How do languages go extinct? Respond to the readings, and reflect on what happens when a language dies? How can linguists help preserve a language? Can a ‘dead’ language ever be brought back to life? What efforts are currently underway to document linguistic diversity?
Languages go extinct when people stop speaking the language, as in the number of speakers decrease. The issue of becoming extinct happens when families and generations do not pass it down. Languages should be passed onto the next generations to continue to exist. Change in culture and environment could also play a role. For example, natural disasters, wars, and other political events could result in language extinctions. When a language dies, to me, it seems like not just the language itself, but the unique history, culture, traditions, and characteristics also die with it. As a result, it is crucial to preserve languages and spread it as much as possible before they extinct. Linguists can help preserve a language by recording as much as they can about the language. Even though it will not be as accurate, it will still allow some preservation. Furthermore, it will allow people to learn and start picking up on it. Even if it dies, having these records, accounts, and stories will allow the language to continue to exist. It will have some modifications though, so it will not be the original language. In order to document linguistic diversity, some linguists are recording languages before they go extinct. One example is the Slietz language. A tribe member has been working on online Siletz Dee Ni Talking Dictionary, which has 10,000 recordings of himself speaking this language.
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