Why is it important to protect languages from becoming extinct?
Recent studies have concluded that learning a second language is beneficial to general comprehension and attention span. However, by learning an endangered language, people could also help spread and promote cultures which are at risk of dying out entirely.
Why is protecting languages important?
When a language dies out, future generations lose a vital part of the culture that is necessary to completely understand it. This makes language a vulnerable aspect of cultural heritage, and it becomes especially important to preserve it. But 96 percent of the languages we know are more or less at risk.
What is the effect to a community or to humans if a language become extinct?
When a community loses its language, it often loses a great deal of its cultural identity at the same time. Although language loss may be voluntary or involuntary, it always involves pressure of some kind, and it is often felt as a loss of social identity or as a symbol of defeat.
Why is English killing other languages?
So, ultimately, languages associated with a nation-state will kill the other minority languages as a function of: nationalized schools, where success is determined by knowing the dominant language. centralized government, where knowing the dominant language is crucial to finding a job. social pressure to fit in.
What is the rationale for keeping the language alive?
For parents, keeping your first language alive at home teaches children to take pride in their culture and roots. In terms of its value in social interactions, speaking your first language can strengthen ties with family members. If the native language isn’t maintained, important links to family members may be lost.
What happens when a language becomes extinct?
A language becomes extinct when its last native speaker dies, and it’s usually the result of its speakers shifting to a lingua franca like English, Arabic or Spanish. This implies choice, but it’s often a history of marginalisation that leads to the change. Launch this special SBS indigenous language interactive
What causes languages to be endangered?
Several factors cause the languages to be endangered. One is the diminishing number of native speakers.
Why is it important to keep indigenous languages alive?
Keeping Indigenous languages alive alongside international languages ultimately makes us better off because bilingualism is good for the brain. Studies have shown that bilingualism has a range of cognitive benefits for both young and old, even delaying the onset of Dementia.
How can we save the world’s endangered languages?
Saving Endangered Languages Academic departments and nonprofit organizations around the world are dedicated to saving endangered languages. Researchers are currently recording and documenting some of the most critically endangered languages in order to ensure a record remains after the last speaker is long gone.