Micale 1

Olivia Micale

Mrs. Syme

AP Seminar

February 3, 2017

Should Dying Languages Be Preserved?

In the English language, there are words for almost anything that comes to mind. Despite

the plethora of words in ones vocabulary, most words are not used in a daily conversation. For

example, the word ugsome, a late medieval word meaning loathsome or disgusting or

slubberdegullion, a seventeenth-century word signifying a worthless or slovenly fellow

(Bryson 1). These words have become extinct, considering most people in modern days society

do not know these definitions, or even of the words existence. Over time, an abundance of

words become forgotten and are no longer accustomed to conversation, as new words arise. This

not only happens in the English language, but several other languages from all around the world.

According to UNESCO, is it estimated that half of the 6,000 languages spoken today are in

danger of dying. Minority languages, especially, have a greater possibility of extinction,

acknowledging the smaller amount of fluent speakers. Looking at this issue from a political,

cultural, futuristic, and ethical lense, the world should attempt to preserve dying languages.

One reason dying languages should be preserved is because certain words have a political

influence on writers, and without them, their writing is weak and powerless. For example, in the

English language, as words are dying and new words are developed over time, they begin to

become ugly and inaccurate due to societys foolish thoughts (Orwell). As the cycle

continues, the ignorant use of words continues to promote imbecilic thoughts, and so on. As
 Micale 2

incorrect use of language is spread through tradition and imitation, the bad habits are even spread

to people who should know and do better. Bad English takes away the power people obtain in

writing and speaking, making arguments ineffective and passionless. Going off of that statement,

political orations and literature are mostly the defence of the indefensible, as declared by

George Orwell. In order to defend something that is unjustifiable, the piece must focus on the

language specifically, because the evidence will not successfully support the claim. For instance,

the term for people imprisoned for years without trial, or shot in the back of the neck or sent to

die of scurvy Arctic lumber camps is elimination of unreliable events (Orwell). There are many

other terms for specific political occurrences, like pacification, transfer of population, or

rectification of frontiers. These terms are needed if one wants to refer to something without

drawing a mental picture of the scene. However, if people do not know of these phrases, the

piece did not achieve the goal of expanding thought and creating new opinions. In addition to

these phrases, there are several literary devices, used in political pieces, that have lost their

purpose over time. Everyday metaphors, in this case, demonstrate how the death of words over

time leaves people unaware of the real meaning. Ride roughshod over, take up the cudgel for,

and grist to the mill all show words that are not frequent in todays society. Most people are not

familiar with the words roughshod, cudgel, or grist, yet use the metaphors regardless. In fact, the

majority of people are not aware of the significance of the metaphor as a whole, considering

definitions have changed, which can be seen by the older language used. Thus shown, language

is a tool for expressing and spreading opinions, especially in politics, but if words are dying and

interpretations are changing, then the language become uneffective and constricting.
 Micale 3

Although the English language is not entirely dead, or close to it, some minority

languages are on the verge of complete extinction. Over the past century, around 400

languages- about one every three months- have gone extinct, and most linguists estimate that

50% of the worlds 6,500 languages will be gone by the end of the century (Nuwer). Although

it is estimated that there are somewhere between 6,000 and 7,000 languages in the world, the

exact number cannot be measured exactly, taking into account the amount of cultural dialects

from all around the world. For example, Chinese is considered one language, but Mandarin,

Cantonese, Hakka, and Shanghainese, which are all Chinese dialects, are all significantly

different from one another. In addition to that, Italian, French, Romanian, and Spanish are all

grouped together as Romance languages, because they are derived from Latin (Anderson).

However, it is apparent that they are not completely similar because they come from four

different cultures. Despite all the minority languages and dialects, nevertheless, half the worlds

population only speaks the top ten languages. This emphasizes that at least 100 minority

languages only have a handful of speakers, including Ainu in Japan and Yagan in Chile

(Nuwer). Due to the fact that some cultures or tribes have a significantly lower population, the

unique language goes extinct by death. For instance, Marie Jones Smith, the last known speaker

of the Eyak language, passed away in Alaska in 2008, completely demolishing the language

altogether. In addition to Smith, many other individuals, who are often in failing health, fail to

advertise their knowledge of the language they fluently speak. According to David Harrison,

chair of the linguists department of Swarthmore College and co-founder of the non-profit Living

Tongues Institutes of Endangered Languages, the smaller the number of speakers, the harder it

is to get an accurate headcount. To expand on that statement, the language Ayapaneco died
 Micale 4

because its two last living speakers lived far away from each other and refused to speak for

several years. Without consistent practice of speaking a language, eventually one will forget, and

the language will die. Salikoko Mufwene, a linguist at the University of Chicago, grew up

speaking Kiyansi, but went 40 years of his life without practicing, keeping in mind it is only

spoken by a small ethnic group in the Dominican Republic of Congo. When he returned home to

his village, he found himself struggling to form basic sentences (Mufwene). When a culture loses

its language, it loses a great part of its social identity as well. Losing ones native speech is a

symbol of defeat, which is why endangered languages must be preserved. It is a powerful

factor in cultures, societies, and individuals that cannot afford to be lost forever.

Dying languages could not only threaten the destruction of ethnic groups and various

cultures, but also the future for those societies. One specific example is the languages in India.

The country has at least 400 distinct tongues, but many experts believe the actual number is

around 700 (Basu). However, many of Indias languages are dying, which could result in

cultural devastation. Each language holds local knowledge and medicinal secrets, as well as

ecological wisdom, weather and climate patterns, spiritual attitudes, and artistic and

mythological histories. The people will not only be losing the fundamental background and

history of their culture, but important information that could ensure survival. With the death of

those languages, India would suffer a major setback in terms of societal advancements.

Unfortunately, in rural cities and in younger generations, Hindu and English are gaining

immense popularity, as they are required for most work inquiries. Colonization and globalization

are also spreading these languages to the bigger cities, thus causing a decrease in endangered

languages. In order to try and preserve these languages for future generations, members of the
 Micale 5

Enduring Voices Project- a joint initiative of the National Geographic Society and the Living

Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages in Oregon, are working with local communities

around the world to document and help preserve dying languages (Harrison). They use sound

recordings, digital video, and the internet to create a technological dictionary, and connect people

to other speakers who are fluent in their language. Another thing that is being done to keep a

language alive is keeping all the speakers in one general area. According to Ganesh Murmu, a

linguist at Ranchi University in Jharkhand State, the most obscure Mundu language, which is one

of the most threatened languages in India, still has at least a few thousand speakers. The Mundu

language is being preserved by being spoken in the villages where these communities live, so

new generations adapt to the language and older generations keep up habitual practice, which

makes it unlikely for them to forget how to speak it. The Enduring Voice team stated, its a

situation that bodes well for the future.

Some may say that it is not worth it to save endangered languages. It can be seen as a

waste of time and money, especially when there are only a few speakers left in the world. People

are being forced to learn a new language, when they could be focusing more on the language of

the world, English, which suffers from the death of old words and incorrect meanings coming

into existence (Casnoncha). Students in Mumbai are studying the citys new official language,

Marathi, when they could be studying Hindu, which is used in a majority of India. In America,

22 children in the Wyoming Indian reservation are being taught Arapaho, to continue the

language of their older generations. In addition to all the time spent preserving languages, the EU

spends millions of dollars translating documents to pay respects to linguistic diversity. A specific

example would be Canada, where a substantial amount of money is spent translating everything
 Micale 6

into French to preserve the culture of Quebec. Despite all the barriers that make it difficult to

preserve dying languages, which may seem pointless, in the end it comes down to the ethics

behind the language. It truly would not be ethical to admit defeat and let a language die without

attempting to save it. That is letting one of the worlds unique cultures die, and it can never be

recovered. If people continue to let language after language go extinct, the world will be left with

nothing. Diversity will no longer be a moral value people hold, because there will not be a

variety of cultures, languages, and people. Language is a tool of creativity, and if it dies, the

world will be bland and colorless. Even the English language will continue to get worse, and

people will not be able to express their thoughts, opinions, and ideas. There will be no variation

in communicating, due to the lack of culture. History would be lost, considering history is

different is every cultures, and the past is passed down to newer generations by word of mouth.

Looking at this issue ethically, it is incredibly important to preserve dying languages, because it

also preserves culture, diversity, and creativity.

Dying languages should be saved, due it their significance to the world and its people.

As words are dying, people forget their prior meaning, leaving them with a smaller vocabulary

and new words with incorrect meanings. This prevents people from communicating effectively,

as well as the hardship that arises to express ones ideas. As for minority languages, if they go

extinct, their culture and identity dies with them. Language is very significant in a ethnic group

or society, and if their language is not saved, they could face hardship in the future, due to their

loss of history and other important information. Overall, it is ethical and moral to save

endangered languages and preserve dying cultures and creativity.

Micale 7
 Micale 8

Works Cited

Anderson, Stephen R. Linguistic Society of America. How Many Languages Are There in the

World? | Linguistic Society of America,

www.linguisticsociety.org/content/how-many-languages-are-there-world.

Basu, Paroma. What Happens When a Language Dies? National Geographic, National

Geographic Society, 26 Feb. 2009,

news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090226--dying-languages-india-missions_2.ht

ml.

Bryson, Bill. Chapter 5: Where Words Came From. The Mother Tongue: English and How It

Got That Way, W. Morrow, New York, 1990.

Casnocha, Ben. Is It Worth It To Preserve Dying Languages? Ben Casnocha, 28 Oct. 2008,

casnocha.com/2008/10/is-it-worth-it.html.

Nuwer, Rachel. BBC - Future - Languages: Why We Must Save Dying Tongues. BBC News,

BBC, 6 June 2014,

www.bbc.com/future/story/20140606-why-we-must-save-dying-languages.

Orwell, George, and Bruce Rogers. Politics and the English Language: an Essay. New York,

Typophiles, 1947.

Will the English Language Ever Die? University of Cambridge, 21 Oct. 2011,

www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/will-the-english-language-ever-die.
 Micale 9

Woodbury, Anthony. Linguistic Society of America. What Is an Endangered Language? |

Linguistic Society of America,

www.linguisticsociety.org/content/what-endangered-language.