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The Extinction of Languages

The Extinction of Languages. Linnea May Independent Study. Language Extinction. Language extinction is where a language becomes extinct, or dead.

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The Extinction of Languages

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  1. The Extinction of Languages Linnea May Independent Study

  2. Language Extinction • Language extinction is where a language becomes extinct, or dead. • A language can be considered extinct when it no longer changes, people no longer use it for communication, or the last speaker of the language dies. • An example of an extinct language is Latin, because it no longer changes or is used for communication.

  3. Language Endangerment • Language endangerment is when there is a threat of a language becoming extinct. • A language is usually considered endangered, or moribund, when there are few people speaking the language and not many children speak it .

  4. Language Recording • Language recording is when a linguist goes out and records a language and its knowledge so that, if that language dies, at least we will have the knowledge that was stored in it. • A linguist knows where to go and record a language based on official records and scientific censures and surveys. • To record a language, you have to actually interview the speaker (s). • Out of recording and reviving languages, recording is far easier and more common amongst linguists.

  5. Recording the Chulym Language • David K. Harrison a professor at Swathmore College has travelled all around the world to record languages. • In Siberia, they had found a tribe that herds reindeer and speaks a nearly extinct language called Chulym. • At first, they had trouble recording the language because the only speakers they could find were elderly and difficult to communicate with. • But then, they found out that their own guide spoke the language, and everything got easier after that, as he was only 50 and had no problem communicating.

  6. Language Reviving • Language reviving is when somebody tries to revive a dead language. • Language reviving works in two parts: first, you must find a related language (which isn’t easy) and then, you must compare words from the language you are reviving and the similar language to build up something like a dictionary. • Language revitalization is definitely much harder than recording, but, if successful, can be more rewarding.

  7. Hawai’i Reviving • In the 1960’s, a group of linguists and Hawaiians started a revitalization project to revive Hawaii’s once native language, Ka ‘Ölelo Hawai’i. • They started workshops where they all worked hard to bring Hawai’i back to life, and, by 1978, they had brought it back to life and was declared Hawaii’s state language again. • Now, schools are working hard to keep it alive by teaching it to their students.

  8. Language Hotspots • A language hotspot is an area where languages are becoming extinct exceptionally fast. • One thing makes these areas hotspots is that people colonized there. When the people colonized, they forced the natives to speak their own language and punish them when they spoke their own. • The top five language hotspots are Central South America, Northwest Pacific Plateau, Oklahoma-Southwest, Eastern Siberia, and Northern Australia.

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