What indigenous languages are spoken around where you live? Can you give us something from that language?

European culture spread over a great part of the globe taking its languages with them. One way indigenous people hold on to their culture is through the perpatuation of language.

Here in Hawaii, the local culture has seen a resurgence over the past decade with the advent of many Hawaiian immersion schools and other programs.

People who move here soon find their own speech containing scattered Hawaiian words, because they make more sense for the situation. A great example is giving directions. We say to head mauka or makai, which is toward the mountain or the sea. On an island, traditional ideas of north, south, east, and west have less meaning. But it’s plain which way the mountains and which way the sea lies.

What about your area? Any similarities?