What is the difference between indigenous and immigrant heritage languages in the United States?
Indigenous heritage languages are spoken by people whose ancestors originally inhabited the area that is now the United States (herein after referred to as Native Americans). Immigrant heritage languages are spoken by people who immigrated to the United States after European colonization. While indigenous and immigrant heritage languages have many things in common, there are two important reasons for drawing a distinction between them: indigenous languages (herein after referred to as Native American languages) receive special protection by the United States legal system, and they are in danger of dying out with little hope of revitalization if children do not learn them. Linguists have affirmed that all of the world’s languages are complex and rule-governed forms of communication, and that no language is inherently better than any other at expressing human thought. However, Native American languages receive special legal status in the United States. Such legal status is remarkable bec
