Tanya reminded me of an article I read recently on the last known speakers of some of the world’s oldest languages. I am afraid to say that I did not recognise the names Wukchumni, Kusunda and Amurdag. It probably says more about me than about the languages themselves. Nevertheless, I did wonder what those last speakers must have felt like. Seeing their lexicon disappearing in a multilingual horizon, being swallowed up by the likes of English, Mandarin and… why not? Spanish.
There is a certain romanticism of mythical proportions in being the last bastion of a cultural phenomenon, like language in this case. Especially ancient ones in which words are much more than carriers of meaning. As explained in the article, some languages echo the voice of the plants, animals and objects around us, from trees to stars. That is philological magic.
Yet, linguists reckon that by the end of the 21st century fifty percent of the world’s languages will either disappear or remain only on hard drives and online archives. We are talking vanishing here, not assimilation, not development, not evolution. A language, one day, will come across a cul-de-sac. And will die. End of the story.
It is not a surprise that many of these endangered “linguistic species” are to be found in places like Papua New Guinea and Nepal. Remote places where there is still a strong connection to the elements, to the natural world and to the spirit. Personally, I believe that by losing these languages we are also losing a vital link to a part of humankind whose cultural worth is on a different level completely. Neither higher nor lower, just different.
I know that there will be some who will say that this is all part of human evolution. Languages appear as a need to communicate with one another and with the passing of time, some become predominant and others are obliterated. My only response would be that a language covers more than a body of words and systems for them to be used. A language means more than a distinct manner of conveying ideas. Sometimes, a language is the only way through which inanimate objects come to life or a singer, like Tanya, expresses her emotions.
© 2015
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Interesting. I understand what you're saying, but no matter how much the elders of a society may try to teach their youngsters the old ways, the old languages and traditions, the more the youngsters dig in their heels. They want to be "modern" and to speak like the people around them, not like the dying language of their elders. It's true for many of the Native Americans here, too. The children want to speak English, not Cherokee, or Apache, or whatever, and to a certain degree, they associate a stigma of sorts to the old languages.
ReplyDeleteKids want what is fastest and will get them more notice, so the old languages go by the wayside. It is part of evolution, not always good though
ReplyDeleteTo me it seems a byproduct of capitalism more than evolution honestly. It is sad. Thanks. K
ReplyDeleteSome languages we nurture and feed and others we bury. I am ashamed to say that I do not know any of our indigenous population's languages. Not even hello or goodbye, and even the non-linguists among us can usually manage those words in several languages. And with the words we lose the culture. And experience. And diminish our worlds.
ReplyDeleteLife is competition; life is selection. This is unfortunate in many ways, but extinction at some point is the destiny of everything, it would seem. Plants, people, civilizations -- each have their time in the sun, in a manner of speaking, and then fade away into the mist of an evolutionary tunnel. Even the sun and the moon and the earth will be gone some day. So, why not languages?
ReplyDeleteThat question is rhetorical, of course, but it is increasingly evident how many "varieties" of near-human or variations of human hominoids have existed in the millions of years past, and then vanished from obvious presence. And, we are learning some of us still carry a genetic footprint of some of them. So, a trace of them still exists within contemporary humankind -- and, somewhere, somehow -- maybe, too, does a trace of the many languages which have come and gone over time still linger in our speech.
Anyway, my heart sympathizes with your position, CiL, but even existing languages are constantly evolving and, no doubt, some day English and Spanish will be dead languages or will have evolved to a point where they no longer would be recognizable to someone living today. I am a fan of Old English and Middle English myself.
I admire your writing skill in this piece .... smooth, but intense .... very effective ....
From my privileged location I am seeing Hawaiian language be taught and revived, including immersion education. But the very old people who grew up with a persecuted, secret, but surviving language grumble that this new way is not the language they remember; less poetry, less mellifluous.....And of course, the ancient language of Hebrew is a living language once more. A pity the current political winds do not allow progressives to fully appreciate the amazement of the survival of the Jewish people for so long! [and the right wing merely focuses on the biblical aspects of Israel's being, and the chance to bash Muslims and Arabs]. GOSH! I do ramble here! You are SO easy to talk to!
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ALOHA from Honolulu,
ComfortSpiral
=^..^=
I echo Pat Hatt's comment.
ReplyDeleteGosh - it's so sad to think that so many languages will disappear. But perhaps new ones will arise too in the future?
ReplyDelete"Neither higher nor lower, just different" - and surely that's the point. Either we treasure and celebrate our differences or we are reduced to a lowest common denominator - or probably two or three denominators - western (in thrall to America) far eastern (Chinese) and an area that we can the Misdle East and in Asia is known as West Asia. All those glorious cultures will drown - and I, for one, will grieve.
ReplyDelete'A language, one day, will come across a cul-de-sac. And will die. End of the story.'
ReplyDeleteHopefully, not in my lifetime...lol. I guess the written word is going the same way. All these LOLs, :O)s, and ICUs are probably the forerunners for a big change.
I think the path is open to be bilingual.. at least I try to do that. Swedish might be a small language, but I doubt it will die.... let's hope not.
ReplyDeleteI remember studying the Inuit back when I was 11 at school and found their culture fascinating, although we didn't study their music. Tagac's music doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard before. It makes me sad thinking that cultures and languages might go extinct but posts like this one keep them alive. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI love languages and what little linguistics I read in college was fascinating. I loved to learn that some cultures have only three adjectives to designate a color while the Inuits have about fifty that refer to snow because it is so much part of their culture. Language is a way to read, taste and express the world. Sometimes I cannot find an equivalent for a French or English word or phrase into the other language because so much would be lost in translation. Wich reminds me of the eponym film and the Japanese whisky scene in that movie.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be quite tragic if 50% of the world's languages disappeared before the end of the 21st century. And tragic that so many ancient languages have disappeared already. Just recently I was in the "Joan of Arc Chapel" (actually brought from France- supposedly Joan of Arc had prayed there) on the grounds of Marquette University in Milwaukee, and there was a stone there with words written that no one had been able to translate. Quite sad really that someone had a message to impart and no one today (at least yet) has been able to read it. I shall check out Tanya Tagac. I hope Inuit does not die. Sadly it seems like some languages like English become 'master languages' because business is conducted in them. Eventually I wonder if everyone on earth will have to speak one of the 'master languages' to survive. And eventually will the lesser languages be used less and less and then when the elders die pass into oblivion. I do hope not. I don't think any of us here will be around to see what the future brings as far as languages...we can only speculate.
ReplyDeleteGood insights. I did once study Hebrew and was amazed at how "earthy" the language was. Also, I am surprised that only 50% of the languages disappearing in the next 85 years as the computer and the connectivity bringing world closer while eliminating small language groups.
ReplyDeleteThis woman's voice is incredible. Listening to her music almost feels like you're traveling through time. I agree that we lose so much when ancient languages disappear. It seems that all we have to offer are emoji.
ReplyDeleteI did take a look at http://londondance.com/ today. It is your homepage? Can´t help but wonder what is your role in that.
ReplyDeleteLanguages as you say are much more than just the words, they're a whole culture and way of seeing the world. It's tragic each time we lose a language
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