What we read
We have now read and checked our understanding of author Mari Loos's paper "Endangered Languages: Strategies for Preservation and Revitalization" (in Boyle & Warwick, pp. 60-61, 2014). As usual, Boyle and Warwick now invite us to respond to the ideas in a critical thinking exercise.
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Boyle and Warwick's questions
Think for 1:00 minute, and then respond to Boyle and Warwick's first two questions in a comment.
- Think of three things people can do to help save endangered languages. Do you think these efforts are likely to succeed? Are they worth the cost?
- In what ways does the writer say that the loss of a language affects everyone? Which of these points makes the strongest argument?
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Think for another 2:00 minutes; then answer Boyle and Warwick's last question.
- Think of two ways technology has helped endangered languages and two ways it has hurt them. Overall, to you think technology is a good thing for the world's languages?
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Reference
- Boyle, M. & Warwick, L. (2014). Skillful Reading & Writing: Student's Book 4. London: Macmillan Education
One way we could save endangered languages is by schools requiring that every child study a second language, one that is endangered. However, this would be expensive, since there would need to be teachers trained and paid to teach all of the languages that students are studying. But in addition to the financial cost, many students, and their parents, might also object to the cost in time that would be taken from other subjects, including languages that are more useful. It is not obviously useful, for example, for students in Thai schools to study the endangered language of an aboriginal tribe from my country. They are unlikely ever to meet a native speaker, and however much fun (really?) it might be, it would be hard to argue that this solution to the problem would be seen as practical by most people. On the other hand, encouraging more interest in lesser known languages might also support an educational goal that sees value in more than merely making money, which is why Latin is becoming increasing popular after a period of decline, although the number of people who study ancient Greek remains very low. As studies show, the intellectual discipline in studying these dead languages seems to pay off in better performance in other academic areas, although I'm not sure that the correlation here is also causal.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the strongest reason for seeking to save endangered languages is the loss of oral tradition and history recorded in the language. I think our civilization looses something important when stories, myths, traditions and other ways of understanding the world are lost.
I have a similar idea about investing in the lesson that teaching the endangered language. I think to say it is less useful maybe not correct. It is true that to learn the language that people are in use is more convenient for us to communicate with other people but to say one language is more useful than the other is not an absolute truth. How do we know that the dying language in one day will not become popular again because people see some value in using it or that language give another vision we approach the world that is much useful than just it's convenient. (like in the movie Arrival when Amy Adam learns an alien languages and she can see the future :-) )
DeletePeople can do to save endangered languages in many difference ways for example people can help to save languages by using it everyday and try to tell people that it have there own identity. Also government can make the activities that link to languages.It will make that languages more interest. Last one senior should teach and tell children in younger generation about how beautiful their languages are and tech them to sent the culture and everything to the next generation.
ReplyDeleteWhen you say "by using it everyday," can you give an example or two of what you have in mind? Should we, for example, use it when shopping at Tops?
DeleteIt mean that you should use your own language first before you trying to learn another languages.
DeleteThree things that people can do to save endangered languages and it will be worth,the first thing people should do is try to apply writing system to record language,for second people should do is encourage young generation to learn endangered languages to preserve languages,the last thing people should do is try to revived some extinct languages for unique view point.
ReplyDeleteIf humanity loss language , it will not mean that humanity loss only language .For this kind of loss it include that humanity will loss some of unique community great deal of historical knowledge ,not only that humanity will loss knowledge of the natural world and the local environment.
I like your idea "to apply writing system to record language." How well might this work? Can you think of examples where this has proved effective?
DeleteMy perspective for apply writing system for endangered languages because now a day if people want to learn languages ,most of languages will be four skills that we will learn that include listening speaking reading and writing.One of the problems for endangered languages that there do not have writing system well enough ,so the people can not learn endangered languages in way that they can not learn effectively.
Delete1. To save endangered languages, first we should increase the use of them among younger generation to make them easily understand and teach them to the next generation. second, to record endangered languages in data base to make them existed even the present generation is gone. and the last one, teach younger generation the endangered languages and make them speak with their family to make them used to the language and continuously use it. I think it will help the languages not to be extinct .
ReplyDelete2. If the loss happens, it definitely affect the culture of humanity and people will loss their diversity of tongue across the world.
3.
How would you suggest we "increase the use of them among younger generation"?
Deletesuch as to use them in the class, or generally use it when publish the documents; newspaper, magazine or even label, in the major used language together with the endangered language to make people, especially younger generation get used to the endangered language.
DeleteSo, should some lessons in Bangkok schools be taught in hill-tribe languages of the peoples of northern Thailand?
DeleteWhat if students in the north don't want to spend time in school doing this? And their parents?
To help save endangered languages, the government of that country where there are locations that are at risk of loosing their native languages should create a policy to encourage the usage of those languages such as preserving schools where still taught those languages. The government should invest in all possible method to document endangered language and put in an open source where anyone can access. Endangered languages should be encouraged to use in entertainment industry, like a tv series that the character speaks these alternative languages in order to educate people in much relaxing way.
ReplyDeleteThe writer of this paper gives an interesting argument that the lost of endangered language could effect all of us because it's not only about one language is missing but the value, know how, or culture that embed in the language also lost.
I like your idea that "Endangered languages should be encouraged to use in entertainment industry." Do you know of any examples where this has been done?
Deletei also think to use endangered languages in entertainment industry is a great idea because it's easy way to learn and absorb the language even though it's hard to understand at the first time, but when we get used to it. It will stuck in our subconscious and our memory.
DeleteActually, I thought of an example of Yean's suggestion. When Mad Max star Mel Gibson made his film about the last days and death of Jesus Christ, The Passion of the Christ, he did it all in the languages spoken at the time: Aramaic and Latin. I thought this was an interesting experiment, and even without subtitles, the film was enjoyable.
DeleteI heard that Rihanna include some of her tribal language in her lyrics but let me research more about that.
DeleteThe reliable way to save the endangered language is teaching that language to other people and encourage the young generations to learn it. Also, to use that language in daily life. Another way is to publish a book, either hard copy or electronic copy, and send a copies to several libraries around the world. By using a daily technologies, we can record several videos about that languages and share it on social medias as well as the video cites.
ReplyDeleteThese efforts probably will succeed because they are available for everyone around the world and the cost is reasonable.
What would you suggest to "encourage the young generations to learn it"?
DeleteThe writer talked about the losing of " culture's oral literature", values and historical knowledge. In my opinion, the biggest lose is about the knowledge and experiences conducted in that community.
DeleteI would like to suggest to introduce this language to young generations via a special lectures, courses and activities as first step. Second, to show the important of this language and the reasons behind why they have to learn it.
DeleteIn my opinion, three ways that could be saved the endangered languages including 1) record as the documents or encyclopedia, 2) make an online database or mobile application which easy to access and 3) force people to realize with the important of the endangered languages and needed to preserved. These three methods might be further succeeded because they are easy to use and widely spread to people around the world. People may interest in them and think the endangered languages are funny and exciting. In addition, they may also think if they know a lot of languages they seems powerful more than others. According to the statement "the loss of a language affects everyone", it could be used as the strongest argument. This point is likely to sensitive to people, they may considerably think if the languages has lose, the knowledge, culture and community relationship will disappear. So, after discussion this argument, people will strongly realize and needed to preserve the languages still as long as possible.
ReplyDelete"So, after discussion this argument," are you going to start studying an endangered language?
DeleteOf course, if I have a free time, I will plan to study the endangered languages or others that I interest.
DeleteWhich language are you going to study?
Deletei don't agree that you suggest we should force people to learn the endangered languages to preserve them, but we should make them realize how important they are, why we should learn to make them exist. I think it might make them feel better to learn and enjoy learning them.
Delete1. Firstly, travelers around the world should learn the local languages in those areas and share the knowledge to other people. Secondly, the native speakers of endangered languages should encourage the younger ones to learn their own languages and to record it by writing. Lastly, governments and big companies like Google and National Geographic should support linguists financially so that linguists have technology to preserve endangered languages effectively. I believe that the efforts will likely to succeed and is worth the cost because endangered languages consist historical, environmental and literary knowledge.
ReplyDelete2. The writer says that the lost of a language will have great consequences on us. For example, lost of culture's oral literature, lost of historical and local environmental knowledge. Lost of culture's oral literature makes the strongest argument because it tells us about the culture of a certain group of human beings. If we know more about human culture, we can bond relationship to others more easily.
I found it very helpful to learn some Thai, but it took me a long time to do that enough to have even a simple conversation with any confidence, which also gave me a useful insight into what it's like for people learning my native language, English, as a foreign language.
DeleteBut if I were only a tourist visiting for a week or two, I'm not sure that it would have been worth the effort. My initial attempts at Thai were pretty disastrous. English does not use tones the same way that Thai does, which was a big problem for me since I couldn't even hear the differences at first, and a couple of Thai vowels were problematic, also the pronunciation of the Thai ง when it was an initial consonant in a word. English just doesn't have these sounds, just as the pronunciation of final -s is often a problem for my Thai students learning English.
Technology can helped endangered languages and destroyed them in the same time.Fist side that technology can provide people to learn endangered languages easier than the past because technology have ability to not only recording but technology can storage language for very long time so that people can make sure that endangered languages will not be vanished.On the other hand technology trend to be support people to learn only language that most of people used because there do not have point to learn every language people will learn only major language in the world to communicate with people .
ReplyDeleteThe technology has helped endangered languages by documentation them into books and videos as well as by providing a talking dictionaries and several free websites on internet to teach these languages. On the other hand, the technology has hurt these languages by using only one language in business field.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the technology is good for languages because it can digitize them into websites and applications for smartphone that we can use it in every where.
We can the technology to make the endangered language exist by first, record them online in data base or add it in the talking dictionaries to let the users have an option to translate and learn the language and in a computer, we should add the endangered language to be an option for language of a device to make the users get accustomed to them. On the other hand, there're bad side of technology to the endangered language neither. When people use technology, they usually shorten the word or change the way they use language to be informal, it might make the endangered language change improperly. Next, even the information is recorded online in database and able to be access, if people have less desire, they won't go access them to learn nor want to know more about it.
ReplyDeleteFor the last question, firstly, I'd like to illustrate two beneficial technological ways that could be help the endangered languages involving the online databases proven by the linguists, and the free mobile applications from universities whlist two ways that may hurt the endangered languages are wikipedia and blogs. The wikipedia and blogs are not the reliable sources because they can be edited by everyone. If people are not the linguists, they will make some mistakes to others and the languages will misunderstand and disappear soon.
ReplyDeleteWe can invent an AI that speak an endangered language. I believe that with technology nowadays, we can create AI that would be taught about the endangered language. It is better than just record the language because AI not only remember the language but produce the language. If we have enough input for them I believe AI could use that language as human.
ReplyDeleteTechnology has helped many endangered to survive. 1) Linguists use technology to share their knowledge about the endangered languages by posting it on websites and social media. 2) High technological transportation allows us to explore the world more easily. Hence, we people have more opportunities to discover and learn endangered languages.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, technology has hurt endangered languages. 1) Technology makes globalization function easier, globalization forces many groups of people to learn the majority language instead of their own language. 2) Technology may have changed people's attitude about culture negatively. It discourages younger generations to learn their own native languages. In my opinion, technology is a good thing for endangered languages.