Languages dying

[Berry]

In another thread, on sign names, people got to talking about languages, and the fact so many Native American Indians do not speak their own native tongue. In fact a lot of tribes have lost their languages entirely, and many more are in danger.

In fact some East Indians, who speak Punjabi, have similar concerns for their language. (Here is a link)

ASL, the favored language of many, if not most, members of AD is in danger from audism, oralists, and technology.


Here is a link from Cambridge about languages dying in general.

Speaking as a person who loves human diversity, the idea of any language dying is sad. The idea of ASL dying is tragic.

 

[Partygirl]

Speaking as a person who loves human diversity, the idea of any language dying is sad. The idea of ASL dying is tragic.

Yes I agree. here in Ireland most Irish people cannot speak Irish.
Myself, I was brought up speaking Irish. I only need Irish if I visit home on the west coast of Ireland. Were I live Dublin on the east coast almost nobody know Irish. it very sad.

 

[deafdyke]

Well ASL is not going to die.
Research indicates that most dhh "oral" kids do eventually pick up ASL as a second language.

 

[Buffalo]

Well ASL is not going to die.
Research indicates that most dhh "oral" kids do eventually pick up ASL as a second language.

Well, I am keeping my fingers crossed. Al that CIs and stem cell therapy research could change that easily.

 

[Berry]

Well, I am keeping my fingers crossed. Al that CIs and stem cell therapy research could change that easily.

Oddly the same high tech innovations that could destroy the Deaf community could be the very reasons to keep ASL alive among hearies. With listening devices that make every sound in your house accessible, even breathing, to someone in a building across the street, there may come a time when the only way to communicate privately is to be deep indoors using sign.

Now there is a sobering thought.

 

[yizuman]

Sadly languages come and go throughout the centuries.

Yiz

 

[Berry]

Sadly languages come and go throughout the centuries.

Yiz

I think what worries so many people is that while a lot of languages are disappearing none seem to be emerging.

 

[CJB]

I think what worries so many people is that while a lot of languages are disappearing none seem to be emerging.

This is and has always been the case. Language is constantly changing and old languages constantly go extinct while new ones are born.

 

[FxAvatar]

This is and has always been the case. Language is constantly changing and old languages constantly go extinct while new ones are born.

My expectation is more of a merging of languages. Much like how the English language has incorporated elements of other languages that express things that are missing from it's own. I think we will see a point that verbal and gesture languages will mix to form a unified form of communication. Allowing the best of both to fill in for the lacking of each other.
At the same time, the core language may fade, but not be forgotten, much like Latin is today, studied, but not actively spoken.

In the past, most languages have faded due to conquest and war, the victors enslaved the losers and forced them to adapt. Here, we are seeing something different, as our ability to communicate instantly and globally is improving, it is becoming more of a blending effect. Children today are learning 2-5+ languages growing up (depends on where you live). Many are mixing them into a unified language (spanglish is a example that comes to mind). This is what I think will become of our future, a mixed language that has bits of each of the founding language in it.

 

[Berry]

I think we will see a point that verbal and gesture languages will mix to form a unified form of communication. Allowing the best of both to fill in for the lacking of each other.

I like that picture, but like many things it sounds too good to be true.

 

[CJB]

My expectation is more of a merging of languages. Much like how the English language has incorporated elements of other languages that express things that are missing from it's own. I think we will see a point that verbal and gesture languages will mix to form a unified form of communication. Allowing the best of both to fill in for the lacking of each other.
At the same time, the core language may fade, but not be forgotten, much like Latin is today, studied, but not actively spoken.

In the past, most languages have faded due to conquest and war, the victors enslaved the losers and forced them to adapt. Here, we are seeing something different, as our ability to communicate instantly and globally is improving, it is becoming more of a blending effect. Children today are learning 2-5+ languages growing up (depends on where you live). Many are mixing them into a unified language (spanglish is a example that comes to mind). This is what I think will become of our future, a mixed language that has bits of each of the founding language in it.

You have a really good point. Globalization probably will have a large effect on the merging of languages.

 

[deafdyke]

Well stem cells are still only a possibilty right now.
They might help, but then again they might not.

Al that CI

Well did you know that when hearing aids become popular, a lot of deafies thought that ASL was going to die?

 

[faire_jour]

Well ASL is not going to die.
Research indicates that most dhh "oral" kids do eventually pick up ASL as a second language.

Can you share this research? I would love to share it with other parents. What are the percentages?

 

[shel90]

Well, I am keeping my fingers crossed. Al that CIs and stem cell therapy research could change that easily.

I most definitely dont want ASL to die. I wish the oralists would stop being so anal against exposing deaf children to ASL.

 

[shel90]

Did the native users of the other language that are not existent believe that their languages wouldn't die or did they have the same worries?

 

[Berry]

Did the native users of the other language that are not existent believe that their languages wouldn't die or did they have the same worries?

.

The problem with good questions is they always have bad answers.

I not only do not know, I have no clue how to find out.

I was told some Lakotas are attempting to preserve their language by offering lessons free on the net to anyone who wants to learn. As he has some Lakota blood and no other way to learn he thinks this is a great idea.

 

[shezzbeav]

In Australia, a lot of Aboriginal languages are dying, and it's sad because the current generations of Aborigines won't have a chance to learn their own tribal language.

 

[Waxy]

Great article, great thread.
I specially want to point out the final part.

Viable languages: Have population bases that are sufficiently large and thriving to mean that no threat to long-term survival is likely;
Viable but small languages: Have more than c. 1,000 speakers, and are spoken in communities that are isolated or with a strong internal organization, and aware of the way their language is a marker of identity;
Endangered languages: Are spoken by enough people to make survival a possibility, but only in favourable circumstances and with a growth in community support;
Nearly extinct languages: Are thought to be beyond the possibility of survival, usually

As I just said a couples of days ago in another thread, Deaf community needs to realize that they need to perpetuate in their own way.
I want to see Deaf scientists... Deaf artists... I want to see investigations made by the Deaf... EVERYWHERE... not just in youtube... or in organizations still lead by hearings... but then again, how're you going to perpetuate? You need to documentate in some way your achivements. A way that's accepted by all the deaf around the world. Oral-written languages can't be the answer, otherwise, you'll rely more on those than in your own.

How does the deaf comunity see to theyselves?
"Viable"? "Nearly extinct"?

I know you dont see yourselves nearly extinct... but I can speak about my local community, that the argentinean sign language is "spoken by enough people to make survival a possibility, but only in favourable circumstances and with a growth in community support" will survive.

"Community support".
That's the key.
"Aware of the way their language is a marker of identity"
That's the way- Language is a marker of identity.
Fight for it.

 

[Grummer]

lots of excellent points raised here, just in my opinion, two biggest "factors" are globalisation bought on a lot of "dumbing down", texting sith mobiles is example, more subtle examples might be the decline of literacy-not ony counting book lliteracy but also cultural literacy and secondly significant explanation for 'languages dying' can be understood (but by no means its never simple) by gaining many relevent insights within the soci-linguistics scholarly materials. I dont try to pretend i know it, i don't, all I am saying, Ive done some papers in this area and dammit its far to simplistic to jump straight to 'globalisation' or 'media overflow which saturated literacy access', a particular hard-core insight in soci-linguistics is then again never a universally shared discipline, much like Sociology, when you have Frankfurt school comprising of many different explanations on how authority pelts people into a particular way of comformity, thus robbing of free thoughts. To me, this gives a clue on why 'language death occurs'...anyway think i said too much here as this could open up to an entirely wildly varied ranges of arguments which is Not what i intend, but to point out at languages 'meltdown' in my opinion isnt because of the 'melting pot' effect of globalisation as 'we're lead to 'believe' it is a distraction i believe. This swaying of arbitral uses of words occurances due to the dominance of globalisation of corporate cultures bent on control and to actually do that, means to 'NOT support' education so they would have a lot of confused, dulled minded individuals only too pleased to follow consumerist cultures (not i said consumerist not communist - BIG differences) so for those in power, they can continue to stay in their positions.
blah thats my take of language 'deaths'

 

[rockdrummer]

I could be wrong but... I am of the belief that a language will only die if the users of said language let it die.