1. Endangered Languages LING 400 Winter 2010

2. Overview Linguistic diversity Linguistic extinction Consequences of linguistic extinction The role of linguists Please turn off your cell phone

3. Estimating linguistic diversity 6912 languages (2005: http://www.ethnologue.com) Spoken and signed languages Counting difficulties Dialect vs. language issue Poorly documented languages

4. Distribution of world’s languages area % of world’s lgs Europe 3 Americas 15 Africa 30 Australia, Pacific 19 Asia 32 Data 1988-1992

5. Diversity in terms of language families # remote time-depth families Americas: 122-141 Australia, Pacific: 47 Europe, N. Asia: 14-15 Africa: 5-14 Nichols 1990. Each dot = 1 family of apx. 3000-yr time-depth

6. Linguistic extinction Diversification is normal < incremental changes over time to grammar, lexicon Extinction is also normal Some extinct languages of Europe Gaulish, Manx, Cornish (all Celtic) ‘Pictish’ (formerly spoken in Scotland) Etruscan (formerly spoken in Italy)

7. Historical rates of linguistic survival Until recently  Linguistic diversity has been increasing (Nichols 1990) 5-6000 years later … 1.6 languages < 1 Ancestor Lg

8. Projections of extinction Krauss 1992: 50-90% loss of world’s languages in coming century Summer Institute of Linguistics (www.ethnologue.com) (2006)www.ethnologue.com 516 of the world’s languages are ‘nearly extinct’, “only a few elderly speakers are still living”  Africa: 46 languages  Americas: 170 languages  Asia: 78 languages  Europe: 12 languages  Pacific: 210 languages ‘Moribund’ (or ‘critically endangered’) language: no longer being learned by children ‘Endangered’ language: becoming moribund

9. North America (north of Mexico) At first contact with Europeans, apx. 400 languages In 1996, 208 languages (Goddard 1996) 62 families and isolates 71% spoken by middle-aged and older 14% spoken by parents of young children 15% being learned by children as L1 What happened?

10. Language shift WWW W-e W-E E-w E 1900?2010 W- First language is Witsuwit’en w = know some Witsuwit’en E- First language is English e = know some English e.g. in Moricetown, B.C.

11. Why does language shift occur? Differences in power and prestige Group A (and their language) Group B (and their language) Bombardment of dominant language Media: TV, radio, newspaper Local non-speakers  grandchildren etc. Result? Incentives to learn group A language No incentives to learn group B language

12. Speaker genocide Disease Est. 50-90% of Native American population died from epidemics brought by Europeans  measles, flu, whooping cough, intestinal infections, (epidemic form of) TB, smallpox… War 300 < 350 Lakhota killed at Wounded Knee (1890)

13. Tsek’ene (moribund) about 20 speakers remaining Fort Ware, Tsay Keh, McLeod Lake

14. Why is Tsek’ene moribund? Probably never many speakers Language suppression in education many children sent to Lejac Residential School

15. Lejac Residential School 1922-1976 children punished for speaking languages other than English Fort Ware

16. Speech community destruction 1968 W.A.C. Bennett dam on Peace R.

17. Williston ‘Lake’ Fort Grahame people went to Mackenzie and Prince George Fort Ware lower mainland of B.C. Ingenika  Tsay Keh

18. Consequences of lg loss Unity Texas insurance company owner fired 3 Spanish speakers for chatting in Spanish during work day.  Owner: “The only thing I asked was, ‘Let’s work together in a language we can all understand’.” Texas Workforce Commission sided with owner, denied the women unemployment benefits

19. Consequences of lg loss Savings to taxpayers Canada: all federal services in French, English  Canadian customs form: 6 (4?) pages  U.S. customs form: 2 pages

20. Consequences of lg loss Better socio-economic outlook In 1995, ‘an Amarillo judge sparked a national controversy when he ordered a Mexican-American woman involved in a custody dispute to speak English to her 5-year-old daughter. Otherwise, he said, “You’re abusing that child and you’re relegating her to the position of housemaid.” The judge later issued an apology to the woman and to “the profession of housekeeping.”

21. Consequences of lg loss Loss of traditional knowledge Linguistic Biological Geographic Scientific consequences for linguistic theories 6900 languages, 200 families vs. 20 languages, 5 families

22. Consequences of lg loss Cultural Lance Forshay: “ASL is the key to the heart of Deaf culture...” Rosa Gonzalez (Spanish): “This is what I am.” Vancouver BC 2010 Olympic opening ceremony  Musqueam, Squamish First Nations welcomed in their languages

23. Linguists and endangered languages What are linguists doing? What should/shouldn’t linguists be doing?

24. ‘concentrated regions of the world having the highest level of linguistic diversity…, the highest levels of endangerment, and the least-studied languages’ (http://www.livingtongues.org/hotspots.html#NGmagmap)

25. Michael Krauss Linguists need to support endangered lgs Organize documentation effort Advocate for languages Create pedagogical materials Linguistics needs to support such linguists Rethink grad school requirements Rethink criteria for promotion and tenure 1970 workshop on Eskimo languages

26. Peter Ladefoged Linguists should document with ‘professional detachment’ Linguists shouldn’t meddle in politics If speakers view monolingualism in superstratum as essential, linguists shouldn’t try to dissuade

27. Summary Minority languages  endangered  moribund  extinct Historically, 25% language extinction in 5000- 6000 years Currently, 50-90% extinction in 100 years Diverse causes Negative consequences are scientific and cultural Disagreement on what linguists should do

28. Question In your opinion, what should linguists do for endangered languages? Document only? Advocate for survival? Help teaching effort?