Key Issue#4 - Why Do People Preserve Local Languages?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?Why Do People Preserve Local Languages? SHOULD THEY?

Language Diversity Multilingualism threatens national unity Nigeria – 527 languages; Yoruba (Xtian), Hausa (Muslim) Nigeria 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 Belgium 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!” Québécois 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 Switzerland German (65%), French (18%), Italian (10%), Romansh (1%) Federal System – decentralized govt. – local autonomy

Decentralized government in Switzerland back

“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)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)Diasporastreet sign Celtic (Gaelic, Welsh, Irish) – (Welsh) (longest word in the world)GaelicWelshIrish(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 BasqueEuskaraPamplona Icelandic - isolation makes it most unchanged language in Germanic Branch – settled by Norwegians in 874 A.D. Koisan (San Bushman) – “hottentot”; “click” languages (Africa)“hottentot”clickAfrica Inuit (Eskimo)Eskimo

NPR- Digital Technologies Give Dying Languages New Life PBS - Enduring Voices ProjectEnduring Voices Project

Additional Threats to Folk Languages What 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)next slide Other regional lingua franca Swahili - East Africa Hindustani - South Asia Indonesian – Southeast Asia Russian – former Soviet Union

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Franglais, Spanglish, Denglish Expansion Diffusion Franglais (francais + anglais) Cowboy, hamburger, jeans, t-shirt Spanglish (“Cubonics”) – Sofia Vergara SpanglishSofia Vergara Chores = Shorts Bacuncliner = Vacuum cleaner Parquin = parking (instead of estacionamiento) i-meiliar = 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) – articlebackback

Pidgin Languages Pidgin language – invented language that combines two native languages to allow two peoples to converse. (lingua franca) Pidgin language No rules of grammar No literature (not written) No native speakers Can evolve into a language (creole) Swahili (East Africa) Pidgin English (Nigeria)Nigeria back