Community Response

Resources for Learners / Choctaw in the Media

Some resources exist for learners of Choctaw, but options are still somewhat limited.  The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma offers distance-learning classes for students of all ages as well as adults; there are also classroom-learning options available both within and outside of the Chahta Nation boundaries.  In addition, the ChoctawNationOK channel on YouTube has a series called "Sounds of Choctaw", which teaches simple vocabulary words.  According to Belmar & Glass, social media platforms like YouTube provide "breathing spaces" for minority languages, allowing speakers to "create their own spaces for communication without the need for government mediation or funding" (Belmar & Glass 3).  While ChoctawNationOK is the official YouTube channel of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and is thus technically 'government mediated', its existence paves the way for the community to start their own initiatives to introduce the language into their digital lives.  Choctaw is currently in the "Gifting Era" as defined by Belmar & Glass; the tribal government still holds much of the control over Choctaw-language media (6).  It will be up to the community to move it into the "Service Era" by communicating more with media creators so that more digital services can be offered in the language (Belmar & Glass 6).

An unofficial Memrise course based on the official online Choctaw lessons exists.  Rosetta Stone has created a Chickasaw language program, but there are no software resources from large companies for Choctaw.

There is a Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma subreddit, although almost nobody uses the language on it.  There was talk in August of 2020 about creating an official Discord chat specifically for practicing the language, but that has not yet materialized as of November 2020.  A Discord server called Four Mothers Society for Choctaw and many other Native American languages spoken in Oklahoma exists, but there is no exclusive Choctaw Discord yet.

Writing System

All dialects of Choctaw use a version of the Latin alphabet, although spelling and symbols may vary. 

The writing system was created in the 19th century by a white missionary named Cyrus Byington, who used it to translate a portion of the Bible and hymns, as well as compose some of his own hymns in the language.  This same writing system is still used in both official and unofficial contexts. 

Archives

Choctaw is represented in various archives, including the Endangered Languages Project, the Kaipuleohone Language Archive, and the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History.  The Endangered Languages Project has a few audio recordings of Choctaw words and phrases, as well as information on its status as an endangered language; all of this is freely available online.  The Kaipuleohone Language Archive has a few articles and other resources, most of which are mainly about a different language altogether.  Some of these items can be viewed online for free by the general public, but others require an account.  The Sam Noble Museum of Natural History has a collection of oral histories in Choctaw, as well as a lexicon, interviews, and educational materials; unfortunately, none of these is available online.