American Languages Nearly Extinct

In animated TV first, they're speaking Lakota

(NEWSER) - For a typical family worried about messy rooms and money management, the Berenstain bears are killer linguists. The children's books featuring Mama, Papa, Brother, and Sister Bear Berenstain have been translated into more than 20 languages for kids around the world. Now the Berenstains are even speaking Lakota, an ancient Sioux language, in a weekly television program. Matho Waunsila Thiwahe—Lakota for "Compassionate Bear Family"—is the first animated series ever translated into an American Indian language. It has begun airing weekly on public television in the Dakotas, and will run through the end of the year, reports AP. More»

Native American speech among vanishing

(NEWSER) - A language dies about every two weeks and thousands are at risk, warned linguists, who yesterday identified five global hotspots where languages are most endangered. Several native American languages are dying out in the Southwest and regions including British Columbia, Washington and Oregon. Indigenous communication is also vanishing in rural Australia, Siberia and central South America. More»

Rate of rape much higher than the rest of the country

(NEWSER) - The official number is bad enough: One in three American Indian women have experienced rape or attempted rape, a rate more than twice the national average. But it gets worse: One survey finds that in some rural villages, the rate of sexual violence is as much as 12 times the national rate, and interviews by the New York Times found that sexual assault is so common that few, if any, Native American women living on tribal reservations escape it. "We should never have a woman come into the office saying, 'I need to learn more about Plan B for when my daughter gets raped,'" says one women's health advocate on a South Dakota reservation. "That’s what’s so frightening—that it’s more expected than unexpected. It has become a norm for young women." More»

Want a job? Avoid fine art, according to 'Daily Beast' list

(NEWSER) - Hey, college students: If your life plans include getting an actual job, you may want to avoid the stars of the Daily Beast 's "most useless" majors list. Majors are ranked in terms of employment, taking into account unemployment rates among recent and experienced grads, earnings, and likely job growth this decade. The list contains a few surprises—sure, fine arts won't get you far, but neither will hospitality management:

1. Fine arts (12.6% unemployment among recent grads; recent grads earn an average $30,000)
2. Drama and theater arts (7.8%, $26,000)

Appearance of physical power increases when holding a weapon: Study

(NEWSER) - A person wielding a gun appears bigger and brawnier than a person without a gun, according to a new UCLA study. Researchers showed photographs of hands clutching guns, power drills, handsaws, and other tools to test subjects and then asked them to guess the size and muscularity of the person holding the object. The photos with guns received the largest estimates, reports the Los Angeles Times . More»