Endangered Languages

[Speakeasy]

In reading many of the comments above, I find myself in genuine admiration of the efforts by many members to learn endangered languages (despite the understandable lack of resources) and by their encouraging successes. Bravo to you, one and all!

Nevertheless (and I suppose this is “almost” unavoidable), I detect a straying of the conversation into the political realm via accusations of lack of support, if not bigotry, and linguistic and cultural suppression on the part of central governments which represent a dominant language and culture. I would counsel both a calming of the spirits and a more nuanced position. There is a natural tug-of-war between languages and cultures which, in my opinion, is impossible to resolve to the satisfaction of all parties.

On the one hand, governments representing a dominant language and culture, with a view of promoting greater linguistic harmony and social cohesion, will want to encourage adoption of the language of the majority. While it can be difficult to find fault with such laudable enterprises, this can lead to practices resulting in the forced assimilation of minorities. Quite understandably, minority groups subjected to such pressures will feel that the very essence of their cultural identity is threatened by extinction. This can lead to resentment and, in some cases, to cultural, linguistic, and political resistance movements designed to restore the prestige and use of the endangered language.

On the other hand, in the minds of some promoters of the revival of endangered languages, all efforts at restoring the linguistic balance will judged as “insufficient” at best. Should such restoration movements actually receive support from central governments, these efforts will be decried as “patronizing and humiliating” and the “political solution” will raise its ugly head. Why ugly? Well, taken to its logical conclusion, this process leads to the Balkanization of the landscape, the creation of new sovereign states based solely on the needs of one ethnic group and, for anyone who happens to be “left behind”, the creation new linguistic minorities which, if history teaches us anything, will suffer at the hands of the new majority.

In my view, encouragement of a process of linguistically-based political dislocation simply because one has developed an affinity for a particular language is nothing more than a “taking of sides” in tug-of-war between languages and cultures, accompanied by tacit support of “new injustices”. Life sucks (not all the time, but we need not contribute to the sucking).

EDITED:
Typos, of course.

[Olekander]

No offense but I think his two lines didn't warrant a long post, I think we were likely to not engage in the bait for a debate on government policy. There's certainly a debate to be had and actually one that would be of interest but would rather this post at least stayed resource based than discussion based.

[Speakeasy]

No offense but I think his two lines didn't warrant a long post...

Rather than get into a public bun fight, I have chosen to respond by Private Message. It is regrettable that this should be our first contact.

[IronMike]

There's been a movie out there I've wanted to watch for YEARS. It's a film that first aired on PBS, but when I wasn't in the states. The only options after it played on TV was to buy it for way too much or to find a library with it. Every new city I moved to I searched for it. No joy.

NOT ANYMORE, PEOPLE! The Linguists is now available for rental!* From the movie's description:

Scientists estimate that of 7,000 languages in the world, half will be gone by the end of this century. THE LINGUISTS joins David Harrison and Gregory Anderson, scientists racing to document languages on the verge of extinction. In the rugged landscapes of Siberia, India , and Bolivia, the linguists’ resolve is tested by the very forces stifling languages: institutionalized racism and violent economic unrest. David and Greg’s journey takes them deep into the heart of the cultures, knowledge, and communities at stake.

The first film funded by the National Science Foundation to ever premiere at Sundance, THE LINGUISTS went on to win top honors at film festivals around the world. It aired on PBS and in 2010 was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Science and Technology Programming.

I know what I'll be watching in the next 48 hours!

*No, I'm not sure the film can be rented if you're not in the US.

[IronMike]

And what a great movie it was! Languages covered in the movie include Chulym, Sora, Kallawaya, Chemehuevi, N|u, Pazih. If you watch, definitely stay for the credits, as three languages are featured during the credits.

Great movie. No idea how long they'll offer this streaming rental option, but I'm glad to have finally seen it.

[Ogrim]

is any one currently learning an endangered language? What level have you reached? How do you feel about the prognosis of the language?

I've learnt Romansh, which I would describe as a semi-endangered language. It is the fourth national language of Switzerland and it receives generous financial support from the federal and cantonal governments, but it is still a language spoken by some 50.000 people and many Romansh-speaking youth leave their valleys in Eastern Switzerland to move to the big German- or French-speaking cities or even abroad.

I have written at length about my experience with Romansh in a guest post on the blog, so won't repeat all that here. I'll just quote one short paragraph from that text:

Romansh here means the fourth national language of Switzerland, referred to as Rätoromanisch in German, Romanche in French and Romancio in Italian. In Romansh it is called Rumantsch or Romontsch. (The term Rheto-Romance is sometimes used to include Friuli and Ladin, two languages spoken in Italy closely related to Romansh, but they will not be dealt with in this article.) Today there are around 60.000 people in Switzerland who claim Romansh as their native language, but the number speaking it on a daily basis is probably smaller. It is spoken in the Eastern valleys of Switzerland, in the canton of Grison (Graubünden), where it has official status. Even with this small number of speakers, Romansh is not a unified language. There are five distinct “idioms”: Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran, Putér and Vallader, each with their own written standard. In addition, there is a sixth unified standard, called Rumantsch Grischun (RG), which today is used in official texts and is spoken on Romansh TV and radio. RG was created in 1982, but has only been an official standard in Grison since 2001.

The "advantage" of Romansh compared to many other endangered languages is that there is a very active cultural community Romansh for their cultural expressions. Several novels, short stories and poetry collections are published every year, and there are a lot of pop and folk singers performing in Romansh, and a thriving rap scene(!). There are daily TV programmes in Romansh, a radio channel, a newspaper, and they have even made a few movies partly in Romansh. I can therefore always find something to enjoy in the language.

I've learnt it to a B2/C1 level "passively", that is I can understand both written and spoken Romansh quite well, depending on the idiom/dialect used. However I never speak it and hardly ever write it.

As for prospects, I think it can survive in the short/medium-term as a living language thanks to the support it gets and the consciousness of the Romansh-speaking community to preserver it. I am more uncertain about its destiny in the long term. It will all depend on the speakers themselves and their descendants whether they continue to use the language in their daily activities.

[IronMike]

I just noticed they're selling the DVD now for less money than years ago, only $30 now, if interested.

[guyome]

Wed May 06, 2020 06:54 pm
I know what I'll be watching in the next 48 hours!

Wed May 06, 2020 10:55 pm
And what a great movie it was!

Apparently it took way less than 48 hours!

[IronMike]

Wed May 06, 2020 06:54 pm
I know what I'll be watching in the next 48 hours!

Wed May 06, 2020 10:55 pm
And what a great movie it was!

Apparently it took way less than 48 hours!

Yes! The 48 hours is the amount of time they give you to watch the movie once you rent it. But yes, I can see how my syntax could be understood a different way!

[księżycowy]

If we really want to venture down the rabbit hole, I've learned some Seneca and a sprinkling of Cayuga before.

Both of these languages are indigenous languages of North America, and are from the Iroquoian language family. Both are in pretty dire straits. Cayuga has about 61 native speakers, and Seneca has 100. Most of these native speakers are elderly. Both tribes are currently working to try to revitalize their languages and cultures. Because of this effort, I was lucky enough, a few years back, to attend an online Seneca language course for a few months. (It was, and still is, offered for free!)

I've always had an interest in indigenous languages of North America.

As far as resources, I'd be happy to share, both for these two languages or for others, if anyone is interested.