Blog Post 9

[Benjamin Reilman]

The first thing I wanted to note was when watching David Harrison’s interview on his book “When Languages Die” I thought it was really interesting when he was interviewing Chulym speakers because it seems that in the modern day the language has been preserved. There’s a band called Otyken, a Russian indigenous band which sings partly in Chulym, and in general celebrates their roots. So in this case it seems like a dying language (as seen in the interview) has been brought back to health. So languages can go extinct when the last speaker dies, but through digitalization and general documentation we can preserve a language. In the New York Times article Siletz is a native language that is on the verge of extinction and is being documented digitally so that if the language dies it can be resurrected by future generations. In order to preserve a language it's a complex process because there needs to be oral and literary documentation of the language, along with a documented system of translation. It seems incredibly important to preserve a language because the languages on our planet are cultural products that take hundreds and thousands of years to develop. Even if we have the language documented we can’t truly resurrect the meaning behind some of the words because the future generations learning the language will interpret the language through their own mother tongue.

[Isaac Choe]

As you noted, the preservation process is complex and requires both oral and literary documentation. This endeavor is crucial not just for the sake of historical record but also for maintaining the cultural diversity that languages embody. Your reflection on the limitations of revival, such as the potential loss of original meanings and nuances, is an important consideration in the field of language preservation. It raises intriguing questions about authenticity and interpretation in the context of language revival.

[Polina Shitikova]

It's truly fascinating to see how efforts to preserve endangered languages are bearing fruit, as highlighted in David Harrison's interview on "When Languages Die". While challenges may exist in fully capturing the essence of a language for future learners, the commitment to documentation ensures that valuable linguistic knowledge is not lost to time. This ongoing effort is a testament to the profound significance of linguistic diversity in our global community.