Linguist Warns of Language Extinction (fwd)

[Matthew Ward]

Once again, we encounter the misleading belief that "global languages
like English" are responsible for the huge loss of languages worldwide.
 Yes, international languages like English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and
Mandarin Chinese are displacing numerous languages in the societies
where those international languages happen to be the dominant native
languages, but the real culprit is dominant national languages (whether
official or not).  Languages like Thai, Danish, Norwegian, Burmese,
Hindi and Russian are not considered international languages, yet they
threaten the indigenous languages of their societies just as effectively
as do English and French.  Focusing on international languages is highly
misleading.

phil cash cash wrote:

>Linguist Warns of Language Extinction
>
>By Patrick Sheridan
>Special to The Hoya
>Tuesday, November 23, 2004; Page A1
>http://www.thehoya.com/news/112304/news5.cfm
>
>Oxford University English Language Professor Suzanne Romaine emphasized
>the importance of preserving endangered languages in a speech Thursday
>evening at the Leavey Conference Center.
>
>"We should think about languages as other natural resources that require
>preserving," she said.
>
>Much of Romaine's speech focused on the diversity of languages around
>the world, which she said was threatened by the emergence of global
>languages like English.
>
>"We are crossing a threshold of extinction for certain languages," she
>said.
>
>Romaine said that it was not until the 1990s that professional
>linguistics began to be concerned about language death.
>
>She identified three possible responses to this problem.
>
>"One, do nothing. Two, document endangered languages. Or three, sustain
>or revitalize endangered languages," she said.
>
>Romaine noted that there are some linguists who claim that language
>death is a natural process that should not be interrupted.
>
>Romaine also said that most language death affects indigenous peoples
>that are poorly-equipped to prevent it.
>
>"Language death does not happen in the privileged communities, it
>happens to the dispossessed and disempowered," she said.
>
>While indigenous peoples make up only 4 percent of the world's
>population, they speak 60 percent of its over 6,000 languages, Romaine
>said.
>
>Though many dismiss language death outside the industrialized world as
>unimportant, Romaine said the loss of language diversity in the world
>is a significant problem.
>
>To emphasize that point, she described an analogy between language death
>and building destruction.
>
>Romaine said that if one-fifth of the world's buildings were endangered,
>architects would care. Linguists should therefore care in protecting
>languages, no matter where or by whom they are spoken, she said.
>
>She insisted that at the very least there should be an effort to
>document endangered languages. According to Romaine, even if these
>languages no longer serve a practical purpose they should still be
>recorded because knowledge is valuable in itself.
>
>Romaine cautioned, however, that while technology has made documentation
>of languages easier, it has also made the data more vulnerable and less
>likely to endure for future generations.
>
>"We will record more data than any other time but will probably lose
>more data than any other time," Romaine warned.
>
>Romaine also said that attempts to preserve and revitalize endangered
>languages did not require the isolation of indigenous peoples.
>
>"It is not about isolating endangered peoples and languages but at least
>giving them a choice to continue their way of life," she said.
>
>Romaine pointed to the Inuit people of North America as an example of an
>endangered culture and language. She said that over the years, efforts
>by the Canadian government to assimilate them had produced shame about
>their cultural and linguistic identity.
>
>In closing her speech, Romaine reasserted the need to stem language
>death and said that steps need to be taken to empower local
>populations.
>
>Romaine is a visiting professor for the year at Georgetown, serving in
>the Linguistics Department. She is this year's recipient of the Royden
>B. Davis, S.J., Chair in Interdisciplinary Studies.
>
>Her speech was delivered as the annual Royden B. Davis, S.J., Lecture in
>Interdisciplinary Studies.
>
>
>

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