Why Preserving Language Matters
Preservation of Languages
As of now, the way we are combating the continual extinction of languages is by recording and archiving selections of these endangered languages. Linguists are travelling to remote areas of the world to record the last remaining speakers of these languages talking. Most of these speakers know another language because of the need to communicate but haven't forgotten their old one. Once the recordings are archived, the language is safe, in a way. We will always have access to it, and we will never forget about the now-dead languages that were once in existence.
Why This Matters
A language is not simply just a language. It carries so much more than a way of speaking or a certain verb conjugation. Languages carry with them culture, and with that culture, history. An entire culture's history could be confined to their language, and once that language goes extinct, the history dies, too.
Language is what defines a person. A person's native language describes not only their past and family, but their home. Most of us in America take our language for granted. We don't realize how much a language defines a person, and what we would lose if English were to die out now. For instance, names are something unique to each language. Without your native language, your name would be something totally different. Let's take the name "Paul" for example. "Paul" is a very American name. In Spanish, however, "Paul" would be "Pablo." That is a completely different name. If English were to die out now, poor little Paul would become Pablo. He would lose his character, the person he was as an English speaker. A part of poor little Pablo would be gone forever. That is what the loss of these languages does. The need to record and archive these languages is quite great, and in some weird, weird way, the languages live on, even after all of their speakers have died. If that language is ever needed, it's right there on a disc or a computer, ready to be accessed. This is the only way we can save these languages. I don't think we can stop them from going extinct, but we can offer these languages a way to live on and to keep influencing the world even years after nobody speaks them anymore.
As of now, the way we are combating the continual extinction of languages is by recording and archiving selections of these endangered languages. Linguists are travelling to remote areas of the world to record the last remaining speakers of these languages talking. Most of these speakers know another language because of the need to communicate but haven't forgotten their old one. Once the recordings are archived, the language is safe, in a way. We will always have access to it, and we will never forget about the now-dead languages that were once in existence.
Why This Matters
A language is not simply just a language. It carries so much more than a way of speaking or a certain verb conjugation. Languages carry with them culture, and with that culture, history. An entire culture's history could be confined to their language, and once that language goes extinct, the history dies, too.
Language is what defines a person. A person's native language describes not only their past and family, but their home. Most of us in America take our language for granted. We don't realize how much a language defines a person, and what we would lose if English were to die out now. For instance, names are something unique to each language. Without your native language, your name would be something totally different. Let's take the name "Paul" for example. "Paul" is a very American name. In Spanish, however, "Paul" would be "Pablo." That is a completely different name. If English were to die out now, poor little Paul would become Pablo. He would lose his character, the person he was as an English speaker. A part of poor little Pablo would be gone forever. That is what the loss of these languages does. The need to record and archive these languages is quite great, and in some weird, weird way, the languages live on, even after all of their speakers have died. If that language is ever needed, it's right there on a disc or a computer, ready to be accessed. This is the only way we can save these languages. I don't think we can stop them from going extinct, but we can offer these languages a way to live on and to keep influencing the world even years after nobody speaks them anymore.