Unfortunately, languages have gone extinct, and there are fears that half of the world’s seven thousand languages could go extinct in the next one hundred years. Elders almost exclusively speak many indigenous and at-risk languages. In these cases, languages are at risk of dying when the elders pass away. When new generations stop learning a language, that language is more likely to go extinct. People may stop learning indigenous languages due to factors such as a more popular language dominating their area, and/or colonialism. For example, colonial forces tried to wipe out Gaelic and many Native American languages forcibly. Many languages at risk of extinction have not been written down, and we “do not know what we’re losing” when they are lost. Generational knowledge is erased when languages die. The idea of a language dying saddens me, and I sincerely hope that revitalization efforts work and are met with open arms. Although my target language is Indonesian, Gaelic and its history have been of great interest to me lately. Thanks to cultural reclamation and music (specifically the Irish rap group Kneecap), Gaelic has had a recent resurgence in study. Many signs in the North of Ireland have begun to include both English and Gaelic. When I was in East Belfast over Spring break, I spoke to a man from a British-Unionist background, and he told me he was uncomfortable with signs in his neighborhood, including Gaelic ones. This unease stems from political unrest in the North of Ireland. Still, it stood out to me because the signs included a language that existed on that land long before the British arrived on the Island. Back to my target language, would Bahasa Indonesia still be spoken today if the Dutch and other forces had tried harder to kill the language? Thankfully, Indonesian is still the primary language in Indonesia and is at low risk of extinction. To keep languages alive, immersive spaces are key. As previously mentioned, these spaces and music/other media can both help revitalize a language and keep it alive. “Dead languages” can be “brought back to life”, but it takes a lot of hard work. I commend the people putting in this work, and I hope that the documentation of our world’s linguistic diversity continues.
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