the argument for language maintenance

[Dr Christina Eira - VACL]

One position would be that the argument is only taking into account the
single, relatively recent nation 'Australia' and forgetting that the
older continent has/had many nations (and cultures and languages). It's
kinda like saying there should only be one language for Africa.

Dr Christina Eira
-----Original Message-----
From: Margaret Carew [mailto:margaret.carew at batchelor.edu.au] 
Sent: Thursday, 25 March 2010 10:40 PM
To: r-n-l-d at unimelb.edu.au
Subject: FW: the argument for language maintenance


Hi there

I got this question - see below - from a (non-linguist) colleague. I
thought it would be interesting to conduct a quick survey amongst RNLD
members, so please read on...
 
Folks,

When you have a quiet reflective moment...

re: the argument for language maintenance

What are the standard replies given to people who complain that there 
are too many Aboriginal languages for language maintenance, that 
supporting all those languages will cost too much, etc.

And New Zealand is given as an example where language maint is 
practical, because only 1 language.

I'm thinking there must be some standard ideas on this question in 
linguistic circles.





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