Linguist David Harrison explained in the video that preserving languages is the biggest challenge to preserving history because languages are extremely complex systems that hold tons of information about the culture, history, traditions, and knowledge of a particular group. For example, Harrison talked about "folk taxonomy," which is when different cultures form certain vocabulary that other languages do not have based on their unique environment and needs. Groups of people in cold climates may have many words to describe different types of snow, but people in tropical regions may not have originally had any word for snow at all. These intricacies of language tell us about the situations people had to deal with, the things they were skilled at, and their histories.
Also, many historical information is stored by people through writings and literature in their language, so if the language dies, historians will not be able to interpret the texts. For instance, the Vedas are ancient Hindu scriptures written in Sanskrit that describe in detail almost every aspect of daily life in the Indus Valley Civilization. If Sanskrit had been lost, not only would that history be lost, but the origins of the Hindu religion, Indian philosophy, Indian medicine, and much more would also be lost.
On a much more personal level, Bud Lane from the article "Tribe Revives Language on Verge of Extinction" most likely lost any other speakers with which to speak his language, Siletz. Until he began the movement to revive the native language, he could no longer honor his culture and older tribe members by using the language they taught him.
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