Athabaskan and Euro-American Experiences

Professor of Linguistics Theodore Fernald is a longtime board member of the Navajo Language Academy, which is devoted to the scientific study and promotion of the Navajo language, part of the Athabaskan language family. His current research, supported by the National Science Foundation, involves linguistic research on Navajo that will lead to the creation of a referenced grammar that covers the structure, meaning, and use of all known Navajo sentence types. Here, he discusses the process of doing research that involves multiple languages and cross-cultural interactions. In the related video, he explores his interest in the language and expresses his hope for its future survival.