Linguist Imperialism
What is the value of preserving indigenous languages?
Indigenous languages are languages that are native to a specific region. They are spoken by indigenous people, who usually live away from bigger cities where the national language is spoken. These kinds of languages would be from a linguistically distinct community that originated in a time before technology and cities filled their country.
Languages, like all living things, depend on their environment to survive. Indigenous languages are very preserved and are only found in communities that are remote and far from major cities. Indigenous languages are consumed by the predator's tongue, in addition to this claim made in the article being a metaphor, it gives off a powerful meaning. The predator tounges are languages that have power, whether that be social, economically or even religiously.
The predator tounges are predominantly spoken in population dense areas with an increased amount of opportunities for jobs, education, and future life successes. This causes the smaller languages, or the prey if we are extending the metaphor; to not benefit the speakers to the same extent as those that speak the more common powerful languages.
You may say, so what? If that language was not benefiting its speakers then isn't it better for them to learn a language which will benefit them in many aspects?
But the death of a languages means more than simply the loss of a bunch of words. It is also the loss of the stories, the traditions, and the cultures that were dented within the language. Indigenous languages also hold knowledge. Information such as places, medicine, food, health, and history all get lost.
Indigenous languages are languages that are native to a specific region. They are spoken by indigenous people, who usually live away from bigger cities where the national language is spoken. These kinds of languages would be from a linguistically distinct community that originated in a time before technology and cities filled their country.
Languages, like all living things, depend on their environment to survive. Indigenous languages are very preserved and are only found in communities that are remote and far from major cities. Indigenous languages are consumed by the predator's tongue, in addition to this claim made in the article being a metaphor, it gives off a powerful meaning. The predator tounges are languages that have power, whether that be social, economically or even religiously.
The predator tounges are predominantly spoken in population dense areas with an increased amount of opportunities for jobs, education, and future life successes. This causes the smaller languages, or the prey if we are extending the metaphor; to not benefit the speakers to the same extent as those that speak the more common powerful languages.
You may say, so what? If that language was not benefiting its speakers then isn't it better for them to learn a language which will benefit them in many aspects?
But the death of a languages means more than simply the loss of a bunch of words. It is also the loss of the stories, the traditions, and the cultures that were dented within the language. Indigenous languages also hold knowledge. Information such as places, medicine, food, health, and history all get lost.
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