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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I can think of examples where the higher status
tribes assimmilate much more quickly than the lower status tribes. I'm talking
here about status in their own eyes as well as in the eyes of outsiders. I'll
give you one example. </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>In Brazil, there are two
tribes living more or less in the same area. The Surui are more outgoing and
have think more highly of themselves than the Nambiquara. The Nambiquara have
had contact with outsiders since the 1930's, while the Surui were contacted in
the early 1970's. The Surui are much smaller numerically. Yet they are more
bilingual than the Nambiquara. </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>In fact, in Brazil
and in Canada, (the two places I've worked) it seems to me that it is almost
always the case that the lower status families, individuals, and tribes tend to
retain their language longest.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Stan </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>---- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
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<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=krutel@mville.edu href="mailto:krutel@mville.edu">Laurence D.
Krute</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu
href="mailto:lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu">lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu</A>
; <A title=lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu
href="mailto:lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu">lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, February 14, 2008 2:16
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: 'Status' drives extinction
of languages</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>The process of community language shift are much more complex
than the brief version of the article seems to indicate.<BR><BR>Felecia's
astute comment can be generalized; 'status' and other attitudinal factors
matter a great deal, but status *according to whom* matters a great deal
more, but perceived functionality, among many other factors, matters
far more that that.<BR><BR>Piaroa (Amazonas Territory, Venezuela,
linguistic genetic isolate basically, possibly 13,000) strongly feel that
their society, customs, and language are quite uniquely wonderful, special,
and correct. However, Piaroa are no more monolingual in Piaroa or even
more bilingual in Piaroa and Spanish (as opposed to monolingual Spanish)
than are surrounding indigenous groups, in the face of the equally strong
beliefs to the contrary (that the language, customs, and people are bascially
subhuman) by those whose views matter--local Spanish-speakers....(That
is, Piaroa speakers are still giving up Piaroa.)<BR><BR>Larry<BR><BR>
<P><BR>Dr. Laurence Krute<BR>Associate Dean--Graduate Advising<BR>School of
Education<BR>Manhattanville College<BR>2900 Purchase Street Purchase, NY
10577<BR>voice:914 323-5366<BR>fax:914 323-5493<BR></P><BR><BR>-----Original
Message-----<BR>From: "Felecia Briscoe"
<Felecia.Briscoe@utsa.edu><BR>Sent 2/14/2008 12:03:47 PM<BR>To:
lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu, lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu<BR>Subject:
RE: 'Status' drives extinction of languages<BR><BR>
<META content="MS Exchange Server version 6.5.7652.24" name=Generator><!-- Converted from text/plain format -->
<P><FONT size=2>Doesn't status really mean the language spoken by the group
that controls the most
resources?<BR><BR>Felecia<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>-----Original
Message-----<BR>From: owner-lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu on behalf of Stan
& Sandy Anonby<BR>Sent: Thu 2/14/2008 11:54 AM<BR>To:
lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu<BR>Subject: Re: 'Status' drives extinction of
languages<BR><BR>Interesting. Sounds like it's broadly researched. I've
got a couple of<BR>comments.<BR><BR>1) I wonder how widely the status argument
can be applied. For instance, the<BR>article says the researchers point out
that bilingual societies do exist:<BR>"But the histories of countries where
two languages co-exist today generally<BR>involve split populations that lived
without significant interaction,<BR>effectively in separate, monolingual
societies. Only recently have these<BR>communities begun to mix, allowing
language competition to begin."<BR><BR>Maybe the populations lived without
significant interaction because the<BR>status difference was so great. Maybe
mixing happened recently only because<BR>the lower status language began to
gain prestige.<BR><BR>2) I believe that the increased status of French in
Quebec may have helped<BR>in creating a larger percentage of speakers there.
However, I think larger<BR>factors included the flight of English speakers and
large immigration from<BR>Francophone countries.<BR><BR>Stan
Anonby<BR><BR><BR><BR>----- Original Message -----<BR>From: "Harold Schiffman"
<hfsclpp@gmail.com><BR>To: "lp"
<lgpolicy-list@ccat.sas.upenn.edu><BR>Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008
11:27 AM<BR>Subject: 'Status' drives extinction of languages<BR><BR><BR>>
'Status' drives extinction of languages<BR>> Bob Beale<BR>> ABC Science
Online<BR>><BR>> Thursday, 21 August
2003<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>> A language's status in
society is the best way to predict if it is<BR>> headed for extinction
Languages evolve and compete with each other<BR>> much like plants and
animals, but those driven to extinction are<BR>> almost always tongues with
a low social status, U.S. research shows.<BR>> The social status of a
language is the most accurate way of predicting<BR>> whether it will
survive, argue researchers in a paper appearing today<BR>> in the journal,
Nature . They also suggest that active intervention to<BR>> boost the
status of rare and endangered languages can save them.<BR>> "Thousands of
the world's languages are vanishing at an alarming rate,<BR>> with 90% of
them being expected to disappear with the current<BR>> generation," warned
Dr Daniel Abrams and Professor Steven Strogatz,<BR>> both of Cornell
University in New York.<BR>><BR>> The pair have developed a simple
mathematical model of language<BR>> competition to explain how dialects
such as Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and<BR>> Quechua - the most common surviving
indigenous language in the<BR>> Americas - have lost out to more dominant
tongues.<BR>> The model is based on data they collected on the number of
speakers of<BR>> endangered languages - in 42 regions of Peru, Scotland,
Wales,<BR>> Bolivia, Ireland and Alsaçe-Lorraine - over time. All have been
in<BR>> steep decline over the past century or so, and the model suggests
that<BR>> Scottish Gaelic and Quechua will be close to extinct by about
2030.<BR>><BR>> Previous models of language dynamics have focused on the
transmission<BR>> and evolution of syntax, grammar or other structural
properties of a<BR>> language itself. Yet by comparing various influences
that help to<BR>> explain the steadily declining numbers of speakers of
each language,<BR>> Abrams and Strogatz singled out status as the single
most significant<BR>> factor that could predict its extinction
threat.<BR>><BR>> "Quechua, for example, still has many speakers in
Huanuco, Peru," they<BR>> note. "But its low status is driving a rapid
shift to Spanish, which<BR>> leads to an unfortunate situation in which a
child cannot communicate<BR>> with his or her grandparents." A language's
fate generally depends on<BR>> both its number of speakers and its
perceived status, the latter<BR>> usually reflecting the social or economic
opportunities afforded to<BR>> its speakers, they said. When two languages
are in competition, the<BR>> one that offers the greatest opportunities to
its speakers will<BR>> usually prevail.<BR>><BR>> The researchers
point out that bilingual societies do exist: "But the<BR>> histories of
countries where two languages co-exist today generally<BR>> involve split
populations that lived without significant interaction,<BR>> effectively in
separate, monolingual societies. Only recently have<BR>> these communities
begun to mix, allowing language competition to<BR>> begin." They urged
active intervention to slow the global rate of<BR>> language decline,
pointing out that their model also predicts that<BR>> higher status will
keep a language alive. They also cite a real-life<BR>> instance where this
has happened: "The example of Québec French<BR>> demonstrates that language
decline can be slowed by strategies such as<BR>> policy-making, education
and advertising, in essence increasing an<BR>> endangered language's
status."<BR>> Similar measures may make a difference elsewhere, they
argued.<BR>><BR>> <A
href="http://www.clipclip.org/Bevsiem/clips/detail/66166">http://www.clipclip.org/Bevsiem/clips/detail/66166</A><BR>><BR>>
--<BR>> **************************************<BR>> N.b.: Listing on the
lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to<BR>> its members<BR>>
and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner<BR>>
or sponsor of<BR>> the list as to the veracity of a message's contents.
Members who<BR>> disagree with a<BR>> message are encouraged to post a
rebuttal. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<BR>>
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