ELL: Re: Lost for Words: BBC Radio 4 Series

[Julia Sallabank]

I have taped this if anyone would like a copy. Today's episode focused on
the situation in Australia, and it moves to Hawai'i next week. The issues
and arguments were ones that we on this list are probably all familiar with,
but it was sympathetic coverage and well presented. Experts David Crystal,
Daniel Nettle and Rob Amery were interviewed, but the majority of the time
was given over to speakers of Aboriginal languages.

One speaker made a point that I could identify with. He said that although
English was his first language, he had never felt that it was his native
language, and now he was reclaiming his own language and finding it very
fulfilling. I think that a major argument for keeping small languages is
that they fulfil an affective need that 'languages of wider communication'
do not. People say about the language I'm studying, 'Guernesiais is
wonderful', or 'I can't help smiling when I speak it'. Have you ever heard
anyone say that about English?

Best wishes
Julia

----- Original Message -----
From: "Nicholas Ostler" <nostler at chibcha.demon.co.uk>
To: <endangered-languages-l at carmen.murdoch.edu.au>
Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 3:44 PM
Subject: ELL: Lost for Words: BBC Radio 4 Series


> Tomorrow (Wednesday 25 Sept.) there is to be the first in a series of
> three  documentaries on endangered languages from 11 to 11.30 am
> (British Summer Time). broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
>
> It is described in this week's "The Guide" in The Guardian:
>
> "Lost for Words" reports on the death of linguistic diversity
> currently taking place at a shocking rate across the globe.  There
> are around 6,000 languages, but roughly every 2 weeks another
> language dies.  Gavin Esler visits places where languages are under
> threat, hearing dialects from Australia, Ireland, Africa and Hawaii
> and tries to find out what can be done to turn the tide.
>
> I have no inside information on this programme, and had no part in
> recording it, but I have heard that it will contain a fair number of
> recordings of speech in different endangered languages.
>
> I presume the next two instalments will occur at the same time in
> following weeks.  I am informed that the producer was Amber Dawson
> <amber.dawson at bbc.co.uk> .
>
> Of course, it will be available on the BBC web-site
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/
> somewhere, after the broadcast.
>
> --
> --------------------------------------------------------------
>                         Nicholas  Ostler
>               Foundation for Endangered Languages
> UK Registered Charity 1070616
>                       http://www.ogmios.org
>         http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Philosophy/CTLL/FEL/
>
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>                    nostler at chibcha.demon.co.uk
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