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CwHD13
Language
Lost
The
words we use create the world we see. All knowledge is intricately
tied to language. With the extinction of a language, no matter how
insignificant that language may seem, comes an incalculable loss of
knowledge.
Language
lights the world of our species. Extinctions turn out those lights.
And just as fauna need continuity in their habitats, so too do humans
need continuity in their knowledge of the world. If enough lights
are extinguished, we become isolated. Isolation, inevitably, leads to
extinction.
Over
7000 languages are spoken on planet Earth. Ethnologue
puts the number at 7099; and goes on to state that a third of those
languages are endangered. Just 23 languages account for half the
world's population. 86% of the world's population use an Asian or
European language. In the next several generations half the known
languages will be extinct.
Darkness
will ensue.
Bob
Holman, a poet, who cobbled together a film called 'Language
Matters', has labeled Chinese, English, and Spanish as bully
languages. These bullies, with their dominant economic position, are
forcing out other tongues. These three toughs are taught in schools
and mandated by government to the exclusion of local voices.
Darkness.
According
to the National Geographics, every two weeks another language dies.
In the Pacific Northwest, only ten speakers of South Haida remain. In
Oklahoma, only five speakers of Zaparo exist. Uru, Vilela, Xiri, all
South American languages, are at risk. In Mongolia, Eastern Siberia,
and Northern Australia the lights continue to dim and flicker.
Does
it really matter? We have five (some say six) senses. Hearing words
is just one part of who we are. Won't homo sapiens find the means to
compensate the losses? Over the next few weeks, CwHD will consider
the cost of language extinction.
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