com/literature-and-arts/language-linguistics-and-literary-terms/language-and-linguistics/native.
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