Discussion Post #8

Language is not only a tool of communication but also a unique expression of different cultures, natural environments, histories, human nature, and heritages. In order to protect human cultural heritage, one of the necessary works to do is to protect endangered languages. Language maintains the vitality of tradition, motivates us to understand and respect history and the world we live in, and connects different societies beyond national boundaries and time.

In today's society, some languages are becoming extinct in a very fast way. No matter for political, geographical and cultural reasons, the fragile environment plays a critical role in the death of language. The rise of a language is not only the language symbol itself but also covers all kinds of phenomena behind the language - economy, geography, politics, etc. A language can also be seen as the crystallization of highly concentrated human thoughts and one of the important cultural symbols. When a language becomes endangered, more things supported by the language are also facing the risk of collapse.          

The extinction of language can be either voluntary or involuntary: the voluntary extinction may be influenced by the environment of language, and the language will be reformed and changed from the inside of the language group, and involuntary extinction can be explained by the external political oppression.

Many linguists worked so hard in order to protect endangered languages around the world. These linguists deeply studied these endangered languages, go to the place where native speakers speak to record videos and sound materials and organize it into a large database for many language scholars to use.

E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of The SDLAP Ning to add comments!

Join The SDLAP Ning

Blog Topics by Tags

Monthly Archives