There are now only a few thousand native speakers of Blackfoot, a language once spoken across the northern Great Plains. Meredith Fore (@Fore_Says) writes for Symmetry Magazine about one of these native speakers, Sharon Yellowfly, whose efforts to reinvigorate the language include translating news of discoveries at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. She’s coined Blackfoot versions of terms such as “Einstein’s theory of general relativity” — bisaatsinsiimaan, or “beautiful plantings” — and added them into the dictionary she began decades ago. (Hear some of these words in the video accompanying the story.) Yellowfly’s efforts are helping Blackfoot continue to be relevant for everyday use, ensuring it stays alive for future generations. Image by Susan Keown with words by Sharon Yellowfly
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