Native Americans spoke as many as 300 languages at one time in history. But centuries of conflict, forced removal and forced assimilation killed half of the languages. Bringing back a dead language is a big job, but making sure it survives is just as much work. Jessie Little Doe Baird is a co-founder of the Wopanaak Language Reclamation Project. The award-winning linguist is also a citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in the American state of Massachusetts. In the 1600s, Wopanaak, the language of her ancestors, was spoken by tens of thousands of people in southeastern New England. Baird said missionaries worked with the tribe to create written alphabets in order to translate the Bible and other books. She said the Wampanoag people welcomed the idea of writing and soon “used it as a tool to protect themselves” during land deals and other situations. “We have the largest collection of Native-written documents in North America,” she said. Baird said her organization has been working for about 25 years to bring back the language that died out a century ago. It has put together around 12,000 words from those early documents.
Title: New Words Help Bring Back Native Languages
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3338/8e15135b-95af-4845-b9d9-8495fa519ed8_hq.wav' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='New Words Help Bring Back Native Languages' data-article-id='3851'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='8542'>Native Americans spoke as many as 300 languages at one time in history.</span> <span data-start-time='8542' data-end-time='18292'>But centuries of conflict, forced removal and forced assimilation killed half of the languages.</span> <span data-start-time='18292' data-end-time='28333'>Bringing back a dead language is a big job, but making sure it survives is just as much work.</span> <span data-start-time='28333' data-end-time='37292'>Jessie Little Doe Baird is a co-founder of the Wopanaak Language Reclamation Project.</span> <span data-start-time='37292' data-end-time='49125'>The award-winning linguist is also a citizen of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in the American state of Massachusetts.</span> <span data-start-time='49125' data-end-time='62167'>In the 1600s, Wopanaak, the language of her ancestors, was spoken by tens of thousands of people in southeastern New England.</span> <span data-start-time='62167' data-end-time='73125'>Baird said missionaries worked with the tribe to create written alphabets in order to translate the Bible and other books.</span> <span data-start-time='73125' data-end-time='87229'>She said the Wampanoag people welcomed the idea of writing and soon “used it as a tool to protect themselves” during land deals and other situations.</span> <span data-start-time='87229' data-end-time='95000'>“We have the largest collection of Native-written documents in North America,” she said.</span> <span data-start-time='95000' data-end-time='107354'>Baird said her organization has been working for about 25 years to bring back the language that died out a century ago.</span> <span data-start-time='107354' data-end-time='114375'>It has put together around 12,000 words from those early documents.</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3338/F3E95775-4478-4C69-832F-4CD9F0991FA7_cx0_cy2_cw0_w1023_r1_s.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=12895 data-hint-location='62167' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3338/baird_said_missionaries_worked_with_the_tribe_to_create_written_alphabets_in_order_to_translate_the_bible_and_other__blank_.wav'>Baird said missionaries worked with the tribe to create written alphabets in order to translate the Bible and other <span class='blank'>books</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='books'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3338/songs.wav'><span>songs</span></div><div class='choice' 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data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3338/a_person_who_designs_buildings.wav'><span>a person who designs buildings</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3338/a_person_who_studies_language_and_the_way_languages_work.wav'><span>a person who studies language and the way languages work</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3338/a_person_who_studies_culinary_arts.wav'><span>a person who studies culinary arts</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=12897 data-hint-location='0' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/3338/native_americans_spoke_as_many_as_300_what_at_one_time_in_history.wav'>Native Americans spoke as many as 300 what at one time in history?</div><div class='choices' 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