[NDNAIM] Activists and Scholars Meet at UCSB to Learn How to Save Endangered Languages

[ROOD DAVID S]

Paul, the classic "revival" success stories are Czech and Hebrew, and 
maybe Hawaiian, to the best of my knowledge -- so it does happen.  But I 
think some of the larger Siouan languages are on the right track, e.g. 
Crow and Lakota.

David



David S. Rood
Dept. of Linguistics
Univ. of Colorado
295 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0295
USA
rood at colorado.edu

On Fri, 4 Jul 2008, voorhis at westman.wave.ca wrote:

> Jimm GoodTracks wrote:
>> *Subject:* Fw: [NDNAIM] Activists and Scholars Meet at UCSB to Learn
>> How to Save Endangered Languages
>
> < snip >
>> ... to examine successful models of language preservation ...
> < snip >
>
> I guess I ought to attend the conference to learn the "successful models
> of language preservation," but aside from the obvious success that comes
> from having a million or more speakers in a politically and economically
> independent state, is there any other successful model?  And how do you
> measure success, and how do you know when you've achieved it?  Would the
> Celts have claimed success in preserving their language in 100 BC or the
> Goths in 300 AD?
>
> But the subject line speaks of "endangered languages."  Success at
> preserving one of those must be measured by restoring the language to
> regular use in a community which has been mostly using some other
> language.  Has that ever happened anywhere?
>
> Paul
>