Jocelyne Rodriguez
Journal Entry 7
How do languages go extinct?
There is more than one way in which a language can go extinct. I would say languages go extinct when speakers are absorbed by a dominant language or cultural group. This would be the case for Irish, whose speakers decreased as a result of English becoming the dominant language spoken in Ireland. Another reason for language extinction would be language oppression. This can be seen with many of the native languages of tribes in the Americas, which were oppressed by colonial powers. A number of countries in Latin America use language as a tool of oppression towards indigenous groups forcing them to leave their language and adopt Spanish.
Respond to the reading, reflecting on what happens when a language dies. How can linguists help preserve a language? Can a language ever be brought back to life?
Linguists can help preserve a language through cultural initiatives that promote the study of the language as well by documenting the language to be used for study. Creating dictionaries and documenting grammatical rules can help preserve a language. Even when languages die, they can be brought back to life as long as we have some kind of documentation and sample from the language. Hebrew is an example of a language that was revived.
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