A Cause For Concern

A Cause For ConcernSubject of voice communication and individualism, which leads to the ending of a verbiage, if wording dies. Language and identity advances under my course, part 1, under language and cultural context.On the 4th of February 2010, while browsing through BBCs website I stumbled upon a captivating and according to me a actually sad article. It read last speaker of quaint language of Bo dies in India, Boa sr.s story saddened me, she died at the age of 85 and for almost thirty years she didnt halt anyone to converse with in her inherent language. cerebrate not being able to use English for thirty years, you loose the freedom to express in your first language. As a journalist I knew what it meant for the piece to loose a language, its disheartening, in sum total a piece of history and culture is lost, I believe it is as important to asseverate and tho a language as it is to save and preserve the environment, but everyone is not aware of the unfavorable af fects language death can cause. As a journalist, I thought of it as my moral responsibility to frustrate light on language death and its adverse effects. Thus, I wrote this article and decided on make it in a newspaper as it would reach a larger group of people and spring up them on why they should preserve their native language.Language deathApproximately 7000 languages exist in todays world and this number is rapidly dwindling, is it a cause for concern?As sphericalization spreads around the world, it is natural that smaller communities would like to move proscribed of their seclusion and seek interaction with the rest of the world. The number of languages dying is sorrowful. bulk naturally tend to shift their language use due to globalization and they leave behind their native language if it is not spoken by a lot of people. Asking them to hold onto a language they do not want any more than(prenominal) and preserve it, just for the sake of linguists and not the community itself, it is a bit too much to ask for, isnt it?But theres actually more to it than what meets the eye.Why fight this?A national geographic study states that every 14 days a language dies. By 2100 more than half of the languages spoken on the earth may disappear, taking away with them a wealth of companionship on world history, culture and natural environment. Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going. Rita Mae BrownThis quote by the American writer Rita Mae Brown gives us an insight into why preserving a language is of importance. A language defines a culture, through the communities who speak it. Every language has linguistic communication that portray a finical cultural practice or idea, when translated into another language, the precise meaning efficacy not come across. What we essentially lose is cultural heritage. The way of expressing the relationship with nature, with the world, it is also the way in which p eople express humor, their love, their life most importantly communicating effectively with family is lost. Languages are living, breathing organisms attribute connections that define a culture. When a language dies a culture is lost.Because of the close links language and identity share, if an individual or group thinks of their language as useless, they think of their identity as the same. This could have adverse effects it could lead to depression, drug abuse and social disruption. And as parents no longer pass on their language to their children the connection between grandparents and children is lost which leads to traditional determine not being handed on and theres a vacuum that remains where people for generations realize they have lost something.Many languages are in danger of extinction that have rich oral cultures with stories, songs, and histories passed on from generation to generation, but with no particular written form. Much of what us humans know about nature is e ncoded in oral languages. For thousands of years now native groups have interacted closely with the natural world and have insightful understanding on local lands, plants, animals, and ecosystems. Many still are not documented by science itself. Therefore poring over indigenous languages proves to be beneficial while learning about the environment and conservation.Sanskrit is one such(prenominal) ancient language that is loosing its prominence and its speakers decreasing everyday. It was said to be the mother of all languages. Sanskrit is not practically employ and maybe that is one of reasons of its decline but I believe it should be conserved because of the traditional values it possesses and because of its richness in culture. Take for instance Arthashastra, it is an Indian treatise written in Sanskrit which deals with statecraft, economic policy and soldiery strategy it was written all the way back in 4th century BC. These concepts are not new and modern, they have been aroun d for a long time now, if we do not conserve Sanskrit we get out loose all of this valuable knowledge and also lose a piece of history.Another such language dying out is Palenquero. Palenquero is thought to the one and only Spanish-based Creole language in Latin America. Fewer than half of the community speaks it. It is spoken in the village of San Basilio De Palenque. Many children and young adults understand the language and pronounce a few phrases, which is a great sign as the village of San Basilio De Palenque is trying to preserve its language and spread it, the villages resilience is commendable. Looking at the village of San Basilio De Palenque other communities whose languages are endanger, should take transport and not loose hope in their endeavor to save their language.Why do languages die out though? Throughout history, the languages of powerful groups and imperial countries have spread while the languages of the smaller cultures and groups have cause extinct. This hap pens due to official language policies and also the allure of speaking a highly prestigious global language such as English. These trends explain why a small country like Bolivia would have more of language diversity rather than a large-scale country like the USA.As big languages spread, children whose parents speak a comparatively smaller language tend to grow up learning the more dominant language. Those children may never learn the smaller language, or they may just fail to mobilize it as it falls out of use. These trends have occurred throughout history, but what is alarming and worrying is the rate at which languages are disappearing, it has significantly accelerated over the recent years.Associations and initiatives such as Enduring voices, Living tongue, and the endangered languages project by Google are trying to preserve language and that is a sign of hope. The organizations that are affect and that have come up with these ideas are national geographic and Google.The dea th of a language is an trace of a human crisis the loss of a store of wisdom, the sense of a community being propel away. As we try to stop global warming and save the environment, we should also try and save our languages, as they are an integral part of our heritage.