Endangered Languages
Starting Point. Discuss the questions below.
Do you know any languages which are at the risk of dying out?
Should we save endangered languages? Why (not)?
Information
Language endangerment or language death has only really come to the attention of the general public in the last ten years or so. Before this time, the study of languages which were said to be ‘dying’ was largely confined to academic publications and to the work of activists who aimed to preserve or revitalize the endangered languages in their own communities. Nowadays, however, it is possible to find on a regular basis articles in newspapers and magazines about languages which are being revived around the world. As larger or more dominant languages spread, children whose parents speak a small language often grow up learning the dominant language. Depending on attitudes toward the heritage language, those children or their children may never learn the smaller language, or they may forget it as it falls out of use. This has occurred throughout recorded history, but the rate of language disappearance has increased considerably in recent years.
Languages can carry cultural knowledge that does not translate directly to other languages. Cultural knowledge may include how to grow certain foods or hunt. It may be stories passed down from generation to generation. People who work to preserve languages generally believe that losing a language means a loss of inherited knowledge—the kind that is passed on from generation to generation. And inherited knowledge is really what makes human culture unique.
Focus on Vocabulary. Match the words with the correct meaning.
Focus on Listening. Watch the video. Read the transcript below if necessary.
Focus on Comprehension. Answer the questions below about the video.
Focus on Speaking.Â
- If a language stops being spoken, what is lost with it?
- What was most striking to you about these film clips? Or, what were you surprised to learn?
- Do you have ideas or even guesses about why a language stops being used?
- What elements of culture are lost when a language dies out? Which elements of culture are independent of language?
- How do widely spoken languages affect lesser used, or endangered languages? And how does a language become endangered?
- Do you or classmates speak other languages?
- How do you think culture is linked to language?
