<html><head><base href="x-msg://169/"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Dear Irena,<div><br></div><div>"death" is not just a shocking and dramatic metaphor, in the case of language extinction it is in some ways fundamentally wrong. </div><div><br></div><div>For an individual organism, man, animal or plant, death is the natural end of their naturally finite life. But languages are not individual organisms. Rather, they are like biological species or populations – they consist of individuals (individual speakers, or the "grammars" in the heads of the individual speakers) which die and, normally, are replaced. In this recreation process, language changes and may gradually develop into something completely different. But it is not "naturally" destined to die out, to become extinct. Languages do not die a natural death, although they can be killed.</div><div><br></div><div>Comparing languages with individual living organisms "normalises" language extinction and invokes the obsolete ideas of languages having "childhood", "youth", "full manhood" and "old age", which would imply that some languages are on a higher stage of development than others. These are popular ideas and powerful images which, IMHO, we as linguists must fight.</div><div><br></div><div>Best</div><div>Johanna Laakso<br><div apple-content-edited="true">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>--</div><div>Univ.Prof. Dr. Johanna Laakso</div><div>Universität Wien, Institut für Europäische und Vergleichende Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft (EVSL)</div><div>Abteilung Finno-Ugristik</div><div>Campus AAKH Spitalgasse 2-4 Hof 7</div><div>A-1090 Wien</div><div><a href="mailto:johanna.laakso@univie.ac.at">johanna.laakso@univie.ac.at</a> • <a href="http://homepage.univie.ac.at/Johanna.Laakso/">http://homepage.univie.ac.at/Johanna.Laakso/</a></div><div>Project ELDIA: <a href="http://www.eldia-project.org/">http://www.eldia-project.org/</a> </div><div><br></div></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
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<br><div><div>Irena Kolbas kirjoitti 2.9.2013 kello 12.39:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div lang="HR" link="blue" vlink="purple"><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1; "><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Dear all,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">I am curator and linguist and I'm working on documentation and musealisaton on endangered languages in Croatia since 2001.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">I don't understand what's wrong with coffin metaphor? Aren't we talking about dying languages? They are dying together with their culture. Man is dying, do you say to the children that the dead man is sleeping? If so, why? Children should be tought that dying is a part of everday life! Why euphemism like sleeping, or tree or other suggested metaphors? It is the role of museum to teach the children (and adults too), not to telling them fairy tales. We must prepare children for life, or is it idea to keep the children away from everyday life?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Kind regards,<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">Irena Kolbas<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div><div style="border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(181, 196, 223); border-top-width: 1pt; padding-top: 3pt; padding-right: 0cm; padding-bottom: 0cm; padding-left: 0cm; "><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; ">From:</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; "><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Endangered Languages List [mailto:ENDANGERED-LANGUAGES-L@listserv.linguistlist.org]<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>On Behalf Of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>Johanna Laakso<br><b>Sent:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Monday, September 02, 2013 6:37 AM<br><b>To:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:ENDANGERED-LANGUAGES-L@LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">ENDANGERED-LANGUAGES-L@LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG</a><br><b>Subject:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Re: Endangered Languages in Museum<o:p></o:p></span></div></div></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Dear All,<o:p></o:p></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">thanks for the interesting discussion! I also like the tree metaphor (which, of course, may be overused as well, see e.g. <a href="http://www.hf.uio.no/multiling/english/" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">http://www.hf.uio.no/multiling/english/</a> ).<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">But, whatever the metaphor, I think that the greatest challenge in spreading information about endangered languages is avoiding "the extinction narrative". Any metaphor taken from nature is especially prone to this vulgar Darwinist idea of some languages "being less fit for survival", which means that their extinction is natural and expectable and due to some laws of nature. The extinction narrative also often comes with an expert-centred, static and reified idea of language: it is up to linguists, the Great White Hunters, to "save the language", and a language is "saved" when it is documented and a grammar, a dictionary and a critical mass of texts and/or recordings are available. (Of course, it is part of the truth that a language properly documented and with a viable standard may well have more prestige and better chances to survive.) <o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">So any research into endangered languages is readily presented in the media as a "rescue mission", although, as we all know, the truth is that no well-meaning outsider can save a language if the speakers themselves have decided to give it up. On the other hand, emphasising the importance of speaker agency should not mean denying the reality of inequality, discrimination and oppression: if speakers give up their language, they do it for what they feel to be a compelling reason and often silently mourn the loss of the old language.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Perhaps a garden would be an even better metaphor than a tree. A healthy language includes many varieties, it can have many speakers or just a few, it can be of measurable economic importance or just the carrier of values which can never be measured with money, it must be tended but it also takes favourable external circumstances to make a garden really flourish... And even a neglected and withered garden can be made living and green again. <o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">A beautiful example of successful revitalisation is Inari Sámi in Finland. See the book by Marja-Liisa Olthuis, Suvi Kivelä and Tove Skutnabb-Kangas ( <a href="http://www.multilingual-matters.com/display.asp?K=9781847698872" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">http://www.multilingual-matters.com/display.asp?K=9781847698872</a> ), the accompanying website ( <a href="http://www.casle.fi/" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">http://www.casle.fi/</a> ) and the film by Suvi Kivelä (with English subtitles: <a href="http://youtu.be/e0YcIkUoEhc" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">http://youtu.be/e0YcIkUoEhc</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>) nicely demonstrating the key factors to this success: activism and committed people in the community, and the crucial role of the "language nest", the immersion kindergarten which by now has raised dozens of new speakers .<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Best<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Johanna Laakso<o:p></o:p></div><div><div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">--<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Univ.Prof. Dr. Johanna Laakso<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Universität Wien, Institut für Europäische und Vergleichende Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft (EVSL)<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Abteilung Finno-Ugristik<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Campus AAKH Spitalgasse 2-4 Hof 7<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">A-1090 Wien<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><a href="mailto:johanna.laakso@univie.ac.at" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">johanna.laakso@univie.ac.at</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>•<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://homepage.univie.ac.at/Johanna.Laakso/" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">http://homepage.univie.ac.at/Johanna.Laakso/</a><o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Project ELDIA:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.eldia-project.org/" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">http://www.eldia-project.org/</a> <o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 12pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div><div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Andreas Kyriacou kirjoitti 1.9.2013 kello 21.43:<o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><br><br><o:p></o:p></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">I listened to a talk on endangered languages by Balthasar Bickel of University Zürich today. He used Baruya as an example of how language loss can result in the disappearance of cultural knowledge. He listed 23 words, which their mother tongue provides to label different varieties of sugarcane. As speakers switch to the local lingua franca, tok pisin, these are all replaced by the single term 'suga'.<o:p></o:p></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Maybe you could use such an example to showcase to a lay audience what consequences language loss can have.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">I too find the coffin a problematic metaphor, not mainly because of its negative connotation as such, but because it's so overused. Every other demonstration seems to involve carrying a coffin around.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Andreas<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div><div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">On 30.08.2013, at 12:54, Lena Terhart <<a href="mailto:lena.terhart@GMX.DE" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">lena.terhart@GMX.DE</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><br><br><o:p></o:p></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Peter,<o:p></o:p></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">you may be right that a coffin is not very creative nor very sensitive towards speakers of endangered languages, especially the ones who take effort to revitalise their languages, BUT<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- the whole exhibition is about language and not language endangerment or language diversity, it is mostly based on German word plays, rhymes etc.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- and I suppose that 99.9% of the visitors have never ever heard about endangered languages<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">- therefore, we need one strong metaphor that is understandable for children from 5 years on without too much explaining text<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Language revitalisation is definitely worth mentioning and representing, but it is only a consequence of languages dying or languages that cease to be spoken if you prefer to put it like that.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Robert Amery proposed to exhibit a phoenix together with the coffin to represent language revitalisation. I like that idea and will propose it to the ones in charge of the exhibition. I am also open to other ideas, but the final conception of the exhibition is planned for next week already.<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Lena<o:p></o:p></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div><div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Am 30.08.2013 um 06:56 schrieb Peter Austin:<o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><br><br><o:p></o:p></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Will there be a day when this death and dying metaphor can be put to rest? A coffin? My goodness, can't we be a little bit more creative? And a little bit more sensitive?<br><br>How about sharing some lessons from communities working to revitalise their languages? There are lots of games, apps and other fun interactive things for kids to do that are freely available on the internet now. Put a nice package of them together and sensitise the kids to how languages are threatened but communities are responding to strengthen their languages. You could start by looking at<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.firstvoices.com/" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">www.firstvoices.com</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and moving on from there.<br><br>That's my 2p worth.<br><br>Peter Austin<br><br><br>On Friday, 30 August 2013, Lena Terhart <<a href="mailto:lena.terhart@gmx.de" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">lena.terhart@gmx.de</a>> wrote:<br>> Dear Colleagues,<br>><br>> the UNIKATUM children's museum in Leipzig, Germany, is preparing an exhibition on language (<a href="http://www.kindermuseum-unikatum.de/papperlapapp.html" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">http://www.kindermuseum-unikatum.de/papperlapapp.html</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>in German). I thought it would be nice to present language endangerment as part of the exhibition and together with the responsible people of the museum, we are now thinking about one exhibit, probably a coffin that shall be filled with words that may die out.<br>><br>> In order to present a big variety of endangered languages, I would like to ask you to contribute with<br>> - a list of max. 5 words in the endangered language (basic vocabulary, something that may be interesting for children, e.g. animals, plants, natural phenomena, or maybe also simple verbs)<br>> - in the orthographic convention you use<br>> - together with a translation<br>> - and some basic info about the geographic location and number and age of speakers or alternatively a link to your website where I can find the information<br>><br>> Additionally, photographs of the speakers and/or environment could be very nice, and ideally also recordings of the words (MP3), but that is not a requisite - I know that the search for individual words and cutting process may be too time-consuming.<br>><br>> The mounting of the exhibition will start on the 16th of september already so that I need the word lists until the 13th latest.<br>><br>> Thanks!<br>> Lena<br>><br><br>--<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br>Prof Peter K. Austin<br>Marit Rausing Chair in Field Linguistics<br>Director, Endangered Languages Academic Programme<o:p></o:p></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">Research Tutor and PhD Convenor<br>Department of Linguistics, SOAS<br>Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square<br>London WC1H 0XG<br>United Kingdom<br><br>web:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.hrelp.org/aboutus/staff/index.php?cd=pa" target="_blank" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">http://www.hrelp.org/aboutus/staff/index.php?cd=pa</a><o:p></o:p></div></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div><div><div><div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 9pt; ">---<o:p></o:p></span></div></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span style="font-size: 9pt; ">Spitalgasse 8, CH-8001 Zürich, home: +41 442 531 896, mobile: +41 76 479 62 96<br><a href="http://kyriacou.ch/" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">http://kyriacou.ch</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/andreaskyriacou" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">http://www.twitter.com/andreaskyriacou</a>, <a href="http://www.xing.com/profile/Andreas_Kyriacou" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">http://www.xing.com/profile/Andreas_Kyriacou</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/andreas.kyriacou" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; ">http://www.facebook.com/andreas.kyriacou</a><o:p></o:p></span></div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><o:p> </o:p></div></div></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-left: 0cm; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "></p></div></div></div></span></blockquote></div><br></div></body></html>