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Flutes of Fire: Essays on California Indian Languages
Before outsiders arrived, about 100 distinct Indian languages were spoken in California, many of them alive today. Each of these languages represents a unique way of understanding the world and expressing that understanding. Flutes of Fire examines many different aspects of Indian languages, such as Yana, in which men and women have markedly different ways of speaking; ingenious ways used in each language for counting. Hinton discusses how language can retain evidence of ancient migrations, and addresses what different groups are doing to keep languages alive and pass them down to the younger generations.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 5, 2022
I was so impressed with the way this book broaches what is a very deep and broad topic in ways that are actually accessible. Flutes of Fire managed to be both technical and emotional, organized and expansive. A little linguistic knowledge does help.
November 26, 2012
This book is the most impressive compendium I've seen on the topic of Native Californian Languages.
The book approaches native Californian languages from multiple angles, and exposes us to an impressive array of primary sources. Interviews with Native Speakers, and recorded oral histories are among the tools used to help the reader understand Californian languages.
This book uses an extremely holistic approach, and never falls into the common trap of confusing "Language" with "languages." Language studies and Linguistic studies are conducted. We also gain insight into various histories, myths, and other cultural significances of different aspects of the languages.
Simply put, languages are complex systems and are affected by countless factors. This book takes its purpose seriously, and does an admirable job of giving you as much accessible information as it can. If I ever taught a course on Native Languages (particularly Californian) I would definitely use this as a required text.
The book approaches native Californian languages from multiple angles, and exposes us to an impressive array of primary sources. Interviews with Native Speakers, and recorded oral histories are among the tools used to help the reader understand Californian languages.
This book uses an extremely holistic approach, and never falls into the common trap of confusing "Language" with "languages." Language studies and Linguistic studies are conducted. We also gain insight into various histories, myths, and other cultural significances of different aspects of the languages.
Simply put, languages are complex systems and are affected by countless factors. This book takes its purpose seriously, and does an admirable job of giving you as much accessible information as it can. If I ever taught a course on Native Languages (particularly Californian) I would definitely use this as a required text.
March 4, 2022
This is a beautiful set of essays on the indigenous languages of California, the people who spoke them, and the people who are trying to preserve and revive them. It includes some history, some folklore, and some fascinating information about the languages themselves, including how their structure reflects distinct notions of space, time, number, and other concepts. Most of them are now extinct or moribund, and the rest are severely endangered.
Growing up in New York, we didn't learn much about Native American culture in school, and nothing more than "squaw", "wampum", and "papoose" in terms of language. My children, growing up in Northern California learned a bit more about the local Native culture, including the names of local tribes, how they lived, how they prepared food, and aspects of their material culture such as basketweaving. They visit a museum of Native culture and another local site which recreates a Native Miwok village. While a local mountain and park bear a native name, all the other toponyms I can think of are of European provenance. In the east the Native toponyms are much more prevalent, from the names of states to the towns and lakes. This book made me want to learn some Californian native languages.
Growing up in New York, we didn't learn much about Native American culture in school, and nothing more than "squaw", "wampum", and "papoose" in terms of language. My children, growing up in Northern California learned a bit more about the local Native culture, including the names of local tribes, how they lived, how they prepared food, and aspects of their material culture such as basketweaving. They visit a museum of Native culture and another local site which recreates a Native Miwok village. While a local mountain and park bear a native name, all the other toponyms I can think of are of European provenance. In the east the Native toponyms are much more prevalent, from the names of states to the towns and lakes. This book made me want to learn some Californian native languages.
September 24, 2021
This was thrilling to read, inspiring, exceptionally applicable. I am Chochenyo Ohlone. Our cousin is teaching us our traditional Čočenyo language, mak-noono. Now I know how this project began.
neesa kaanak hinšuš 🧐🙏🏽👍🏽
PS I super appreciate the Bibliography.
neesa kaanak hinšuš 🧐🙏🏽👍🏽
PS I super appreciate the Bibliography.
October 9, 2020
This nonfiction book took me a while to read. But I must say, if I were back in college I would take some linguistic courses. I found the discussion intriguing - i felt almost like biology to me. The book also made me profoundly sad, angry and overwhelmed by the fact that virtually 100% of Native Californian languages are extinct or on the verge of extinction. There were once more than 100 distinct languages spoken and all the culture wrapped iNto those languages will also be gone.
July 21, 2015
To give you a flavor for what is in store for you as a reader of this book, the author cites to some examples of how Wintu speakers think differently from English speakers. Instead of saying, “I live with my sister,” the Wintu person says, “I am sistered.” Rather than “I took the baby,” as a Wintu person you would say, “I went with the baby.” You conceive of your body and the clothes you are wearing holistically. So instead of saying, “Her dress is striped,” you say, “She is dress striped.” Rather than saying, “My head aches,” you say, “I head ache.” English has the concepts of singular and plural. The Wintu default is unified categories of beings, unless the speaker points specifically to an individual member of a category. So a person raised speaking English sees a painting of a deer. In fact, the Wintu painter is representing “deerness.”
Hinton’s point is that learning the Native language is not just about saying the same things as in English with different words. The language is a key to cultural understanding. Those who come to a Native Californian language from English may be perplexed initially because of how it is put together. The author explains that for example, the same stem for a verb may have a completely different meaning depending on which prefix is attached to the front of it. Hinton cites to the example of Kashaya, in which the verb “to hit” occurs with a prefix that shows exactly what “kind” of hit the speaker is referring to. She explains that in many Californian languages, different concepts are combined into a single grammatically complex word which can be a sentence unto itself.
You will enjoy pages 124-28, where the author reproduces Pomo design elements recorded in 1908, each of which are associated with several names. The presentation shows how much information is encoded in the design of a basket, and also presumably in other produced works such as many of the thousands of painted stone faces across the California landscape. The elements point to a complex writing system using patterns and shapes rather than words. Hinton notes that Indians referred to the images produced on rock as “rock writing,” and had their own words for "reading" and "writing" that were not borrowed from Spanish or English. The actual transcription of words was unnecessary because the messages were not intended for anyone outside the local area.
Hinton explains how Native Californian languages encapsulate unique historical information. In one example, people who lived separated by hundreds of miles had quite similar languages, showing that at one time they were one people. In another, people with completely different languages had substantially the same mythologies and traditions, indicating close ties and probably intermarriage and bilingualism. The upshot is that the Native languages contain a great deal of important cultural information that cannot be found by reference to English or Spanish.
The author discusses how a government policy of forced language eradication during the first half of the twentieth century did terrible damage to the Native languages of California. She provides excerpts from the personal stories of two Pomo women who grew up in the days of government-run Indian boarding schools, when severe corporal punishment was administered to children for speaking their own languages. One of the women arrived as a little girl speaking two words of English and thus found herself isolated and marginalized, disfavored, and treated as if she were severely disabled. Girls were dressed in shabby clothes and boy’s shoes, and returned home as skin and bones. The mistreatment produced so much pain that as elders, many who endured those times reflexively avoid using their languages and do not want to pass them on because it just brings up too many bad memories.
Then, however, there was a 180 degree shift in government policy. The author describes such legislation as the Native American Languages Act, which was enacted and signed into law by the first President Bush, and which encourages the preservation and revitalization of Native languages. An important question then was whether the policy change came too late. It only takes a generation or two to stamp out a language. Since the publication of Hinton's book, much progress has been made, and much remains to be done.
Hinton offers numerous valuable tips for those engaged in revitalizing and restoring the languages. She points out that among non-speakers, basic proficiency can be obtained in about 500 hours. Many of her suggestions involve incorporating learning into child rearing and early education, and creating natural language learning opportunities for all ages. Language use at home is a key. An appreciation for the richness of the heritages under threat and for the creativity and playfulness of the languages, and enjoying oneself along the way are positive weapons for learners engaged in this battle.
Hinton’s appendix of linguistic symbols is very user friendly, and in my opinion it is the clearest and best such symbol chart I have seen.
Hinton’s point is that learning the Native language is not just about saying the same things as in English with different words. The language is a key to cultural understanding. Those who come to a Native Californian language from English may be perplexed initially because of how it is put together. The author explains that for example, the same stem for a verb may have a completely different meaning depending on which prefix is attached to the front of it. Hinton cites to the example of Kashaya, in which the verb “to hit” occurs with a prefix that shows exactly what “kind” of hit the speaker is referring to. She explains that in many Californian languages, different concepts are combined into a single grammatically complex word which can be a sentence unto itself.
You will enjoy pages 124-28, where the author reproduces Pomo design elements recorded in 1908, each of which are associated with several names. The presentation shows how much information is encoded in the design of a basket, and also presumably in other produced works such as many of the thousands of painted stone faces across the California landscape. The elements point to a complex writing system using patterns and shapes rather than words. Hinton notes that Indians referred to the images produced on rock as “rock writing,” and had their own words for "reading" and "writing" that were not borrowed from Spanish or English. The actual transcription of words was unnecessary because the messages were not intended for anyone outside the local area.
Hinton explains how Native Californian languages encapsulate unique historical information. In one example, people who lived separated by hundreds of miles had quite similar languages, showing that at one time they were one people. In another, people with completely different languages had substantially the same mythologies and traditions, indicating close ties and probably intermarriage and bilingualism. The upshot is that the Native languages contain a great deal of important cultural information that cannot be found by reference to English or Spanish.
The author discusses how a government policy of forced language eradication during the first half of the twentieth century did terrible damage to the Native languages of California. She provides excerpts from the personal stories of two Pomo women who grew up in the days of government-run Indian boarding schools, when severe corporal punishment was administered to children for speaking their own languages. One of the women arrived as a little girl speaking two words of English and thus found herself isolated and marginalized, disfavored, and treated as if she were severely disabled. Girls were dressed in shabby clothes and boy’s shoes, and returned home as skin and bones. The mistreatment produced so much pain that as elders, many who endured those times reflexively avoid using their languages and do not want to pass them on because it just brings up too many bad memories.
Then, however, there was a 180 degree shift in government policy. The author describes such legislation as the Native American Languages Act, which was enacted and signed into law by the first President Bush, and which encourages the preservation and revitalization of Native languages. An important question then was whether the policy change came too late. It only takes a generation or two to stamp out a language. Since the publication of Hinton's book, much progress has been made, and much remains to be done.
Hinton offers numerous valuable tips for those engaged in revitalizing and restoring the languages. She points out that among non-speakers, basic proficiency can be obtained in about 500 hours. Many of her suggestions involve incorporating learning into child rearing and early education, and creating natural language learning opportunities for all ages. Language use at home is a key. An appreciation for the richness of the heritages under threat and for the creativity and playfulness of the languages, and enjoying oneself along the way are positive weapons for learners engaged in this battle.
Hinton’s appendix of linguistic symbols is very user friendly, and in my opinion it is the clearest and best such symbol chart I have seen.
abandoned
September 11, 2022Made it to page 50 and decided to get the updated 2022 version. The first 50 pages are great, but 25 years is a lot in this field. For a general interest reader like me, that’s the edition I want.
March 15, 2017
A collection of information about California Indian languages, which is well researched and fascinating. A good go-to for beginners interested in language projects.
January 10, 2008
Not done yet, but it teaches you so much about the languages of California.
January 21, 2011
I don't know why so many books about Native American languages have to be written Avatar-style.
May 16, 2016
Read portions for a linguistics class. Very interesting!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews