Reasons for languages to go extinct include the domination of certain languages, lack of interests/use for learning the language, and lack of documentation/recording of the language making them very fragile. Our reading gives an example of the domination of language; several groups with varying languages were forced to stay near each other. To communicate, the languages with less speakers learned the language with the most speakers and gradually these languages with less speakers became extinct. According to Harrison, there are 84 dominant languages spoken in the world today even though there are 7,000 languages in the world. To preserve languages and linguistic diversity, linguists are compiling documentation on these languages. Documentation includes written record and recordings of the language spoken by native speakers. Additionally they are trying to increase interests in these languages, both to increase speakers and to decrease prejudice against these languages. These efforts are important because I think its extremely difficult if not impossible for a 'dead' language to be brought back to life. Take Latin for example. Even with abundant documentation of Latin and people studying the language, Latin is rarely spoken verbally let alone with unknown languages with limited documentation.
In the interview, Harrison compared the loss of languages to a loss of major world artifacts and monuments. I agree with this. Language is a major part of culture, embedding ideas, beliefs, and the knowledge of and about its speakers. Its loss would be detrimental to the study of other subjects such as history.
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