First, it was "Star Wars." Now it’s "Finding Nemo." The animated Disney mega hit is about to be second movie ever to be dubbed into the Navajo language.
A trio of Navajo linguists just spent 36 hours translating the script. Manuelito Wheeler is the director of the Navajo Nation Museum in Window Rock, which helped produce a Navajo version of Star Wars last year. Wheeler was at its big-screen premiere.
"People were very proud of being Navajo and every time a new character came on board, everybody cheered, you know," Wheeler said. "It was so cool. So, that in itself leads to language preservation."
Wheeler hopes this new project will continue to inspire more people, especially youngsters, to study Navajo. But first, he needs to recruit Navajo speakers to dub the film. Auditions are Dec. 19 and 20 at the museum.
