Learning Journal #8

[Claire Yang]

In the reading and my point of view, most languages go extinct because their speakers are absorbed by a dominant language or cultural group. Colonial power may change the dominant language in the area thus make the original language go extinct. There are political as well as financial reasons behind language extinction. Just like the introduction of a new language, trade and exploration bring culture and ways of living to various places, and political power, including war, changes the local culture substantially. In my research online, I found out that Hebrew was the only language ever to be revived from extinction. There are 7,000 languages spoken in the world, and half are seen as at high risk of dying out in the coming century. Therefore, there is a very small possibility that a language could revive from dead.