Flutes of Fire: Essays on California Indian Languages

Description

Author: Hinton, Leanne  (1941-)

Publisher: Heyday Books

Pub Date: 1994

Binding: Paperback

Condition: Fair to Good.  Binding tight.  No marks, tears, bends or folds.  3 of the 4 corners have very slight wear.  Appears unused.

Notes:  There are currently almost 50 living native Californian Indian languages.  In 1800, there were more than a hundred languages spoken.  At the time of this book’s publication (1994), according to the author, there were NO native languages as the primary language in a household.  The vocabulary of direction, language and thought, language history, place names, counting, male and female talk, tribal name origins, the Native American Languages Act, writing systems, and an essay on John Peabody Harrington–“Angry god, perfectionist, paranoid worrier, culture hero, obsessed genius, thorn-in-the-side, doggerel poet, ruthless slavedriver, inattentive father, valued friend, skinflint, ascetic, academic outcast, great phonetician, indefatigable field worker, outrageous, laughable and endearing eccentric–those are all views of J.P. Harrington, one of the most important linguists in California history.” (Page 195).   Linguistics can sometimes be tedious, but this volume is surprisingly readable.