Every day, millions of people worldwide join in on a shared endeavor to learn a new language. The opportunity to immerse oneself has never been easier. Language courses, textbooks, and digital apps provide more opportunities than before for accessible and convenient learning. To many, learning a new language is a personal resolution or an opportunity to explore a new culture. For some communities, however, this endeavor will ensure that their language, history, and culture will remain alive. Endangered languages are a concern for many communities, posing a threat to erase traditions, worldviews, and identities unique to a culture.
While endangered languages are not a recent phenomenon, their continuing presence and increase concern many. More than half the world’s current languages are at risk of endangerment, prompting language experts to urge immediate action. Although several measures address this dilemma, the advancement of digital apps and media offers newfound support to this centuries-long epidemic.
How do we know a language is endangered?
There are more than 7,000 languages spoken worldwide today, each with a unique culture, history, and usage. Although various terms describe the state of a language, different levels of severity determine how at risk a group is. UNESCO has officially categorized languages into one of six categories: Safe, Vulnerable, Definitely Endangered, Severely Endangered, Critically Endangered, or Extinct. Several factors determine how a language is classified including the number of global speakers and the level of comprehension retained by native speakers.
Despite continuing efforts for language preservation, linguists predict that more than one-fifth of the world’s languages will become dormant or extinct by the end of the century. Although this crisis applies to all global regions, languages among Indigenous communities show an alarming rate of language decline. Colonialism is one of the greatest factors that affected Indigenous and Aboriginal communities. The implementation of laws banning native languages, boarding schools, and forced assimilation all resulted from colonial practices. Through these practices, native languages were severely limited from being practiced or learned by future generations. The effects of colonialism continue to affect Indigenous communities today, contributing to the decline in the inheritance of native languages.
Recent challenges for language preservation
The consequences of colonialism have been a prevalent force in Indigenous language endangerment, however, it is not the only factor. COVID-19 has played a significant detriment to elders within Indigenous communities, many of whom were vital sources for language preservation.
“Before the pandemic we thought maybe we had five or 10 years to work on a language … [n]ow, some languages where we’ve lost the majority of the speakers, we might only have one or two years left.”
Wilhelm Meya / CEO of the Language Conservancy for CNN
Though historic colonialism has greatly impacted many endangered languages, the COVID-19 pandemic amplified these challenges further. The global lockdown disrupted communal practices and language teaching in many communities, further hindering efforts for language preservation. The intersectionality between historical and modern events is necessary to discuss the current condition of many endangered languages today.
The dilemma of dying languages
The growth of endangered languages poses a threat to language preservation and to the identity of a culture. Language provides many communities a way to express their culture’s traditions, history, and values – embodying a unique perspective for its speakers. Through language, a community retains its core values and shared perspectives on the world. When a language becomes extinct, it erases the integral aspects and identities of a culture.
Many Indigenous and Aboriginal groups in the world retain cultural heritage through oral traditions. Oral traditions are the passage of cultural history and information is verbally passed down from one generation to the next. This information often includes a culture’s stories and folktales, while preserving historical events and ecological values of a group. Language within these communities contain valuable knowledge regarding the environment, plants, and animals. When communities stop practicing oral traditions, vital pieces of information disappear as well. In one such case, Lulamogi speakers in Uganda fear losing century-long traditions. As the dialect declines, native speakers worry that future generations will forget how to prepare the dish of white ants.
“[A]s people forget the dozens of terms that describe methods of trapping and eating white ants—such as okukunia, okutegerera, and okubuutira—they will forget this important cultural practice.”
Anastasia Rihel, Sapiens Anthropology Magazine
Preserving languages not only conserves important traditions and values of culture but fosters global knowledge as well. For example, the Swedish Livsnjutare and the Indonesian Jayus contain foreign concepts that cannot be translated into English. Language preservation allows speakers to document these ingrained concepts and share them globally. Linguistic diversity is necessary to broaden our understanding of the different ways cultures perceive and interact in the world. Without language preservation, we lose this connection.
A revival for dead languages
Despite there being growing concerns about language endangerment and extinction, there are some promising possibilities for the future. Revived languages are languages categorized as being considered extinct that have since been brought back to life. The process of language revitalization is a rigorous process and requires established institutions, native resources, and community involvement. One of the most documented instances of a successfully revived language is Hebrew, with about 9 million speakers today.
Other languages are also in the process of language revitalization. Ckunsa, an Indigenous language of Latin America that people considered extinct seven decades ago, is now showing promising development for future speakers. Although Ckunsa branched through regions of Chile, Peru, and Argentina, Spaniard colonization forced the language to slip into extinction. By the 1950s, many considered Ckunsa extinct, as no native speakers spoke it as their first language. In spite of this obstacle, communities such as the Lickanantay people continue efforts to keep Ckunsa alive. Ckunsa has become incorporated into some school curriculums, holding the same level of importance as any other academic subject. Songs and lessons in Ckunsa are also being created to teach new speakers colors and numbers. Despite the threat of language extinction, revitalization efforts offer hope to preserve and strengthen our linguistic future.
The promising future of language and technology
With continuing efforts to combat language endangerment, technology has become a crucial factor in aiding in this endeavor. Digital tools such as language learning apps and dictionaries provide new accessibility for endangered languages that were previously not available. Organizations such as FirstVoices have programs and resources to revitalize dozens of North American Indigenous languages. Additionally, even mainstream apps like Duolingo are offering language courses for endangered languages such as Gaelic and Hawaiian. Now more than ever, online databases are able to provide users with worldwide accessibility to learn these languages firsthand.
Beyond digital apps, social media has also created an impact in fostering community-driven efforts to promote languages. Social media movements such as #SpeakGwichinToMe sparked activity and interaction within the online community of Gwich’in speakers. These movements not only aid in community growth and connection but also help bring awareness of these endangered languages to new people.
The future of language preservation and revitalization looks increasingly promising thanks to technological advancements such as language learning apps and social media communities. Digital platforms are providing innovative measures to introduce and preserve endangered languages that were previously not possible. Although language endangerment will continue to remain a concern for the future of linguistic diversity, modern advancements provide new opportunities for language preservation. With the power of technology, communities around the world have the means to not only preserve their language and culture but share it with potentially more people than ever.
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