‘Tarn palkö enim ab uo tundö’ – Only a handful of people are still able to understand these Livonian words (Viitso: 1990). Reasons why languages such as Livonian are becoming extinct are manifold and the estimated 7000 languages which “are being spoken around the world” (Colls: 2009, p. 1) are expected to rapidly shrink in the upcoming decades. It is obvious that language extinction and language death have reached an exceptional level in recent years and that the forecast for a striking percentage of the world’s dying languages is very high (Hale et al.: 1992). An untold number of languages has already died and the “disappearance of languages continues” (Wurm: 1991, p. 1) constantly. One reason for this loss is the fact that “more and more people switch to one of the dominant languages, especially English, and” (Deterding: 2004, p. 27) in consequence miss out on transmitting their endangered indigenous language to their descendents (Crystal: 2000). The problem of language death has only been discovered in the late 1980's and it is assumed that within this century 50% of the currently spoken languages will become extinct and that another 40% will be endangered so that their extinction is no longer ne avoidable – but only if this trend continues (Krauss: 1992). Although, this estimation might sound very pessimistic it is obvious that a drastic reduction of language diversity is on its way. In these premises, thoughts about how to countervail the reduction of diversity have come up within the last couple of years (Hale et al.: 1992; Bobaljik et al.; 1996; Grenoble and Whaley: 1998) with one possibility being to respond to the dying of languages by extensively documenting endangered languages before they actually become extinct. Considering the extent and the speed in which languages die out the task to document is particularly imperative.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Theoretical Background: Language Endangerment and Language Death
- Potentially Endangered Languages
- Endangered Languages
- Seriously endangered Languages
- Moribund Languages
- Extinct Languages and Dead Languages
- Discussion
- Conclusion
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This work aims to discuss the importance of language endangerment in society, explore the effects of language death, and examine how this development is being counteracted. It delves into the question of what is lost when a language becomes extinct, analyzing if it is solely the language itself or if other aspects are also involved.
- The impact of language endangerment on society
- The consequences of language death for affected language communities
- The loss of cultural identity associated with language extinction
- Methods for documenting and preserving endangered languages
- The role of language conflict, competition, and coexistence in language endangerment
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Introduction: This chapter sets the stage by introducing the pressing issue of language endangerment and the rapid decline of languages worldwide. It highlights the alarming rate of language extinction and the factors contributing to this phenomenon, including the shift towards dominant languages like English.
- Theoretical Background: Language Endangerment and Language Death: This chapter explores the theoretical framework surrounding language endangerment. It defines key concepts like endangered, moribund, and extinct languages, outlining criteria for classifying languages based on factors such as speaker numbers, age, and transmission to younger generations. It also discusses various perspectives on language endangerment classification, drawing on the work of researchers such as Krauss, Brenzinger, Fishman, and Craig.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
This work focuses on key concepts such as language endangerment, language death, language variation, language change, language conflict, language competition, language coexistence, cultural identity, and documentation of endangered languages.
- Quote paper
- B.A. Corinna Colette Vellnagel (Author), 2011, Language Endangerment is an Important Issue, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/174794
