Hóčha,it's great if you can read Lakota. It's amazing if you can write Lakota (without using the dictionary for every word
) but what is super fantastic is if you speak it to everyone, as much as you know even if it's just hiyá or háŋ, all the time (unless you're in a foreign language class 
). After all Lakota is first and foremost a spoken language. But of course you all speak it all the time. What am I thinking of Probably lack of coffee 
.When I adopted waníyaŋpiwaye Nakóma (igmú mitȟáwa) from a rescue center 8 years ago I told her, "Thiyáta Lakȟól'uŋkiyapi ečéla" /at home we only speak Lakota. You say to her, "Loyáčhiŋ he
" /are you hungry? and she is straight over to her dish (Of course she has just got used to sounds I say followed by a certain action but I like to think she does understand me. ). This was one of my better crazy ideas. Try speaking to animals or people. You'll soon get used to hearing yourself speak and then it becomes more natural.Tókša
