Endangered Languages

1. Endangered Languages Prof. Sharon Hargus LING 200, Spring 2006

2. Overview • Linguistic diversity • Linguistic extinction • Consequences of linguistic extinction • The role of linguists

3. Linguistic Diversity

4. Estimating linguistic diversity • 6912 languages (Gordon 2005. http://www.ethnologue.com) • Spoken and signed languages • Counting difficulties • Dialect vs. language issue • Poorly documented languages

5. Distribution of world’s languages Map on next slide

7. What creates linguistic diversity? • Incremental changes to • Grammar • Lexicon • English of Belfast, N. Ireland • Divergence historically enhanced by isolation of speech communities

8. Another way of estimating linguistic diversity • Language families: tree model of divergence • E.g., Celtic languages Proto-Celtic Continental Insular Gaulish Goidelic Brythonic Irish Manx Scots Gaelic Welsh Cornish Breton

9. Linguistic diversity in terms of language families • Language family estimates from Nichols 1990 • Geographic distribution of language families Map on next slide

10. Distribution of language families Each dot = 1 family of apx. 3000-yr time-depth Europe Asia Americas Africa Australia

11. Pacific Northwest families • Athabaskan, Salishan, Penutian, Numic, Chimakuan, Wakashan

12. Diversity summary • Best measure of diversity is number of families, not languages • The languages within a family are all more similar to each other than they are to languages outside their family. • Greatest areas of linguistic diversity • Americas • Australia, New Guinea

13. Linguistic Extinction

14. Linguistic extinction • Diversification is normal • Extinction is also normal • Some extinct languages of Europe • Gaulish, Manx, Cornish (all Celtic) • ‘Pictish’ (formerly spoken in Scotland) • Etruscan (formerly spoken in Italy)

15. Irish Gaelic, a Celtic language • Yellow areas of map show places where native speakers of Irish Gaelic are most numerous within Ireland. • 1000 years ago all of Ireland would have been colored yellow. https://depts.washington.edu/llc/olr/linguistics/clips/

16. Historical rates of linguistic survival • Estimates from Nichols 1990 • Typical historical scenario • Until recently, linguistic diversity has been increasing Ancestor Language Daughter1 Daughter2 Daughter3 … 5-6000 years later … 1.6 languages < 1 Ancestor Lg

17. Projections of linguistic diversity • ‘Moribund’ languages • ‘Endangered’ languages • Krauss 1992 estimate: 50-90% loss in coming century

18. Estimates of projected extinction < Summer Institute of Linguistics (www.ethnologue.com) • 516 of the world’s languages are ‘nearly extinct’ • “only a few elderly speakers are still living” • Africa: 46 languages • Americas: 170 languages • Asia: 78 languages • Europe: 12 languages • Pacific: 210 languages

19. North America • In 1996, 208 languages (Goddard 1996) • 62 families and isolates • 71% spoken by middle-aged and older • 14% spoken by parents of young children • 15% being learned by children as L1 • At first contact with Europeans, roughly 400 languages

20. area % moribund languages Alaska and Siberia 90% US and Canada 80% Central America, Mexico 17% S. America 27% N. and S. America 33% Australia 90% Estimates of projected extinction < Krauss 1992

21. Makah (Wakashan family) • Formerly spoken in Washington state • 2002, 2 speakers  0 speakers

22. Navajo • How quickly a language can become endangered • 1970: 90% of children in boarding schools lacked preschool experience with English • 1990s. 2 independent estimates: • 50%+ Head Start children are monolingual English speakers • 50% of 5-year-olds have no knowledge of Navajo; only about 16% are competent speakers

23. Why languages die • Genocide of speakers • War (e.g. Wounded Knee) • Epidemics • Speech community displacement (e.g. Trail of Tears)

24. Why languages die • Differences in the power and prestige of social groups • Incentives to learn language of dominant group • No incentives to learn language of non-dominant group social group A (and their lg) social group B (and their lg)

25. Why languages die • Bombardment of dominant language • Media: TV, radio, newspaper • Non-speakers living in community: grandchildren etc. • Language suppression in education • Language of primary education • Language of higher education

26. Extinction summary • Lgc extinction has been a fact of history • Current rates of loss are unprecedented • Languages can become endangered in one generation • Diverse causes of endangerment

27. Consequences of linguistic extinction

28. Positive consequences of lg loss • Unity in the workplace • “The only thing I asked was, ‘Let’s work together in a language we can all understand’.” [Owner of Texas insurance company, re the firing of 3 Spanish speakers for chatting in Spanish during the workday.] The Texas Workforce Commission sided with the owner, and denied the women unemployment benefits. (“Clash of Cultures Tears Texas City”, New York Times, 9-30-97)

29. Positive consequences of lg loss • Savings to taxpayers • Canada: all federal services, documents must be provided in both French, English • Canadian customs form: 6 pages • U.S. customs form: 2 pages • U.S.: elections pamphlets in different languages ($$)

30. Positive consequences of lg loss • Better socio-economic outlook • In 1995, ‘an Amarillo judge sparked a national controversy when he ordered a Mexican-American woman involved in a custody dispute to speak English to her 5-year-old daughter. Otherwise, he said, “You’re abusing that child and you’re relegating her to the position of housemaid.” (The judge later issued an apology to the woman and to “the profession of housekeeping.”)

31. Negative consequences • Scientific • Theories about language based on • 6700 languages, 200 families vs. • 200 languages, 20 families vs. • 12 languages, 5 families

32. Negative consequences • Cultural • Language as a symbol of culture • Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic opening ceremony: Indian nations of Utah (Shoshoni, N. Paiute, S. Paiute, Navajo) made welcoming presentations in their own languages (not translated into English) • Sample attitudes about language and culture • Pascua Yaqui Tribal Council language policy: "Our ancient language is the foundation of our cultural and spiritual heritage..." • Damon Clarke (Hualapai): "For many of us, our language is the key. The key in thinking, our educational system, and our ways." • Rosa Gonzalez (Spanish): “This is what I am.”

33. Negative consequences • Loss of local knowledge • Biological • Geographical • Dictionary as cultural repository

34. The role of linguists

35. Linguists and endangered languages • What are linguists doing? • What should linguists be doing? • What shouldn’t linguists be doing? • 3 points of view • Krauss • Ladefoged • Dorian

36. Krauss’s point of view • Linguists need to support endangered lgs • Organized documentation effort • Devote time to creation of pedagogical materials • Advocate for languages • The field of linguistics needs to support linguists involved in documentation • Rethink grad school requirements • Rethink criteria for promotion and tenure

37. Ladefoged’s point of view • Linguists should document lgs with ‘professional detachment’ • Linguists shouldn’t meddle in politics • Linguists shouldn’t try to persuade speakers to have certain viewpoints about language • Speakers may view monolingualism in lg of dominant group as essential

38. Dorian’s point of view • Documentation of minority languages is inherently political • Linguists’ intervention probably of no consequence for lg survival anyway • Language loss is catastrophic • for descendants of speakers • for linguistics • Thorough lg documentation takes a toll on linguists • Ladefoged-style documentation of the phonetics doesn’t require as much fieldwork time as other types of language documentation

39. Language and politics in N. Ireland https://depts.washington.edu/llc/olr/linguistics/clips/ (GaelicPolitics)

40. Draft United Nations declaration • on the rights of indigenous peoples (adopted 1994) • Part III, Article 14 • Indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their histories, languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures, and to designate and retain their own names for communities, places and persons. • Part IV, Article 15 • Indigenous children have the right to all levels and forms of education of the State. All indigenous peoples also have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning.

41. United States • 1990 Native American Languages Act SEC. 102. The Congress finds that-- (1) the status of the cultures and languages of native Americans is unique and the United States has the responsibility to act together with Native Americans to ensure the survival of these unique cultures and languages; … SEC. 104. It is the policy of the United States to-- (1) preserve, protect, and promote the rights and freedom of Native Americans to use, practice, and develop Native American languages; …

42. Ireland • Official Languages Act 2003 • http://www.coimisineir.ie/ • “The official languages” means the Irish language (being the national language and the first official language) and the English language (being a second official language)… • 8.---(1) A person may use either of the official languages in, or in any pleading in or document issuing from, any court. …

43. More opinions from linguists • Summer Institute of Linguistics • Endangered Languages page • http://www.sil.org/sociolx/ndg-lg-home.html • Links to other resources • The Linguasphere Observatory • http://www.linguasphere.org/language.html

44. Summary • Often, minority languages  endangered  moribund  extinct • 25% language extinction in 5000-6000 years is normal • Extinction of 90% languages in 100 years is unprecedented • Negative consequences of extinction are both scientific and cultural • The role that linguists should play has been debated