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We've all heard about endangered species of animals, but what about endangered languages? It is estimated that over half of the more than 7,000 languages spoken on our globe will be lost within the next hundred years. When the last fluent speaker of a language dies, a world of information dies with him or her. National Geographic Magazine's Enduring Voices project, the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages, and dozens of organizations world-wide are scrambling to save the world's languages through documentation, education and promotion.

With the spread of globalization, more and more children of minority cultures are being educated in dominant languages which will give them access to expanded opportunities for success and prosperity. In the process, less politically powerful traditional languages are often lost, because their importance is undervalued. Without a concerted effort to promote multilingualism and an ongoing interest in the culture which supports traditional mother tongues, a huge diversity of knowledge, ideas and traditions will be absorbed into the dominant culture, changing radically in the process.

"Isn't this a good thing?" you may ask. If everyone on earth spoke the same language and had a similar culture, wouldn't this promote world peace and understanding?

Human nature being what it is, we would probably find new things to argue about and new ways of classifying people as more or less valuable than ourselves. Homogeneity is not the answer. Our differences challenge us to learn, to expand our horizons, and to practise the fine art of acceptance. Exposure to a variety of world views forces us to think about what we believe, and why. We might even be inspired to think outside the box when we tackle problems.

Language defines our culture, our way of thinking, and our interaction with our environment. If something is of great interest to us, we will invent a number of different words to describe various aspects of it. The Greek language has different words for erotic love, brotherly love, and idealized love. The Japanese language uses a system of honorifics to define the nature of a relationship, showing reverence, affection, or respect. The Romance languages define all objects as masculine or feminine, German and Greek classify them as masculine, feminine, or neuter, while English makes no such distinction. All these shades of meaning colour our perceptions. It is virtually impossible for us to observe something we do not have words for.

Each language is a distinctive example of the way the human brain processes and communicates information. When a language dies, that knowledge is lost, along with the opportunity to understand how the people of another culture think. Language is the key to a person's soul. Thoughts cannot be transferred from one language to another without losing something and adding something in the process.

Many languages are the custodians of a huge treasury of oral tradition, passed from generation to generation. This includes stories, songs, histories, and survival lore, containing vital information about the people and their environment. Ethnographers are working hard to store as much as possible for future generations, but field recordings do not have the same impact as the living tradition which defines a people.

Language defines who we are. If we lose our language, we lose an important part of ourselves.

Learn more about this author, Christine G..
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