Key Issue#4 - Why Do People Preserve Local Languages?• What is bio-diversity?

• Is bio-diversity being threatened?• WHY?

• Is the loss of bio-diversity a problem? • What are people doing about it?

__________________________________• Is linguistic-diversity being threatened?

• WHY? • Is the loss of linguistic-diversity a problem?

• What are people doing about it?Why Do People Preserve Local Languages? SHOULD THEY?

Language DiversityMultilingualism threatens national unity• Nigeria – 527 languages; Yoruba (Xtian), Hausa (Muslim)

• 1976 - capital city moved from Lagos (Yoruba region) to Abuja (center• National unity in small country is practically impossible• Forward Thrust Capitals –

• U.S.A. – N.Y.C. to D.C. (1800)• Russia – Moscow to St. Petersburg back to Moscow (1918)• Canada – Toronto and Quebec City to Ottawa (1857)• Australia – Canberra (1927) – between Melbourne & Sydney• India – Calcutta to New Delhi (1947)• Brazil – Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia (1961)• Turkey – Istanbul to Ankara (1923)• Pakistan – Karachi to Islamabad (1960s)

• Belgium – 2 autonomous regions defined by language• Wallonia (Walloons) speak French – dominant• Flanders (Flemings) speak Dutch dialect “Flemish”

• applied political pressure for official recognition• Want separatism; devolution – would be one of Europe richest countries

Multilingual conflicts, continued• Québécois – “Vive le Quebec!”

• Radical pro-French policies – Commission on Toponyme renamed all places in Quebec with French names; non-French signs banned (“Arret” for “Stop”)

• Separatist movement – Quebec granted regional autonomy in 1995• “Quebec as a Nation”

• Switzerland – 4 official languages• German (65%), French (18%), Italian (10%), Romansh (1%)• Federal System – decentralized govt. – local autonomy

Decentralized government in Switzerland

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“I always say that if ever I believed Canada was really Stephen Harper's Canada - that we were heading against abortion, against gay marriage, that we were going backwards 10,000 different ways - maybe I would think about wanting to make Quebec an independent country.”

Justin Trudeau, Montreal MP, son of former anti-separatist Prime minister, Pierre Trudeau

Preserving Language Diversity• Extinct languages• Latin – Roman Empire• Amerindian – replaced by English and Spanish• Gothic – East Germanic language

• Revived (extinct) Languages (The Linguists)• Hebrew (Jewish Diaspora), Aramaic & Arabic replaced it in Palestine – Hebrew

returned to Palestine with formation of Israel in 1948 – invented over 4,000 new words for new technology (street sign)

• Celtic (Gaelic, Welsh, Irish) – (Welsh) (longest word in the world)• local pride (nationalism) “heritage” – common historical experience• youth revival – desire to establish unique identity• Separatism / Local autonomy – laws protect local languages

• Isolated languages• Basque (Euskara) - Pamplona• Icelandic - isolation makes it most unchanged language in Germanic Branch –

settled by Norwegians in 874 A.D.• Koisan (San Bushman) – “hottentot”; “click” languages (Africa)• Inuit (Eskimo)

NPR- Digital Technologies Give Dying Languages New Life

PBS - Enduring Voices Project

Additional Threats to Folk LanguagesWhat happens when 2 language groups come in contact?• Lingua franca – existing language mutually understood and used in

commerce by people of different native languages. ***• Global dominance of English

• 90% of EU students learn English• 500 million ESL • English words in other native languages

• Franglais, Spanglish, Denglish (next slide)

• Other regional lingua franca• Swahili - East Africa• Hindustani - South Asia• Indonesian – Southeast Asia• Russian – former Soviet Union

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Global Dominance of English

Franglais, Spanglish, DenglishExpansion Diffusion

• Franglais (francais + anglais)• Cowboy, hamburger, jeans, t-shirt

• Spanglish (“Cubonics”) – Sofia Vergara• Chores = Shorts• Bacuncliner = Vacuum cleaner• Parquin = parking (instead of estacionamiento)• i-meiliar = e-mail someone

• Denglish (German / Deutsch + English)• Herzlichen Gluuuckwunsch zum Geburtstag = happy birthday• Rebooten = reboot the computer• Streetworker = social worker / Trampen = hitchhiker

• Japanese + English• Beisboru = baseball• Naifu = knife• Sutoroberi keki = strawberry cake

• Chenglish (Chinese + English) – article back

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Pidgin Languages

• Pidgin language – invented language that combines two native languages to allow two peoples to converse. (lingua franca)• No rules of grammar• No literature (not written)• No native speakers • Can evolve into a language (creole)

• Swahili (East Africa)• Pidgin English (Nigeria)

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