Speaking 1 Language

[Andre Cramblit]

Talk of the Nation
Guests:
Steven Bird
* Associate Professor, Linguistics
* Associate Director and Senior Researcher, Linguistics Data  
Consortium, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Jerold Edmondson
* Professor, Linguistics, University of Texas, Arlington, Arlington,  
Texas

Lawrence Kaplan
* Director, Alaska Native Language Center
* Professor, Linguistics, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Faibanks,  
Alaska

Some linguists predict that by the end of this century half of the  
languages now spoken in the world will be extinct. In this hour,  
we'll look at the world's endangered and dying languages. How is a  
culture shaped by its language? Does it really matter if we all speak  
the same language one day?

To listen to the discussion:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1139510