Endangered Languages

1. Endangered Languages LING 400 Winter 2010

2. Overview • Linguistic diversity • Linguistic extinction • Consequences of linguistic extinction • The role of linguists Please turn off your cell phone

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

4. Distribution of world’s languages area % of world’s lgs Europe 3 Americas 15 Africa 30 Australia, Pacific 19 Asia 32 Data 1988-1992

5. Diversity in terms of language families # remote time-depth families Americas: 122-141 Australia, Pacific: 47 Europe, N. Asia: 14-15 Africa: 5-14 Nichols 1990. Each dot = 1 family of apx. 3000-yr time-depth

6. Linguistic extinction • Diversification is normal • < incremental changes over time to grammar, lexicon • Extinction is also normal • Some extinct languages of Europe • Gaulish, Manx, Cornish (all Celtic) • ‘Pictish’ (formerly spoken in Scotland) • Etruscan (formerly spoken in Italy)

7. Historical rates of linguistic survival • Until recently • Linguistic diversity has been increasing (Nichols 1990) 5-6000 years later … 1.6 languages < 1 Ancestor Lg

8. Projections of extinction • Krauss 1992: 50-90% loss of world’s languages in coming century • Summer Institute of Linguistics (www.ethnologue.com) (2006) • 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 • ‘Moribund’ (or ‘critically endangered’) language: no longer being learned by children • ‘Endangered’ language: becoming moribund

9. North America (north of Mexico) • At first contact with Europeans, apx. 400 languages • 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 • What happened?

10. Language shift e.g. in Moricetown, B.C. W- First language is Witsuwit’en w = know some Witsuwit’en E- First language is English e = know some English

11. Why does language shift occur? • Differences in power and prestige • Group A (and their language) Group B (and their language) • Bombardment of dominant language • Media: TV, radio, newspaper • Local non-speakers • grandchildren etc. • Result? • Incentives to learn group A language • No incentives to learn group B language

12. Speaker genocide • Disease • Est. 50-90% of Native American population died from epidemics brought by Europeans • measles, flu, whooping cough, intestinal infections, (epidemic form of) TB, smallpox… • War • 300 < 350 Lakhota killed at Wounded Knee (1890)

13. Tsek’ene • (moribund) about 20 speakers remaining • Fort Ware, Tsay Keh, McLeod Lake

14. Why is Tsek’ene moribund? • Probably never many speakers • Language suppression in education • many children sent to Lejac Residential School

15. Fort Ware • Lejac Residential School • 1922-1976 • children punished for speaking languages other than English

16. Speech community destruction • 1968 W.A.C. Bennett dam on Peace R.

17. Williston ‘Lake’ • Fort Grahame people went to • Mackenzie and Prince George • Fort Ware • lower mainland of B.C. • Ingenika  Tsay Keh

18. Consequences of lg loss • Unity • Texas insurance company owner fired 3 Spanish speakers for chatting in Spanish during work day. • Owner: “The only thing I asked was, ‘Let’s work together in a language we can all understand’.” • Texas Workforce Commission sided with owner, denied the women unemployment benefits

19. Consequences of lg loss • Savings to taxpayers • Canada: all federal services in French, English • Canadian customs form: 6 (4?) pages • U.S. customs form: 2 pages

20. 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.”

21. Consequences of lg loss • Loss of traditional knowledge • Linguistic • Biological • Geographic • Scientific consequences for linguistic theories • 6900 languages, 200 families vs. • 20 languages, 5 families

22. Consequences of lg loss • Cultural • Lance Forshay: “ASL is the key to the heart of Deaf culture...” • Rosa Gonzalez (Spanish): “This is what I am.” • Vancouver BC 2010 Olympic opening ceremony • Musqueam, Squamish First Nations welcomed in their languages

23. Linguists and endangered languages • What are linguists doing? • What should/shouldn’t linguists be doing?

24. ‘concentrated regions of the world having the highest level of linguistic diversity…, the highest levels of endangerment, and the least-studied languages’ (http://www.livingtongues.org/hotspots.html#NGmagmap)

25. Michael Krauss • Linguists need to support endangered lgs • Organize documentation effort • Advocate for languages • Create pedagogical materials • Linguistics needs to support such linguists • Rethink grad school requirements • Rethink criteria for promotion and tenure 1970 workshop on Eskimo languages

26. Peter Ladefoged • Linguists should document with ‘professional detachment’ • Linguists shouldn’t meddle in politics • If speakers view monolingualism in superstratum as essential, linguists shouldn’t try to dissuade

27. Summary • Minority languages  endangered  moribund  extinct • Historically, 25% language extinction in 5000-6000 years • Currently, 50-90% extinction in 100 years • Diverse causes • Negative consequences are scientific and cultural • Disagreement on what linguists should do

28. Question • In your opinion, what should linguists do for endangered languages? • Document only? • Advocate for survival? • Help teaching effort?