Reading and Writing the Lakota Language (Paperback)

by Albert White Hat Sr. (Author), Jael Kampfe (Editor), Vine Deloria Jr. (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Based on extensive research and pedagogy on the Rosebud Reservation, this elementary grammar of Lakota, one of three languages spoken by the Sioux nation, is the first written by a native Lakota speaker. It presents the Sicangu dialect using an orthography developed by Lakota in 1982 and which is now supplanting older systems provided by linguists and missionaries. This new approach represents a powerful act of self-determination for Indian education.

Though READING AND WRITING THE LAKOTA LANGUAGE is thorough in its inclusion of conjugation, syntax, and sentence structure, it emphasizes vocabulary and pronunciation. Author Albert White Hat Sr. presents Lakota philosophy as it applies to specific grammar lessons. These examples offer new information and interpretations of Lakota spirituality and society, even to scholars who specialize in Plains cultures. Moreover, he documents the impact of the acculturation process on language, showing how Lakota evolved as a result of non-Indian influences. Beyond language instruction, readers will value the book for its cultural insights, humorous stories, and its entertaining tone.

"White Hat has given a unique window into contemporary Lakota oral tradition as well as into language as it is now practiced on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation. No other Lakota language text and no other volume in the extensive Lakota ethnography tells us as much about the effect of language on both cultural deterioration and survival."--Julian Rice

About the Author
Albert White Hat Sr. is a professor at Sinte Gleska University.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 230 pages
• Publisher: University of Utah Press (February 26, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874805724
• ISBN-13: 978-0874805727
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #282,775 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learning from our Elders, February 29, 2000

By	"pasasa" (USA) - See all my reviews

These lessons are the most "user-friendly" that I have seen for home study. The only real drawback that I found was that I had to wait the extra few days for the delivery of the accompanying cassettes, because the cassettes and the text are sold separately. These should be packaged together. Even if you only anticipate learning to read and write Lakota, knowing the sounds unique to the Lakota language are essential to grasping the meaning of the written word. The author tells us, "Lakota must be written based on sound." Make sure you order the cassettes and the book!

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surpasses any other text on Lakota Language! Excellent!, June 15, 1999

By A Customer

I was involved in using this text from the very beginning. Mr. White Hat presented a workshop on how to teach Lakota Language, which I attended. He gave each of the Lakota Language Instructors present a copy of this text to use in their classes. If it were not for this text, I would not have stayed in the field of teaching this long (5 years). It is an excellent resource for teaching Lakota Language which I highly recommend. Pilamayaye ksto. (Thank you).

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An uncommon language lesson, November 28, 2000

By	J. Hale "johnny negotiable" (Juneau, AK USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

From the start, Albert White Hat makes it clear that learning Lakota is more than just a linguistic exercise. As he writes in his introduction: "When we teach a language to a student, we should develop in that student another heart and another mind." And indeed, these are lessons in Lakota culture from the ground up, introducing the Lakota heart and mind through their expression in basic grammatical relations. And from the very beginning, White Hat makes it a compelling journey.