When languages die, not only do the languages themselves disappear, but also the culture tied to the languages dissipate. For instance, the author of the article writes about government boarding schools that forced native children to speak only English in order to have them forget their native language. It is important to note that this tactic was also a means of eradicating native people’s culture over time. Because language is so inherently linked to culture, forcing an entire population to forget their language is also a horrid policing of one’s way of life.
Likewise, when thinking of language in a more ontological way, it is clear that there is a direct correlation to language systems and one’s way of navigating and understanding the world. Certain words in native languages, for instance, have certain connotations that cannot directly be translated to English. Meaning may be lost in translation. Thus, something more than language itself is lost when it dies; as language is essential to culture and one’s way of life, the dissipation of language causes the destruction of that very society.
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