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The real problem with dying languages
When the last speaker of the Sechelt language, a tongue spoken by fewer than 40 people in southwestern British Columbia, eventually dies, an entire language will perish too. But, linguist John McWhorter wonders, so what?
In his recent article in World Affairs, McWhorter explores the phenomenon of dying languages and asks what we really lose when a language goes extinct. "The main loss when a language dies," McWhorter argues, "is not cultural but aesthetic. The click sounds in certain African languages are magnificent to hear. In many Amazonian languages, when you say something you have to specify, with a suffix, where you got the information. The Ket language of Siberia is so awesomely irregular as to seem a work of art."
Many travelers are discomfited by the fact that English is rapidly becoming the lingua franca of the entire world, even when it makes communication much easier. When travelers converse with Tibetan monks who speak better English than they do, it can take the "authenticity" away from a should-have-been-more-exotic experience. It also reeks of British and United States imperialism: once again the powerful countries are imposing their will on the rest of the world.
But McWhorter argues, language extinction is inevitable as the world becomes increasingly globalized and interdependent. As isolated peoples move to urban areas, they eventually adopt the native language. The only solution to this is worse than the problem it's trying to solve: "The alternative, it would seem, is indigenous groups left to live in isolation-- complete with the maltreatment of women and lack of access to modern medicine and technology typical of such societies. Few could countenance this as morally justified, and attempts to find some happy medium in such cases are frustrated by the simple fact that such peoples, upon exposure to the West, tend to seek membership in it."
Check out the entire thought-provoking article here.
Filed under: Arts and Culture, History
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
erictheolson Nov 4th 2009 12:12PM
It would be great for me if everybody spoke english.
Rebecca Nov 5th 2009 12:57PM
John McWhorter is a visiting professor at my college this semester and I unfortunately couldn't take his class, which I was originally upset about. But this article has made me happy I couldn't take it. What is he thinking? Citing Native Americans to support his argument only undermines it. A language is pretty important when it comes to keeping a culture intact. I mean, sure it isn't vital but does that mean we shouldn't try to save them?