Saving Endangered Languages…. more

There is a current belief that perhaps consolidating into fewer language groups will grease the wheels of peace, progress, trade, and education, but I disagree.  Many of the reasons why have been summed up beautifully in the prolific author David Crystal’s book, Language Death. Anyone interested in the subject will find a thoughtful and profound argument for preserving all the languages we can in this book.

Linguistic diversity is as important as ecological diversity.  Just as ecological diversity is a source for renewal, so also linguistic DNA is a source for renewal. In language lies the secret of being human, which involves constant adaptation. Every language represents a linguistic, governmental, familial, religious, historical, and artistic body of knowledge and achievement which can feed those who come in contact with it. Some languages produce sounds we never knew humans could produce; some produce the plural in similarly amazing ways.  The poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti wrote, “Pity the nation that knows/No other language than its own/And no other culture but its own.”

Languages express our identity. Crystal quotes a Welsh proverb, “A nation without a language is a nation without a heart.”  Imagine being forced to forsake your mother’s lullabies, the Grace said at table, the songs of your childhood. Our hearts wrap around such things. Many aspects of our home culture are to be found in our language.  By realizing this, we can appreciate the sacrifices made by immigrants when they join our cultures.

Exercise: Introduce students to the Omniglot website which has analyses and soundbites of many different languages.  They can continue their research into their heritage language, or into another language of their choice.

endangered languages, linguistics, linguistics in the classroom, multilingualism

endangered languages, multilingualism, Teaching English as a Second Language