Ep. 2.1 - An Teanga: The Tongue

About 40,000 people speak the Irish language; 200 speak Eastern Band Cherokee. Both languages are considered endangered in their homeland. 

 

In this episode, Dr. Ben Frey of the Eastern Band Cherokee Nation and Dr. Misha Becker, linguistics professors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, share their experience of passing the state's native tongue on to the next generation — whether through Motorola smartphone software or hip hop compilations.

 

To learn more about Josh "Rowdy" Rowsey's hip hop workshops at Cherokee's New Kituwah Academy, tune into the mini-documentary "Cherokee Hip Hop" or Rowsey's TedxTalk, "The World is Yours: The Importance of Hip Hop Culture."

 

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Music: "Old Mother Flanagan:" American/Irish Traditional Tune; Performed by Chris Erswell; Courtesy of Chris Erswell, Internet Archive. Creative Commons License: Attribution - Non-Commercial - Share-alike.

"Guide Me O, Thou Great Jehovah:" Traditional Cherokee Hymn; Performed by ᏦᎭᎾ ᏣᏑᏰᏓ ᎻᎩᏍ ᏦᎭᎾ ᏣᏑᏰᏓ ᎻᎩᏍ ᏫᏍ; Courtesy of Cherokee.Hymns. Creative Commons License: Attribution - Non-Commercial - Share-alike.