2,500 languages threatened with extinction

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090219/ts_afp/worldlanguagesunesco

by rockstar9 • 17 years ago

2 4 17 years ago

news.yahoo.com

alecst• 17 years ago

On one hand, I understand that this is inevitable. No language can be spoken forever, and unless there is a reason to communicate in a language, it will evaporate. This is a natural consequence of increasing communication between nations which are searching for a standard language with which to use.

On the other hand, there is a certain emptiness associated with a language which is no longer spoken, entombed in books. My inner linguist laments the death of these obscure languages and dialects.

I won't grieve too much, for as language evolves, communication between humans is facilitated. As most people will only feel comfortable learning one, maybe two languages, why not learn the ones most spoken? Of course languages are going to "go extinct," that is the nature of their evolution: survival of the fittest.

greml1n• 17 years ago

I think it is more survival of the least unfit, but I agree. I'll be happy with English, Arabic and Mandarin.

jacquesm• 17 years ago

make that Spanish, Mandarin and English...

geebee• 17 years ago

There's another possibility: everyone is bilingual in "Universal" (English) and "local language X". As long as you have a few thousand people, speak whatever you like.

English really isn't the greatest choice for international language - it is fairly idiomatic - but it wasn't really a "choice" anyway. Still, it appears to be heading for international language status. I read that conferences in Asia, where native speakers of English are less than 1% of participants, often just use English to deal with the fact that there are hundreds of languages represented at the conference.

At the same time, many (admittedly well educated) countries are proving that you can use your native language and English. Based on my most recent trip, I'd say it's easier to get clear directions in English from a bus driver in Stockholm than in San Francisco.

So ironically, the widespread use of English could actually be a boon for obscure languages. You can preserve one for cultural identity, and use English for business. That said, this model is probably not going to help the last 500 speakers in a remote village without running water.

2,500 languages threatened with extinction

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