来自:查字典高考网 2014-12-25
Native American languages
Before Europeans arrived in North America there were over 300 Native American languages. Some have now died out, and of the 250 or so remaining many are spoken only by a few older people. Other languages, like Cherokee, are more widely spoken. Most Native Americans speak English, some as their first language and others as their second.
Native American languages have added many words to English, though the meaning of a word has often been changed. Teepees are a kind of tent, *wampum belts were made of beads and since the belts had great value Europeans used wampum to mean money. Moccasins, a kind of shoe, are today worn by people all over the world. Many Native American words describe the things they name. For example, the Asakiwaki tribes name means people of the yellow earth, and the Cherokees name for themselves, Ani-Yunwiya, means the leading people. Indian names for Whites included people greedily grasping for land.
Many American place names have their roots in Native American languages. *Ohio, for instance, is a Native American name, and the names of many of its towns and cities, such as Chillicothe and Sandusky, and the lakes Scioto and Olentangy, are of Native American origin.
Native Americans today
According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a part of the US government, there are now about 550 tribes. These include well-known groups like the *Navajo and *Sioux, and less famous tribes like the Cayuse. The number of Native Americans living in the US is about 1.2 million.
Almost a million live on reservations, areas of land that the government has allowed them to keep as their own. Native Americans are US citizens, and have the rights and responsibilities of any US citizen. However, reservations have their own governments and police forces and Native Americans pay different taxes. They also have the right to hunt and fish where and when they like, while other Americans have to get a licence.
On or off the reservations Native Americans find it difficult to live the traditional life. Activities of other Americans affect the way they live. Building dams across a river, for example, can affect the numbers of fish living there, so that even though Native Americans have the right to fish they may not be able to catch anything. Away from the reservations, many Native Americans find that their culture is very different from that of white people and have difficulty adapting.
Poverty is a serious problem. About 37% of people who live on reservations are unemployed, compared with 6% of the general population. Many tribes try to bring in money from outside. Some sell rights to search for oil on their reservation, others use the fact that the reservation makes its own rules to open casinos where people from outside can come and gamble. Gambling is illegal in most parts of the US and many Americans want it to remain so, but it makes a lot of money for the tribes. This brings Native Americans, once again, into conflict with white Americans.
【阅读辅导:托福考试阅读背景知识(十)】相关文章:
[标签:海外留学,语言考试,托福,,]
1000张学生用草稿纸考研专用免邮空白便宜薄演草演算纸白纸本书写纸批发打草a4大张实惠装18k高考数学草稿本
学渣儿子高考,英语选择题全选B!老师通报成绩的那一刻父亲懵了
创艺第二届:2019届高考录取表彰大会暨“核桃音乐节”合影——你只管努力,剩下的交给创艺
探秘历史 第二季 第479集 河南叛逆高考生,写下8000字批判作文,现状如何?
探秘历史 第二季 第233集 考英语用来睡觉,结果仍是高考状元,如今她怎么样了?
衍声高考琴行2019高本硕学生暑假音乐会 张俊瀚《陕北民歌主题变奏曲》《阿根廷舞曲》第三乐章
高考阅卷名师给考生的高考作文密训课 第4集 高考作文审题实操方法精讲(二)
加油吧考生:2019高考咨询大直播 第43集 科学填报志愿 规划精彩人生
高考体育四项生的日常训练——深蹲移动跳:发展膝关节,踝关节力量。
一边扔试卷一边玩摇滚?这个学校的高考减压方式,真是帅到没朋友
沈阳音乐学院郎亦农教授的女高音高考曲目解析课程 第9集 《赛吾里麦》演唱讲解,音乐表现一定要自然流畅