Keeping a language alive can strengthen people’s sense of identity and most importantly lead to the preservation of a whole culture. This is probably why a group of Cherokee music artists decided to create a music album (唱片) exclusively in the Cherokee language, a highly endangered Native American language. Currently, there are fewer than 2,000 fluent speakers of the language remaining in the world, and the number is declining every year.
The album, tilted DOAP oaV and pronounced ‘Ah’ ‘Nuh’ ‘Duh’ ‘Nah’ ‘Lees’ ‘Gi’, means “Performers” in English. It is comprised of a range of contemporary styles, including Pop, Reggae, Country, Heavy Metal, Hip Hop, and Folk. With a planned release date of Labor Day weekend, the record company is using the platform of the National Cherokee Holiday to give this album as much exposure as possible.
Jeremy Charles, a key figure in getting this album off the ground, has said that the “music will shine a spotlight on Cherokee artists and speakers, and increase exposure to our culture and language worldwide”. He aims for the album to be an inspiration to the next generation of Cherokee language learners. Featuring 12 Cherokee artists ranging from ages 14 to 50, you can see how this album is going to do a lot for the promotion of Cherokee music and can inspire people of any age to make music that connects with their heritage (遗产).
The youngest contributor on the album, Lillian Charles, is only in 8th grade but had a major contribution to the Goth-pop song “Circus”—a song she wrote at the age of 12. It originally written in English, she worked with translators Bobbie Smith and Kathy Sierra to be able to fully express herself in Cherokee.
Projects like the DOOAP oaV album bring a modern approach to revitalizing language and culture and encourage a younger audience, to get involved and start learning the Cherokee language. On average, a native language is lost forever every two weeks, and these people want to make sure that the Cherokee language isn’t one of them.
【小题1】What can we learn about the album from paragraph 2?| A．It has various musical styles. |
| B．It is titled Performers in English. |
| C．It sings high praise of Labor Day. |
| D．It was exposed to the public by chance. |
| A．It will make a huge profit for the record company. |
| B．It can help the 12 artists rise to fame overnight. |
| C．It will satisfy the fans’ demand for pop music. |
| D．It can fuel the youth’s interest in Cherokee language. |
| A．Translating. | B．Reviewing. | C．Restoring. | D．Creating. |
| A．Alarming! The Cherokee Language is Dying |
| B．Amazing! An 8th Grader is Releasing an Album |
| C．Bringing Music to Life with Modern Technology |
| D．Preserving a Language Through the Power of Music |
