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

LINGUAL PRESERVATION & SURVIVAL

Difficulties can arise at the boundary between two languages Difficulties can 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)

FIGURE 5-27 LANGUAGES IN BELGIUM FLEMINGS in the north speak Flemish, a Dutch dialect. Walloons in the south speak French. The two groups have had difficulty sharing national power.

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

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

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%) Romansh (1%)

With a history of mountainous isolation, decisions in Switzerland are made largely on the LOCAL level. FIGURE 5-29 LANGUAGE DIVERSITY IN SWITZERLAND The map shows Switzerland’s four official languages. The photo shows a sign that prevents hikers, vehicles, and horses from entering the forest because of timber cutting. German is top left, French top right, Italian lower left, and Romansh lower right. Switzerland lives peacefully with four official languages, including Romansh, which is used by only 1 percent of the population.

The largest three each represent only 1/8 of speakers. 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 each represent only 1/8 of speakers.

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

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

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

An EXTINCT LANGUAGE is one that is no longer spoken or read in daily activities by anyone in the world. Hebrew is a rare case of a language being revived. Efforts are being made to update the ancient language to reflect modern advances, such as words for telephones, cars, and electricity.

Presently, 473 languages nearly extinct - 46 in Africa - 182 in Americas - 84 in Asia - 9 in Europe - 152 in Pacific

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

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 19th century.

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda worked to revive spoken Hebrew Eliezer Ben-Yehuda worked to revive spoken Hebrew. He published dictionaries incorporating new words and pushed for 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

Linguists expect hundreds of languages will become extinct during the twenty-first century. Only about 300 languages are said to be ‘safe’ from extinction.

PRESERVING LOCAL LANGUAGE CELTIC Originated in the British isles, dispersed with the arrival of English. Found in parts of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, and the Brittany peninsula of France.

Celtic speakers work hard to preserve their language, facing encroaching diffusion by other tongues with greater political and economic strength

Other languages being actively preserved by their speakers to prevent disappearance include: OCCITAN, the language of Southern France MAORI and other local languages in New Zealand

A LINGUA FRANCA is a language that is widely used in international communication.

ENGLISH is the world’s LINGUA FRANCA in the current age. First language of 335 million people, it is spoken fluently as a second language by over 1 billion people. People from smaller countries learn English in order to participate in international commerce.

WHY IS ENGLISH DOMINANT? HISTORICAL REASON: Diffusion to the far ends of the earth through British Empire; used to bridge the wide array of languages under the Crown. CONTEMPORARY REASON: The dominance of the American economy (Wall Street) and culture (Holly wood) since midcentury has made English an essential and desirable skill for many.

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 Majority of content on Internet is in English. Dominance is waning. Percentage of English-language users fell from 46 percent in 2000 to 27 percent in 2010. Mandarin will likely replace English as the most-frequently used online language before 2020.

FIGURE 5-50 LANGUAGES OF ONLINE SPEAKERS English remains the most widely used language on the Internet, but Chinese is growing more rapidly.

As English has expanded, words are fusing with other languages. Words, such as cowboy, hamburger, jeans, and T-shirt have diffused to French This effect has led to the creation of combination languages, like Spanlish or Franglais

FIGURE 5-46 SPANGLISH A restaurant in Santa Ana, California, mixes Spanish and English.

FIGURE 5-48 SPANISH SPEAKERS IN THE UNITED STATES The largest percentages of Spanish speakers are in the Southwest and in Florida.

There are 56 million Americans who speak a language other than English as their primary tongue; 25 million of these people speak Spanish. Though English is not the OFFICIAL language of the US (only de facto), more than 30 states and many more towns have passed laws declaring English their official tongue. These laws are regularly challenged- and often defeated- in the courts.

Some places resist the powerful influence of English. RESISTANCE TO ENGLISH Some places resist the powerful influence of English. The Québec government has made the use of French mandatory in many daily activities, and has also passed laws limiting the display of English in outdoor signs and other public places.