OUR LANGUAGE RIGHTS BIWEEKLY
Canadian. Language. News.

December 20th, 2021

On our mind this week:

1. First, we are pleased to share our latest Chat with Language Advocates with Nicole Anichini and Eliana Trinaistic speaking about MCIS Languages' lessons learned while supporting LACC and Advocating for Language Access in the Time of Pandemic. Both, #LAD22 and #GLAD22, being scheduled early in the year, are celebrating the upcoming UNESCO Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032 (@ILDecade). Additional announcements about the upcoming virtual #LAD22 on February 22nd, following our #LAD21 Conference are coming soon. If you are interested in creating or contributing to one of the panels, or volunteering, let us know!

2. And, Happy Holidays from LACC Team!

It's that time of the year already. We hope the new normal settled in, and you found ways to integrate your new routines. Above all, we wanted to say THANK YOU for always being there for us on the other side of the screen, responding to our emails and surveys, or reading our blogs and the Newsletter. We also wanted to remind you to please use this time to recharge your batteries and spend time with your loved ones. If you want something to inspire and recharge you quickly please watch a wonderful poet Ada Limón in action speaking about poetry and language for "radical hope".

Because, advocacy can be lonely, tiring, overwhelming and hopeless at best of the times so we do need to remember to take it lightly, philosophically while taking care of our health and well-being.

Yours truly,

The LACC Team

BIWEEKLY NEWS

Indigenous Languages

How the Stoney Nakoda language is being preserved through new educational resources - The Stoney Nakoda language has received a historic boost this week with ... 50 other endangered languages in Canada, U.S., Mexico and Australia.
A residential school system in China is stripping Tibetan children of their languages but - In the TAI report, the authors directly compared the situation in Tibet to that of colonial societies elsewhere, including in Canada.
Teacher using Dakota language lessons to help heal wounds from residential schools - Toronto Star - Pratt knew how to speak the Dakota language when she was taken from her ... The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

Francophone

Efforts move forward to protect Cree language in Quebec - Moses' office provided support for some local Cree communities to apply for and get federal funding under the Department of Canadian Heritage.
French-language universities in minority settings: a litmus test for Canadian diversity ... A personal take on the added value a francophone university outside Quebec brings to its community.
Want students fluent in French? Get them to debate the ethics of zoos | CBC News - Nicolas LeBlanc teaches French immersion language arts at J.M.A. Armstrong High School in Salisbury, N.B.
Air Canada CEO asked to Parliament Hill to testify on 'the importance of respecting official languages' - Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau will get a chance to show off his new French skills sooner than he ... 60+ language complaints over Air Canada CEO.
Quebec's 'historic anglo' category sends wrong message about inclusion and self-identification - Outlined in Bill 101, an “historic anglophone” is defined as anyone who learned English in school or went to an English-language school in Canada.
The business case for being bilingual - Report on Business columnist, Rita Trichur, explains why bilingualism is a key component of being a corporate leader in Canada.
French Language Services Commissioner recommends assessment tool to aid government - CNW/ - French Language Services Commissioner Kelly Burke today called on the province to ensure its services for Franco-Ontarians are truly responsive.
Pandemic erects huge language barrier - Setbacks in French language acquisition throughout the COVID-19 ... comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.

Language Rights, Revitalization and Advocacy

Quebec Cree to put their stamp on Montreal skyline with 26-storey tower | CBC News - The Cree Nation of Quebec is getting into the Montreal real estate development game, unveiling plans to build a 26-floor high-rise with condos, rental and commercial space that is steeped in symbolism.
U of A student thought she was preserving her native language. Turns out it's thriving | - "It sounds like music when people are speaking it," she said. "It's mostly used in everyday conversation and never in an academic way."
B.C. First Nation's app revitalizes old Indigenous language in a new way - The app is an attempt to preserve a language that was almost lost as a result of what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
Veteran broadcaster hopes Cree 'Hockey Night in Canada' can help save language - We're losing our languages across Canada," said Iron, who'll do play-by-play in Plains Cree for the six national NHL broadcasts.
Cree language program to expand at John Diefenbaker School - The Cree Language Kindergarten program at John Diefenbaker School is ... government's 'initial' $5 billion in flood disaster relief.

Immigration/ Settlement and Emergency Communication

COLUMN: Interculturalism a viable solution to multiculturalism's woes - 'It might be just what Canadian unity needs.' ... Laurendeau-Dunton Commission, which investigated language and social tensions in 1960s Canada..inter-culturalism also recognizes that those minorities have rights of their own that the majority must respect, including the rights in some cases to use their own languages.
Canada not truly a bilingual nation - The reality is almost all of Canada still isn't bilingual. Mandarin and Punjabi are the second languages spoken on the streets of many major cities.
Vandals deface Brampton Sikh school - A community member told the Sun the vandalism stands out in its use of culturally-specific language.
Ahmed Hussen’s remarkable journey from Somali refugee to Member of Parliament - Episode 5 of First Generation, the Canadian Immigrant podcast series, features Ahmed Hussen, Somali refugee, lawyer and Member of Parliament.
How losing my native language made me struggle with my identity - - Losing my mother tongue has had a major impact on my life. I feel a disconnect with my family’s culture. Having meaningful conversations with family members who only speak Spanish is practically impossible.
What Canadians think about Asian immigration, culture and technology - The poll also touched on languages and found that 13 per cent of Canadians have conversational fluency in at least one Asian language.
Nonprofits providing settlement services to newcomer- clients to language training and enhance career opportunities, and helped more than 11,000 newcomers to successfully settle into Canada.
USask PhD candidate studies Mandarin Chinese language acquisition - “As an immigrant mother trying to teach Mandarin Chinese to my daughter—who was born and is being raised in Canada—Chinese-English bilingualism.

The Politics of Language, Culture, and Technology

Jump in counties required to provide language help to voters - The law requires the jurisdictions to provide the language assistance to ... to 42 positive COVID tests, warnings about new restrictions.
Facebook has a massive disinformation problem in India. This student learned firsthand how- ... the spread of hate speech and inflammatory language on its site in India BOOM is one of the 10 companies that Facebook relies on for help tackling misinformation in India in three languages: English, Hindi and Bengali.
Language Act review urges clarifications to law, go-slow approach on nursing homes - A 10-year review of New Brunswick's Official Languages Act is recommending no sweeping changes to the legislation.
New Brunswick Official Languages Act review calls for dedicated department - A report on the review of the Official Languages Act in New Brunswick, Canada's only officially bilingual province, was released on Wednesday.
Spy agency warned Trudeau China's media tactics becoming more 'sophisticated ... insidious' - "Chinese-language media outlets operating in Canada and members of the Chinese-Canadian community are primary targets of PRC-directed foreign influence that . "have become normalized," critics say.
Babylon Film Festival 2021, a space for minority languages - Out of the 104 films received, 64 were selected, from 14 countries, in a 40 minority languages (four in sign languages).
Our emotions and identity can affect how we use grammar - Language and social identity have been making headlines recently. Last month, Air Canada's CEO Michael Rousseau faced scrutiny over not knowing French.
'Cheugy,' 'omicron' among 2021's most mispronounced words

Dreaming in Different Tongues: Languages and the Way We Think;
Panelists: Scholars Lera Boroditsky, Lily Wong Fillmore; Maxine Hong Kingston; John Cho. http://onthesamepage.berkeley.edu

OUR LANGUAGE RIGHTS BIWEEKLY is curated list of Canadian language related news brought to you by Language Access Coalition of Canada (LACC), a community of forward-thinking organizations and individuals in the non-profit, public and private sectors, driven by the desire to make a positive impact by advocating for access to information and services in languages people understand. Please follow us on social media channels.

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