Revitalize or not? Minority Communities and Endangered Languages in a Globalizing World. (original) (raw)
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“Languages have stopped being used and have been formed and transformed all along in human history, but this rela vely slow and usual process has greatly accelerated within the last decades, leading to the modern «Great Dying». [...] These pro- cesses, without a doubt, cons tute one of the biggest societal challenges of the modern world, yet their global impact is s ll underes mated. A new agenda and complex tools to prevent that reduc on of linguis c assets of humankind are desper- ately needed, par cularly in case of the weakest and most imperiled language communi es. The understanding of the crucial factors behind these processes and possibili es of their reversal is a special tresponsibility of researchers, language ac vists and community members, shared by many authors of this book. While some of these processes are unfortunately irreversible, numerous endangered languages can be saved and safely maintained well into the future. By discussing and comparing various aspects of language vitality, endangerment, maintenance and revitalization – in both diachronic and synchronic perspective – the editors hope to provide a representative overview of language constellations and strategies (to be) applied. The case studies focus on both intra- and extralinguis c aspects of revitaliza- on, but what connects them all is the coherence between languages and their communities”.
Language endangerment, a global phenomenon, is accelerating and 90 percent of the world's languages are about to disappear in 21 st century, leading to the loss of human intellectual and cultural diversity. When Europe colonized the New World and the South, an enormous body of cultural and intellectual wealth of indigenous people was lost completely and it was appreciable only through the language that disappeared with it (Hale, 1998). This research deals with the problem of language loss in the world and seeks answer to critical questions: What does language extinction mean for humankind? What is to be done to save languages from loss? Some scholars suggest that linguists should find solutions whereas others disagree that it is linguists' responsibility to maintain and preserve the currently disappearing languages. Moreover, the research indicates that not only language specialists are participating in this process but also general public, particularly members of the communities whose languages are declining, are contributing their efforts in saving languages from loss.