Language is how the world communicates. It is something every person in the world contributes to, whether a person speaks a common language, spoken by a large percentage of the population, like English or Spanish, or a more intimate language, spoken by few, if even, by one person out of the entire population, like Tuvan or Siletz Dee-ni. Language is something we all share. With language being so vital to communication and a large part of an individual’s cultural identity, it is important to preserve it. In today’s world, due to new technologies and mass urbanization, society is faced with the harsh reality that many languages are going extinct, and due to this, a large but overlooked part of culture is lost beyond recovery. In order to fix …show more content…
There is no clear cut answer or checklist to why some languages die and others survive. However, the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) found reasons while trying to determine the vitality of a language. UNESCO, by way of a web diagram created by an international group of linguists, came up with nine possibilities: absolute number of speakers, intergenerational language transmissions community members attitudes towards their language, shifts in domains of language use, Governmental and institutional language attitudes and policies, including language status and use, type and quality of documentation, response to new domains and media, availability of materials for language education and literacy, and lastly proportion of speakers within the total population. ("Language Vitality | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.") Speakers attitudes towards their language is a large concern for language vitality. Believe it or not, there are people who want their language to die. For example, the Maidu people, a Native American tribe located in California, see the eradication of …show more content…
With the current threat to languages being so high, society must recognize what they can do to help. K. David Harrison, co-leader of the Enduring Voices Project at National Geographic, did when he and a team of others created the Talking Dictionary Project. This project goes around the world recording, documenting and archiving many endangered languages for the public to look at and use later. Many of the languages that Harrison and his team documents are small and seemingly unheard of with little vitality left. Without people like Harrison, these threatened dialects would disappear into thin air, and parts of culture and history would be lost to the world. Phrases, poems, legends, stories, etc., would vanish (""Talking Dictionaries" to Document Vanishing Languages."). People often overlook the fact that a vital part of who society is today is because of language. Danny Hieber, solidified his point when he wrote, “Speaking is often an act in itself, such as when we say “I promise” or “I hereby declare.” Today many linguists acknowledge that all language is performative. … Just like any other action, we speak and write in order to bring about effects on the world, or in the mental states of others.” in his article for the Mises Institute, a renowned epicenter for Austrian economics, freedom, and peace ("Language as Action").
There are two forms of languages; public and private. The "private" language only spoken with family and close intimate relationships. The "public" language used in society, work, and school. Both of these help form two identities, that help us connect and communicate with one another. In the essay “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan and also in the article “Speech Communities” by Paul Roberts ,we will see how both private and public language demonstrate how we view, and grow from each language.
Even though the dominance of a language can allow for the loss of a culture, it can also bring awareness. In schools, local community centers and other various places, foreign languages are taught, not only do non-native speakers take on these languages but native speakers do as well to keep their culture. By doing so it “revitalizes cultures and cultural artifacts through foreign influences, technologies, and markets.” (Gerdes
Language is a means of communication and it varies from one community to another. Everyone has a mother tongue which depended on the family’s upbringing. A second language can be learned along the way. There are also instances where a person is born in a community that speaks two languages and therefore, had to learn both languages. The quality of the languages learned will be affected by how well the community speaks both languages. This can later develop into a new form of language. The essay describes the frustration of the author who felt rejected by different groups for speaking a different form of language. Her essay aims to gain sympathy from readers by seeing the issue from her point of view. Anzaldua attempts to achieve this in her essay by raising issues on identity and discrimination. She wanted to highlight that language is not determined by a country’s physical borders.
Overall, this essay argues about the power of language. Tan argues through her writing how people, who struggle with English, are mistreated within the society. It is also an eye opener for those who quickly judge those who speak broken English. There are also many more families out there who struggle with the same thing. They may always ask for their kid’s help with writing letters or making a phone calls. This “broken” English has made Tan closer to her mother and her love for her mother grow. That is why she loves her mother’s tongue, it is the way they communicate and understand each other the best. However, this essay teaches us not to take the power of language for-granted and to help others not to judge those who have a hard time with English. Everyone struggles, so don’t be quick to criticize them.
For this summary I watched a video called Voices of the World: The Extinction of Language and Linguistic Diversity. The video starts off with how people believe that there are about 6, 000 languages. David Crystal talks about how with all these different languages half of them are endangered of becoming extinct. Each different language offers a different point of view of the world and culture. He said that if different languages are lost then “we lose the meaning what is it to be human.”
This essay will discuss the causes of language death and if endangered languages are worth saving. This essay agrees that endangered languages are worth saving and that many factors contribute to language death. Firstly the essay will explain what language death is and the meaning of what is an endangered language. Secondly discuss language death and language birth. Thirdly discuss the causes of language death. Lastly, critically discuss if endangered languages are worth saving. The purpose of this essay is to show that language death is much higher than language birth.
Web. 23 Apr. 2012. . 7) Wilford, John Noble. "World's Language Dying Off Rapidly." Www.nytimes.com.
The Beauty of Language Our world is composed of various beautiful cultures that are bound together by language. Language is a transformative tool that bridges divides, connects disparate people and cultures together, and is used to effectively express oneself. Living in such a diverse environment, I am able to witness firsthand the powerful abilities language has to connect all sorts of people together, despite their differences in cultures. Language has also been used as a sort of refuge for me, when tackling challenges. I used to struggle greatly when expressing myself, but through works of literature, I have been able to address this issue and can now articulate my ideas and express my thoughts effectively.
“Language is the light of the mind” (Mills, n.d.) This quote is a prime illustration of the impact language places in the context of various cultures. Whether it be a specific culture, such as Bulgarian, or language on a grander scale, it is language’s role to encapsulate the essence of human interaction. In addition, each culture is uniquely identified through its own idioms, alphabet, history, and ultimately its linguistic relativity in general. Overall, language is imperative for communication cross-culturally and interpersonally. In sum, it is importunate of culture to have an effective language which carries not only an established written alphabet, history, and uniqueness, but also holds specific characteristics
Introduction There are roughly 7.4 billion people in the world, with over 6000 diverse cultures and societies. Within these cultures lie languages and dialects. Unfortunately, there are several hundred languages that have faded away from a cultures tounge. This research paper analyzes the factors that lead to the death and life of a language. Research Question
Language influences the view of the world, embodies a person’s essential for survival to communicate with people, interpret ideas, and have perspective about cultural and traditional knowledge. However, Language extinction is a huge element in every day’s life. Because language extinction also means the culture, religion, social values, and its history is slowly getting loss at the same time. There are many factors to language extinction due to the population, educational, and economic principles. Melanesian is one of the rapid extinction of the world's languages that are endangered before they disappear completely.
Language is the lens through which we see the world. Each child is born into an existing linguistic environment, where they become involved in experiences that shape their cultural and social understandings of language. Language is materialistic, and is physically present in this world through the use of speech, audio recordings and writing (Gee & Hayes, 2011). To be able to teach language in the classroom, there needs to be a mutual understanding of the different phonological aspects, that enable sound to be heard in different cultures and contexts. In order to understand the language we teach, we must be aware that language has a voice, attitude and power that creates it’s meaning (Sharifian et al, 2004). To devoid language from social context
Language has a personality and a mood, created by the behavior of the speakers and their cultural identity. Moreover, this includes the tools speaker use to communicate through i.e. sign language. Languages can be described by human emotions and feelings; therefore, language is personified and dynamic. Historical events have lead to changes in languages in caused flexibility and dynamicity of language. Globalization and colonization also had an effect in word borrowing, and many languages have been altered due to this. Languages are also interpre...
The use of language in a society is crucial to form a strong bond between people. Being a bilingual Bruneian family that uses “bahasa rojak” is seen as the most conventional way to sustain our communication in Brunei’s society. Also, we show respect and achieve solidarity as my family and I adjust our languages as we travel. These are the ways that my family communicates amongst others, to obey to general consensus in language and us.
Language. It is a sign of who we are and where we come from. As language defines us, so does it unite us, but it can also impose barriers that drive us apart. As our society aggressively pursues globalization, individuals who maintain cultural sensitivity and strive for effective communication despite language barriers will be an increasingly important commodity; individuals who can also pass the gift of adept communication to others will be invaluable. On the eve of my college graduation, the culmination of four years ' immersion in language and communication and the beginning of a lifetime of educating others in these disciplines, I feel increasingly the weight of