CHAPTER 5 KEY ISSUE 4 WHY DO PEOPLE

CHAPTER 5 KEY ISSUE 4 WHY DO PEOPLE PRESERVE LOCAL LANGUAGES?

The CHALLENGE of LINGUAL DIVERSITY

Difficulties often arise at the boundary between two languages. Different countries face this challenge with varying degrees of success.

A DEVELOPED country that faces domestic strife because of its mixed lingual character is BELGIUM

Belgium has two lingual regions- • the FLEMISH-SPEAKING North (Flanders) • the FRENCH-SPEAKING south (Wallonia)

The country’s capital- BRUSSELS- is officially bilingual. Signs and official documents are written in both FLEMISH and FRENCH.

If Belgium was to split into two , Flanders would instantly become one of Europe’s richest countries, while Wallonia would rank among its poorest.

Nearby Switzerland, however, has succeeded in creating a stable multilingual state.

The SWISS are notoriously tolerant, and have enacted official recognition of even the smallest of locally spoken languages. 4 official languages • German (65%) • French (18%) • Italian (10%)

With a history of mountainous isolation, decisions in Switzerland are made largely on the LOCAL level.

Many developing countries have difficulty balancing a mix of languages. A good example is NIGERIA- a country of 220 million people where there are 527 spoken tongues. The largest three tongues each represent only 1/8 of

Because Nigeria is so diverse, its capital – ABUJA - was moved to a ‘neutral’ location in the middle of the country in 1991. The old capital, LAGOS, was located deep in the Yoruba-dominated southwest, causing conflict.

When countries move their capital in order to establish fuller control, this is called FORWARD CAPITAL. Another example is NAYPYIDAW, the new capital of Myanmar (moved far away from large & restive Yangon) and Brasilia in Brasil.

ISOLATED LANGUAGES

An ISOLATED LANGAUGE is one unrelated to any other language or family.

Basque in Europe • Only European language currently spoken that predates the arrival of Indo-European speakers. • Spoken by 666, 000 people in the Pyrenees Mountains of northern Spain and southwestern France.

Basque Country

The Basque believe their lingual difference means they should have their own country; Spain and France strongly disagree.

Icelandic Isolated on an island, this has changed less than any other Germanic language ge

EXTINCT LANGUAGES

An EXTINCT LANGUAGE is one that is no longer spoken or read in daily activities by anyone in the world.

Presently, 473 languages are nearly extinct - 46 in Africa - 182 in Americas - 84 in Asia - 9 in Europe

74 now-extinct languages in the United States were once spoken by Native Americans.

Edwin Benson is the last living speaker of Mandan, a native American Sioux language. When he dies, this language will become extinct

Linguists expect hundreds of languages will become extinct during the twenty-first century. Only about 300 languages are widely spoken and ‘safe’ from

REVIVED LANGAUGES

Extinct languages can be REVIVED, as long as extensive documentation of the language exists.

HEBREW, the language of the Jewish people, was extinct for 2, 000 years before it was revived in the late 19 th century.

Although not used in daily language, Hebrew was preserved as the language of the Jewish holy book, the Torah

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda worked to revive spoken Hebrew. He published dictionaries incorporating new words, and pushed for fellow Jews to adopt the language. His son Itamar was raised to be the first native speaker of Hebrew since 200 bce.

Today, Hebrew is spoken by more than 6 million people, mostly in Israel and other places with high Jewish populations.

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN

CORNISH, a Celtic language, is a semirevived language. Like other Celtic languages, Cornish was displaced by English. Though the last speaker died in 1777, Cornish texts have been used to reintroduce the language in some parts of the UK, where it is taught as a second language in schools.

PRESERVING LOCAL LANGUAGES

CELTIC Originated in the British isles, dispersed west with the arrival of English (Anglo-Saxon). Found today in parts of Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and the Brittany peninsula of

Celtic speakers work hard to preserve their languages, facing expansion of others with greater political and economic strength (English, French)

Other languages threatened by more dominant tongues are working to preserve their character, including: • OCCITAN, language of Southern France • MAORI in New Zealand

A new app called AIKUMA allows speakers of threatened languages to record examples of their speech

LINGUA FRANCA

LINGUA FRANCA is a language that is widely used in international communication, or to bridge lingual divides.

ENGLISH is the world’s LINGUA FRANCA today. • First language of 350 million people, spoken fluently as a second language by over 1 billion people. • Speakers of most languages learn English in order to participate in international

More people today are learning English in China than live IN England.

WHY IS ENGLISH DOMINANT? HISTORICAL REASON: • Globally dispersed by British Empire; used to bridge the wide array of languages under British rule. CONTEMPORARY REASON: • The dominance of the American economy (Wall Street, Silicon Valley) and culture (Holly wood) has made English an essential and desirable skill.

Other Examples of Lingua Franca • Swahili in East Africa • Hindi in South Asia • Indonesian in Southeast Asia • Russian in former Soviet Union.

English on the Internet provider Veri. Sign estimates that 65 -70% of all internet content is in English

Like with the diffusion of TV, English dominance online is slowly waning as more of the world logs on.

Mandarin will likely replace English as the most frequently used online language before 2030.

As English has expanded, it has fused with other languages. • Combination languages, like Spanlish, Franglais and Denglish • Words, such as cowboy, hamburger, jeans, and

English in America 56 million Americans speak a non. English primary language; 25 million are Spanish-speakers.

English is NOT the official language in the USA; it is legally the ‘common and uniting’ language More than 30 states have passed laws declaring English their official tongue; their ability to enforce is highly limited.

RESISTANCE TO ENGLISH Some places resist the powerful influence of English. In Quebec, French is mandatory in many daily activities like government interactions, and English is legally limited.