Stephanie Fielding
Mohegan linguist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stephanie "Morning Fire" Fielding (Mohegan: Yôpôwi Yoht) is a Mohegan linguist. Her work focuses on the resurrection and revitalization of the Mohegan language.[4] During the 2017-2018 academic year, she was a Presidential Fellow and lecturer in the Department of Linguistics at Yale University.[5][6] Fielding lives on the Mohegan reservation in southeastern Connecticut, in Uncasville.[3] She is a member of the Baha'i faith.[7]
- Morning Fire
- Yôpôwi Yoht
Stephanie Fielding | |
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| Born | Stephanie Mugford Fielding |
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| Citizenship | Mohegan, American |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations | Linguist, teacher, writer, editor, graphic artist, radio announcer |
| Known for | Reconstruction of the Mohegan language |
| Notable work |
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| Board member of |
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| Relatives | Fidelia Fielding (Great-great-great-aunt) |
Biography and career
Fielding holds a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics and anthropology from the University of Connecticut, as well as a Master of Science in linguistics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).[8] She was the first student to graduate from a two-year Masters program at MIT "for members of indigenous communities whose languages are dead or dying."[9] Her Master's thesis, The Phonology of Mohegan-Pequot,[10] includes diary excerpts written in Mohegan from her relative Fidelia Fielding, the last fluent speaker of the Mohegan language.[11] Much of Fielding's graduate work focused on linguistic algorithms that allow her to take accepted proto-Algonquian words in order to recreate an authentic Mohegan vocabulary.[12]
In 2006, Fielding published A Modern Mohegan Dictionary.[13] She also created the online Mohegan Language Project,[14] a central part of her efforts to keep her ancestral language alive. Of this project, Fielding states that "the goal is fluency," and offers links to a Mohegan-English dictionary, phrase book, pronunciation guide, exercises, and an audio option.[15] In an interview with the New York Times, Fielding said "In order for a language to survive and resurrect, it needs people talking it, and for people to talk it, there has to be a society that works on it."[16] Fielding has also written a short story collection,[17] as well as multiple children's books to offer both children and parents exposure to and practice with the language.[7]
She has worked "as a teacher, writer, editor, graphic artist and radio announcer. She has also served on the board of directors of educational institutions, media outlets, non-profit organizations, and religious organizations."[8] She often translates English into Mohegan for speakers at Mohegan traditional ceremonies.[18] She also worked "extensively" on the Walk Norwich Project in 2015 to aid in adding a Mohegan pathway.[19]