=?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=98How_to_protect_our_language_s=E2=80=99_?=(fwd l ink)

[Richard Zane Smith]

many of us in the process of revitalizing a threatened language know its not
just "language"
we are resurrecting ,but the lifeways that the language is imbedded in.

modern generic english is a useful tool - IF its understood NOT as a
*replacement
language*,
but as a tool (as I'm using it here) for cross-cultural and or generic
exchange.Even in that way
it can have its own beauty,poetry and function...as a steel tool might
"surpass" a stone tool.

English feels like the ENEMY when its lost its context and becomes THE
LANGUAGE.
As when English became the language of cultural conquest used in boarding
schools here.

generic-english might be that invasive species WHEN it's USED consciously or
unconsciously
as a tool to REPLACE or undermine another's cultural thinking pattern. But I
doubt most peoples
of the world would give up the use of steel (as an invasive species) simply
because it didn't
arise from our own indigenous culture.

always love these kinds of thoughtful exchanges on this forum! (stretching
our english too!)

ske:nonh (peace/well-being)
Richard Zane Smith
Wyandotte, Oklahoma



On Wed, Sep 7, 2011 at 5:50 PM, Anna Weil <everyshadow at gmail.com> wrote:

> I completely agree with the 'invasive species' metaphor. As someone
> interested in language preservation who is also currently studying TEFL, I
> have mixed feelings about the field - I'd like to get a job overseas and
> teach, but I'd rather also learn whatever language is spoken wherever I go
> than only promote mine. It seems to me that English is becoming a necessary
> skill in our global world, so it is important that people learn it.
> Economically, they might be better off being able to speak English. But they
> must also understand the importance of their own language and find ways to
> keep it alive as well. Shouldn't everyone be at least bilingual in this
> world? We might all end up speaking English, but as long as the other
> languages also remain alive I'm basically ok with that fact. The problem is,
> other languages are dying out. We need more organizations like the Living
> Tongues Institute encouraging speakers of minority languages to keep on
> speaking, although that is not a final solution.
>
> ~Anna Weil
>



-- 
*"this language of mine,of yours,is who we are and who we have been.It is
where we find our stories,our lives,our ancestors;and it should be where we
find our future too"   Simon Anaviapik ... Inuit*

richardzanesmith.wordpress.com
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