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Why do people preserve local languages?Key Issue #4
Preserving Language Diversity The distribution of language is a
measure of the fate of an ethnic group English diffused around the world
from a small island Icelandic remains a little-used
language due to isolation
Language displays two competing geo trends English has become principal
language of communication for the entire world
At same time, local languages that are endangered by English are being protected and preserved
Preserving Language Diversity Extinct languages
Languages no longer spoken or read in daily activities
Today estimated 473 almost extinct languages Only a few speakers left Not teaching to children
46 in Africa 182 in Americas 84 in Asia 9 in Europe 152 in Pacific
Examples: Spanish conquest of Peru Gothic language in Europe
Attempts to preserve
Language hotspots
Hebrew
Reviving Extinct Languages Hebrew is a rare case of an extinct
language that has been revived Most of Jewish Bible was written in
Hebrew Language of daily activity in biblical
times Hebrew diminished in 4th century
B.C.E. Only retained for religion Aramaic replaced by Arabic
Israel 1948 Hebrew became 1 of 2 official
languages Was symbolic of unity among
different groups of people
Reviving Hebrew Difficult job Had to created new words for
thousands of objects and inventions unknown in biblical times Phones, cars, electricity
Effort initiated by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda Credited with invention of 4,000
new Hebrew words Created the 1st modern Hebrew
dictionary
Celtic
Major language in the British Isles before invasions 2,000 years ago Celtic spoken in
much of present-day Germany, France, and northern Italy, as well as in the British Isles
Today Celtic on survives in: Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and France
Celtic branch is divided into: Goidelic (Gaelic)
Two languages survive: Irish and Scottish Gaelic
Brythonic Speakers fled during Germanic
Invasion to Wales, Cornwall, and France
Celtic Gaelic
Irish One of two official languages Spoken by 350,000 daily
Scottish 1% in Scotland speak it Large body of literature exists
Brythonic Welsh
Welsh language dominant until 19th century English migrated to work Estimated 22% speak Welsh
Cornish Extinct in 1777
Breton Isolated peninsula 250,000 speakers Has more French words
Survival of any language depends on the political and military strength of its speakers Celtic declined because the Celts lost most of
the territory they once controlled In 1300s Irish forbidden by English masters
19th century- “tally sticks” Encouraged for jobs in 19th and 20th cent.
Recent efforts to preserve Wales
Welsh Language Society 1988 Education Act
Made it compulsory in school Government services, utilities, TV
Irish Irish language TV station in 1996 Revival led by young Irish
Cornish Revived in 1920s Taught in schools
Dispute over revival
Multilingual States
Conflict Belgium
Has difficulty reconciling the interests of the different language speakers
Southern Belgium Known as Walloons Speak French
Northern Belgium Known as Flemings Speak a dialect of the
Germanic language- Dutch Called Flemish
ConflictPlace Languages Conflict
Canada English and French
French speakers, concentrated in Quebec, have fought for increased recognition and power against the English-speaking Canadian majority, Some have called for secession from Canada.
Belgium Dutch and French
The Dutch-speaking north and French-speaking south compete for power and control. The nation’s capital city, Brussels, is located in the Dutch-speaking south, but most inhabitants are French speakers.
Cyprus Greek and Turkish
The Greek majority and Turkish minority compete for control of this island-country. Cyprus is divided by a “Green-line” partition separating the two cultures.
Nigeria Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo and nearly 230 others
Hausa speakers in the north, Yoruba in the southwest, and Ibo in the southeast paint a divided Nigeria in which some 230 other languages complicate Nigeria’s unification. English was declared the official language as an attempt to create a toll of common communication.
Monolingual States Definition:
Because of the increasing pace of spatial-cultural interaction globally, few purely monolingual countries exist Japan
Relatively monolingual due to its stringent immigration laws
France Fought to preserve
monolingual heritage Laws to keep language
“pure” Prohibit infusion of English
Isolated Languages
Definition A language unrelated to any
other and therefore not attached to any language family
Arise through lack of interaction with speakers of other languages
Basque Best example in Europe
Only language that survives from before arrival of Indo-European speakers
Unable to link to any other language
1st language in Pyrenees Isolation preserved language
Global Dominance of English One of the most fundamental needs in a
global society is a common language for communication
Language of international communication today is English
Lingua Franca Language of international
communication To facilitate trade speakers would
create a lingua franca by mixing elements of two languages into a common simple language
Terms means : language of the franks Other Lingua Francas
Swahili in East Africa Hindi in South Asia Indonesian in Southeast Asia Russian in former Soviet Union
Pidgin language A simplified form of a lingua franca
Limited vocab and simplified grammar
Mix some elements of own language
No native speakers Adopted through force usually
French- Caribbean
Rapid growth of English Reflected in high % of students learning
English as a second language 90% in European Union
Japanese have considered making English its 2nd national language
Global Dominance of English
Expansion Diffusion of English In past a lingua franca achieved
distribution through migration and conquest Example: Latin
Today English has spread through Expansion diffusion Two ways
English is changing through diffusion of new vocab, spelling, and pronunciation
English words are fusing with other languages
Ebonics Distinctive African American
dialect Influenced by forced migration
from Africa and slavery Communication in code Words: gumbo, jazz
In 20th century mass migration out of south led to preservation of dialect
Classified as a distinct dialect Distinct grammar and vocab
Use of double negatives “I ain’t going there no
more” Controversial today
Global Dominance of English Diffusion of English to Other Languages
English words have been increasingly integrated into other languages
Franglais Language a source of national pride and
identity in France French are upset with domination of
English French is official language in 29
countries and was a lingua franca French upset that English is destroying
“purity” of language Cowboy, jeans, hamburger French Academy tried to reinforce
French Struck down in 1994 in court
Even more extreme in Quebec Surround by English
Spanglish English diffusing into Spanish
language thanks to 34 million Hispanics in U.S. Called Cubonics in Miami
Spanglish involves converting English words into Spanish forms Shorts becomes chores
New words have been invented in Spanglish that do not exist in English
Become widespread in popular culture
Denglish Diffusion of English words into
German