Greensboring.com | Greensboro, NC

What is the one legendary story you wish to be told when you are gone? No doubt, something fantastic. None of us want to be remembered for things said in angry rants or the idiotic slurs on an evening of lost inhibitions. If you were given the opportunity to open your mouth and let words of pure brilliance escape, then capture them in a time capsule, what would you say? Can you imagine sharing a piece of history in the words you spoke with your ancestors, while sharing a shred of your wisdom with future generations? Every spoken word, every written word is a link, insight to where your people have come from and evidence of what you’ve contributed to mankind. How sad would it be if no one remembered you at all? In many cultures around the world, the moment the last elder dies, no one ever speaks their story again. “Every 14 days another language dies “ (World Oral Literature Project).

The Arctic Inugguits are a group of people who live in the North of Greenland. Until they were discovered in 1818, they thought that they were the only inhabitants of the world. Their entire culture is based on storytelling. The climate change has forced them to migrate and assimilate into more dominant cultures of the north. No children and young adults have learned the native language, and when their last elder dies, so too will their history. For this reason, Stephen Pax Leonard spent over a year living amongst the Arctic Inugguits, recording their songs, traditions and myths. (Leonard 32)

It was this man who caught my attention over a year ago when I was reading the news. At that time he was looking forward to his great adventure. I read about his plight, and his story spoke to me. It increased my awareness of the significance of language, and the importance of cultural history. I had no idea that there is such collaborative world involvement to save endangered languages. Every day we hear about the polar bears, and the manatee, but the extinction of a language? I had no idea.

In his interview, K. David Harrison said that, “Languages with no written form were vulnerable to being lost and forgotten. Their loss leaves no dictionary, no text, no record of the accumulated knowledge and history of a vanished culture”(Harrison). There are lists of those most at risk for extinction. According to UNESCO they include: “Tribes of Papua New Guinea, the Aboriginal people of Australia, Native Americans, national and tribal minorities of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, as well as, Irish, Frisians, Provencal ,and Basques” (UNESCO 9). These are chosen because of how they rate on the scale of language vitality. There are 9 factors involved when trying to determine the vitality of a language. Within these factors, scientists look at things such as, the transmission of the language between generations, the total number of speakers and the attitudes of the government and the community towards the use of the native language. Determining how much the media supports a language and the quantity and quality of literacy in the culture are some other factors taken into consideration (UNESCO 9-16).

Some people don’t understand the significance of losing a language. When these languages vanish, so does the knowledge of that particular culture. “Each of the planet’s cultures is a unique answer to the question of what it means to be human” (Davis 62). Some knowledge that is only passed down orally about plants, animals, and entire ecosystems is still not documented by scientists. The loss of this wealth of knowledge is devastating. Linguists and Anthropologists claim that language is a symbol of cultural identity. When Steven Pax Leonard was explaining why documenting the oral traditions of the Arctic Inniguits was so important he said, “If we lose it without record before it disappears, future generations will know nothing about their past” (Leonard).

In the data from UNESCO, there are 150 languages in the world with less than 10 remaining speakers. Some of these only have one remaining speaker left. There is a reason that 97% of the world’s people speak 4% of the world’s languages. Also meaning that, 96% of the world’s languages are spoken by 3% of the world’s people. It is believed that by the end of the 21st Century that 90% of all languages will be replaced by the more dominant languages (UNESCO 12).

There are many reasons why this is happening. Throughout history invasions have forced some cultures to give up their identities and languages. Today the blame lies with the climate, economy, mobility and discrimination. With the Innuguit people in Greenland, the ice is melting and causing the native people to migrate for their livelihood. As people try to find work in other places, they must adapt to the language where the work is. Many governments force, through policy, the speaking of a certain dominate language to unify the society. In many cultures there is a lack of popularity to teach the younger generation the minority language because of social pressures to assimilate (World Oral Literature Project).

With an increased awareness of this problem, there are many people coming together all over the world to help. There are projects, organizations and foundations spreading throughout globe to educate, and record the oral stories, myths, songs, and knowledge before it’s too late. In my favorite city, Cardiff, Wales they have begun to implement Welsh in a dual language program, to be taught in their primary schools. In order to enhance the popularity of this education, Welsh celebrities are going public with the fact that they speak the native Celtic language. This is making it “cool” to speak Welsh (BBC News). The Cardiff City Council has worn their “Welsh” heritage as a badge of honor. They have all signs in town translated in English and Welsh. As soon as one pulls into the train station visitors are greeted with brightly colored signs welcoming them in Welsh, “Croeso i Cyngor Caerdydd!” Not too far from Britain, In order to preserve the cultural identities of two distinct people in Brussels, Belgium, all of their streets have two names. One street sign is written in French, while the other is written in Dutch. Each culture retaining their own distinct identity can live in a society, unified as one. Hopefully with such progressive action, these two places are doing things right in order to ensure that their rich histories will not be diminished.

It is sad to think that the story of an entire civilization could be lost if it’s not recorded before time runs out. For one person’s voice to fade forever into the darkness, and never be remembered is tragic. Hopefully with so many educated and dedicated people participating all around the globe, no one’s valuable words will vanish for all eternity. Preservation of culture may one day make the legacies of our greatest civilizations immortal.

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BBC NEWS. “Gwynedd Primary Heads Meet Over ‘Informal’ Welsh Bid.”
Northwest Wales 9 June 2011. web. 29 Nov. 2011
Davis, Wade. “Last of Their Kind.” Scientific American
vol. 303 issue3: Sept.2010 66-67. Academic Search Premier.web.
Harrison, David K. Enduring Voices Project.
National Geographic Disappearing Languages. 29 Nov.2010 web.
Leonard, Stephen Pax. “Life in Greenland’s Polar Desert.”
The Observer 29 Oct. 2011: 32. web
UNESCO AD HOC Expert Group. A methodology for assessing language vitality and
endangerment., Paris 10-12 Mar.2003: 9-16. web.
World Oral Literature Project. “Voices Of Vanishing Worlds” Cambridge University, 11 Nov.
2011. web. 29 Nov. 2011

Not into social Darwinism are we?

The issue of extinction of language is not straightforward. Languages exist for a reason and go extinct for a reason. The purpose of language is to communicate and the more obscure a language becomes the less useful it is. Languages become obscure and then extinct when they lose utility

Take the 'success' story of Welsh. The Welsh language was almost extinct until it was revived at great expense as a political movement. Teaching Welsh in schools was mandated by government in an environment of nationalistic xenophobia. English speaking people living in Wales were being terrorised and their houses burned down. I don't know how they would react to transplanted Americans, even if they do try to learn Welsh.

We have had a generation of children taught Welsh in schools, it has generated a market for Wlesh speakers to teach Welsh and there are now government jobs only available to Welsh speakers, but it serves only as a shibboleth to maintain a rural ghettoto and make Welsh children stay in Wales. Had they learned French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin, they would have a marketable skill.

When we talk of culture we tend to be talking about the culture of our grandparents as if it's static. Culture changes, language changes. I don't speak the English of my Grandparents. You only have to watch a recording made in the 1930's to realize how 'English' has changed.

Now I know I am not typical, I have some pride in my native and adopted countries, but I despise Nationalism and I did leave my country when the prospects looked poor - and I would do so again. Countries are human constructs and language is for communicating not dividing.

I can tell you the University in Wales I considered for study abroad didn't have French. I couldn't make my degree work, therefore I had to swallow the fact, despite I considered it was a sign from God that they added Wales to the SA list, that he was just effing with me, since Trinity has no international programs.

The Welsh Nationalist movement, like all Nationalist movements, is inward focused. They're not interested in international studies, they expect everyone else to study them.