more on "2008 - International Year of Languages"

[phil cash cash]

2008 - International Year of Languages

As we enter 2008, we are reminded to reflect on the unique status of human
languages in the world.  Never before has our humanity witnessed such a
dramatic decline in our linguistic and cultural diversity.

"The loss of local languages and of the cultural systems which they express, has
meant irretrievable loss of diverse and interesting intellectual wealth. Only
with diversity can it be guaranteed that all avenues of human intellectual
progress will be traveled."  Ken Hale, 1992.

At the same time, we are also witness to the resurgence of indigenous/aboriginal
activism with its emphasis on language revival, language maintenance, and the
creation of new speakers.  Around the world, linguists, linguistic
anthropologists, and film makers are steadily embarking on documentation
projects to record what may possibly be the last words of a uniquely spoken
language.

In 1996, it was estimated that at least 6,703 separate languages were spoken in
the world (LSA web page).  Elsewhere, it was also estimated that in every two
weeks time, a language was known to lose its last speaker and thus become
extinct (LT web page).  Let's do a little math here.  Every year 26 languages
will go extinct.  Every decade 260 languages will go extinct.  So, in 2008, at
least 312 languages have gone extinct since the 1996 census.  This estimate
leaves us with at least 6,391 viable languages yet existing in the world.
Understandably though, these numbers are ONLY estimates and the realities of
language loss are relatively unknown.

The looming threat of losing one's language, however, is very real and for many
indigenous/aboriginal communities the future is uncertain.

Undeniably, most all of us--indigenous/aboriginal communities, linguists,
anthropologists, students, & interested observers--recognize that our
language(s) and culture matter.  Further, UNESCO recognizes that our "cultural
diversity is closely linked to linguistic diversity."

So "How can one help?" you ask.  Become an everyday language activist!

1) Get the message out concerning language endangerment. Create awareness.

2) Become an expert on the suppression of linguistic and cultural diversity.

3) Create your own web site, blog, and/or listserv supporting an endangered
language.

4) Get media coverage and tell a dramatic human story on language endangerment &
revitalization.

5) Raise money and contribute to foundations supporting language endangerment
(ELF, FEL, ILI, etc)!

6) Raise money and contribute directly to community-based language
documentation/revitalization projects.

7) Donate material resources or in-kind contributions directly to endangered
language communities.

8) Devote part or all of your scholarly/graduate career on documenting an
endangered language.

9) Support community advocacy and grass-roots efforts on language endangerment
issues.

10) Organize a sponsored event supporting community advocacy or language
endangerment issues.

Take this moment in time to reflect upon the unlimited possibilities for change
in the way we think about language endangerment and linguistic/cultural
diversity.  Can you make a difference?  Yes, absolutely!

Phil Cash Cash (Cayuse/Nez Perce)
University of Arizona

ps: feel free to distribute this email to your favorite list or blog!

Web Pages Cited

What Is an Endangered Language?
Linguistic Society of America (LSA)
http://www.lsadc.org/info/ling-faqs-endanger.cfm

Living Tongues (LT)
Institute for Endangered Languages
http://www.livingtongues.org/

Message from Mr Koïchiro Matsuura,
Director-General of UNESCO, on the celebration of 2008, International Year of
Languages
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=35559&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html