The United Nations estimates that approximately 6, 500 languages are spoken in the world today. By the end of this century, many linguists estimate that over half of those 6, 500 languages will be gone. Some opine that it is futile to save these languages because it is more convenient to have fewer languages today. I agree with this view.
The reason why the possibility of a language dying raises so much concern for sociolinguists is that language is directly related to culture. It is said that, ―When a language dies, a culture dies‖. Secondly, these languages are a significant part of their speaker' s identity. Beyond preserving culture and using language as a part of the speakers' identity, a very practical reason for wanting to save a dying language is that archaeologists and anthropologists can get a wealth of information about a society from its language. If a language dies out, so does our access to direct knowledge about its customs, folk tales, and vocabulary for describing the world.
However, languages that lose their communicative purposes and are abandoned by speakers should disappear from the public arena. The truth of ―when a language dies, a culture dies‖ does not imply the truth of when a language is saved, a culture is so saved. The change of culture is a normal part of the law of change and we should welcome this change. The only thing that can be achieved by saving a language is for intra-linguistic studies and nothing more.
Furthermore, it is irrefutable that what actually kills languages is the choices of the speakers. The moment the speakers of a language realize that their language does not have a global functionality, they begin to abandon it. In today‘s global village, it is far more convenient to have a few languages. There is better communication and also better job prospects worldwide with fewer languages. Even the technology of today is more comfortable to learn with fewer languages. So, such languages that have limited potential at the global stage, and they thus come under threat or even die, it would be better to let them die. There is no need to preserve them.
To put it in a nutshell, I pen down saying that, the idea of saving threatened languages sounds good but it is difficult to sustain because the speakers have a right to shift to another language. Once this happens, there is no logical basis for saving a past linguistic behavior. What is more, globalization will continually lead to language shift. This trend is not likely to abate. Therefore, it is not important to save endangered languages.
The United Nations estimates that approximately 6, 500
languages
are spoken
in the world
today
. By the
end
of this century,
many
linguists estimate that over half of those 6, 500
languages
will
be gone
.
Some
opine that it is futile to save these
languages
because
it is more convenient to have fewer
languages
today
. I
agree
with this view.
The reason why the possibility of a
language
dying raises
so
much concern for
sociolinguists
is that
language
is
directly
related to
culture
. It
is said
that,
―When
a
language
dies
, a
culture
dies‖
.
Secondly
, these
languages
are a significant part of their
speaker&
#039; s identity. Beyond preserving
culture
and using
language
as a part of the
speakers&
#039; identity, a
very
practical reason for wanting to save a dying
language
is that archaeologists and anthropologists can
get
a wealth of information about a society from its
language
. If a
language
dies
out,
so
does our access to direct knowledge about its customs, folk tales, and vocabulary for describing the world.
However
,
languages
that lose their communicative purposes and
are abandoned
by speakers should disappear from the public arena. The truth of
―when
a
language
dies
, a
culture
dies‖
does not imply the truth of when a
language
is saved
, a
culture
is
so
saved. The
change
of
culture
is a normal part of the law of
change and
we should welcome this
change
.
The
only
thing that can
be achieved
by saving a
language
is for
intra-linguistic
studies and nothing more.
Furthermore
, it is irrefutable that what actually kills
languages
is the choices of the speakers. The moment the speakers of a
language
realize that their
language
does not have a global functionality, they
begin
to abandon it. In
today‘s
global village, it is far more convenient to have a few
languages
. There is better communication and
also
better job prospects worldwide with fewer
languages
. Even the technology of
today
is more comfortable to learn with fewer
languages
.
So
, such
languages
that have limited potential at the global stage, and they
thus
come
under threat or even
die
, it would be better to
let
them
die
. There is no need to preserve them.
To put it in a nutshell, I pen down saying that, the
idea
of saving threatened
languages
sounds
good
but
it is difficult to sustain
because
the speakers have a right to shift to another
language
. Once this happens, there is no logical basis for saving a past linguistic behavior.
What is more
, globalization will
continually
lead to
language
shift. This trend is not likely to abate.
Therefore
, it is not
important
to save endangered
languages
.