Navajo Language Renaissance

The Navajo Language Renaissance was created as a non-profit organization that is put to work to reestablish the Navajo language. The members are made up of educators and individuals passionate about making sure that the language is upheld and taught to the children of the Navajo.

The language of the Navajo is depleting, the real life danger is that the language will die away. The fact of the matter is that today, the children of the Navajo do not know much of the language with only 5 percent knowing the language. The children that are born today are not able to speak with the grandparents because they do not know the language. The programs to educate these children in the language should be held at school as well as in the home.

The Navajo language renaissance is dedicated to reestablishing the language therefore in 2006 they applied for help from Rosetta Stone to begin a program where the Navajo language is translated and taught. The members of the board are combined from the Navajo speakers as well as readers and writers of the Navajo language. All of the directors are Navajo and fluent in the language except for one.

Since the purchase of Rosetta Stone is so costly and hard to produce, in the year 2006, they were given a subsidy to create the program. The Navajo received a subsidy under the endangered language program of Rosetta Stone. In the year 2007, there were 20 applications that were granted and the Navajo language was one of them. Since they received the subsidy, the production of the Navajo language teaching tool was granted at a much lower price than initially thought.

The Navajo Language of Rosetta Stone was completed for stages 1 and 2 in August of the year 2010. The software combines over 400 images that were taken from the Navajo nation in June 2009 and put to sound in order to teach the individuals of the language. The language was taken from individuals that were chosen by Navajo linguists and consisted of 6 individuals. The online language test made by Rosetta Stone was completed in the year 2013. The language requirement of the online test is that 85 percent of the test must be passed in order to receive the Chief Manuelito College Scholarship. The workbooks for the levels of 1 and 2 are in the process of being edited and is set for release in 2015.