Languages go extinct as their communities of speakers shrink and fewer people become able to share them (especially if, in some cases, they are not written or recorded), and as other languages begin to become used more frequently in daily life. I have always appreciated learning languages, and learning about language, and I find studying the differences in the ways in which people communicate to be incredibly interesting; it helps me develop a better sense of how words are used to convey meaning, and how meanings can differ across individuals and cultures. However, the video about language affecting color perception, and K. David Harrison’s interview describing how languages have provided knowledge in multiple fields through their descriptions of the surroundings and lives of their speakers, gave me a new perspective on just how much complexity they contain. Dead languages can be brought to life using research on their foundations (for example, the article mentions that some dead languages still have social uses, and written languages provide textual bases for learning). Linguists can meet with native speakers, learning about their languages directly and working to share their learning and emphasize the importance of preserving a language as they come to understand the meanings it contains. They can also help reconstruct languages by studying the materials they collect and recognizing language patterns. K. David Harrison is researching patterns of language extinction and working to bring attention to the language crisis and the loss of knowledge he has seen. He documents the languages facing extinction in order to preserve them for future speakers. Daigneault’s article describes the immersion programs (“language nests”) being created to allow children to use languages as they grow, and speakers are advocating for funded school and community programs to increase the presence of their languages in daily life, connect communities, and ensure that the languages are used in various contexts. The article emphasizes the important connections between language and identity, describing efforts to improve the visibility of languages and use them to teach about their speakers’ culture. The internet connects interested speakers across the world – especially through sites created to provide language resources – and facilitates discussion on various elements of languages, and people can also share their learning processes to help others better understand how to study them. The languages require time and space focused around their continuation, and communities of learners dedicated to sharing their language.
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