Respond to the reading, reflecting on what is lost when languages die. (You might want to watch the interview with David Harrison posted to the front page of the Ning.)
When languages die, the history and the culture of people dies too. Languages are chain links that bring people together with a common shared history and culture. Without a language we would not have communication, nor would people have common bonds between each other. Therefore, I believe that the death of a language is a symbolic death of a community and the death of the history between people.
Once a community dies, people grow further apart. People lose their uniqueness of culture, what made them different from the other languages. Furthermore, the knowledge obtained by this community is lost as there is no one to rely the stories to the next generation.
As a language is lost, so is the way of life. Rich stories full of life and history disappear, and are lost forever, with no one to help bring them back.
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