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Get to Know the Taino language and Caribbean history
Prior to the Spanish Conquest of the Americas, the Taino language was the most widely spoken language in the Caribbean. It’s a language from the Arawakan family, and is thought to have had two main dialects - Classic (Eastern) Taino and Ciboney (Western) Taino.
The modern variant of the Taino language is known as Taíno-Borikenaíki, or Taínoaíki, and was reconstructed by Puerto Rican linguist Javier A. Hernández.
Why learn the Taino language?
Although the disease and murder brought by European invaders did indeed push the Taino language to the brink of extinction, the notion of a complete disappearance of the language inherent in the descubrimiento (discovery) line of colonial historiography is a myth.
The Taino people, and thus the Taino language, were decimated by European invasion, but both survived.
The language is quite fragmented, but Taíno people in the Caribbean and elsewhere in the Americas are doing the important communal service of piecing it back together.
Speakers :
Unknown
Where :
Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Anguilla, United States Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, United States
Dialects :
Taíno-Borikenaíki (Taínonaíki), Classic (Eastern) Taíno, Ciboney (Western) Taíno
Cover Image
Dominican Republic
Photo by Antonella Vilardo on Unsplash
Map
By Kwamikagami at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53677967
Resources for learning the Taino language
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Websites and Courses
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YouTube Channels
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Videos
Let’s Talk Taíno 1 - About Taíno Language
Let’s Talk Taíno 29 - Decolonising Taíno
New research links ancient indigenous DNA to living Puerto Ricans
¿Dónde están nuestros indios? Entrevista con Profesor Juan Manuel Delgado (One)
¿Dónde están nuestros indios? Entrevista con Profesor Juan Manuel Delgado (Two)
Revitalising the Taíno Language
The Truth about the Taíno Language
How Taíno Culture Affects Us Today
Caribbean Indigenous Peoples : An Introduction to Taíno Culture
Taíno Today : Art and Culture in the Caribbean
Eat, Drink, Share Puerto Rico Food - Barbacoa Taína
Indigenous Peoples of the Caribbean : A Focus on the Taíno
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Films
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Books
Primario Básico del Taíno-Borikenaíki
by Javier A. Hernández
Mitología y Religión de los Taínos
by Sebastián Robiou Lamarche
The Mythology and Religion of the Tainos
by Sebastián Robiou Lamarche
by Pura Belpré
by José Barreiro
by Casa Areyto
by Sherina Feliciano-Santos
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Podcasts
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Contact
Do you make videos or resources for learning a specific language? Feel free to get in touch so I can add links to your work on the relevant Get to Know page for that language, or in the relevant How to Learn Languages guide.
As well as helping people to learn languages, encouraging linguistic diversity, and raising awareness for the rights of indigenous peoples, I hope How to Learn Languages will also help to grow the audiences of anyone creating resources for learning languages.