CSULB Graduate Speaks on Blackfoot Language

Dr. Solveiga Armoskaite, a graduate of CSULB, was featured as a guest lecturer on Wednesday, March 2nd in the Multicultural Center.

Armoskaite presented “Fieldwork in Blackfoot: How something can turn into nothing” to the room full of linguistic students and others interested in the language of The Blackfoot.

The lecture was split into two parts. Part one gave the audience insight on the background of The Blackfoot Confederacy and language. Armoskaite provided extensive information on the location, topological affiliation, and vitality status of the Blackfoot.

She followed with a brief look into the linguistics of the language of the Blackfoot. Armoskaite demonstrated how to translate Blackfoot native language, derived from the Algonquian Language Family. She also discussed how she arrived at her dissertation topic; the behavior of Blackfoot adjectives as well as the three-year long relationship she and the research group has had with a Blackfoot speaker; the source of her extensive studies.

Armoskaite closed with a discussion on the revitalization movement that has been underway in recent years; trying to provide resources to facilitate the teaching of Blackfoot Language to children, in order to keep the language from going extinct.

By Leslie Campos
_{Journalism Major}