Film Evaluation-the Linguists

The film “The Linguists” follows linguists Gregory Anderson and David Harrison on their journey to learn about and document endangered languages in Bolivia, India, Arizona, and Siberia. Through their quest, they are able to interact with some of the few remaining speakers of languages that are near death and they manage to make an impact on how these communities view their heritage language. Focusing on the moribund languages of Siberia and Arizona, it becomes evident that speakers of the heritage language feel a love for the language and the culture it represents, but went through periods of oppression and embarrassment for being speakers of a minority language that ultimately shaped their attitudes on the language.

We are all members of a social group and members of `society´ as a whole. People interact in many ways and communication is just about the most common and among the most important. Whatever is meaningful to a group, from their everyday life to their traditions constitutes their very own culture and is generally respected by all group members. Language is only one of such items. For ethnic minority groups that may have a language of their own, their language is a cornerstone in their culture.

Before colonists arrived, America is projected to have had around a thousand languages from numerous language families. In North America there are 60 language families, while Central America has 15 language families, and South America has the largest group at 118. The languages of the America’s were as dissimilar to each other as Chinese and English. The Eskimo languages family has speakers from Siberia all the way to Greenland reaching farther than just the Americas. A sizeable language family of North America is Athabaskan, which has approximately 35

For those languages which have no written form, when the language dies off, so does the accumulated knowledge and history of the culture. Sadly, indigenous languages around the world are dying off at an alarming rate. It is estimated that nearly half of the languages spoken today are likely to die off within the next century if steps are not taken to preserve those which still exist.

Over centuries we have seen the amount and complexity of languages all across the globe reduced. If this trend continues, we could see the number of world languages potentially reduced from 6,000 to 600 in the future. Colonization and urbanization has led to the abolishment of languages spoke by smaller and less dominant civilizations. McWhorter uses the Native Americans in North America and the Aboriginal

According to Paterson and Rentein ancient languages to mankind as it is the way history is trying to communicate with the future; also it grants us with the source of the origins from where languages embark on. There are various research carried out every year for the extinction of different languages from different part of the world which usually giving us a big number of extinct languages. The effect of this can be clearly seen on the academic clique which is a major topic of argument these days, but on the other hand some argues that it’s a natural thing is happening as we move forward in life. All individual are known for the language he or she speaks that represents individual from which region, which state or which country he belongs to therefore loss of a language will lead to identity crisis of the speaker. With the loss of academic knowledge there is also a loss of culture; different communities have different culture which is passed to the next generation majorly through their native languages so with the loss of languages there is loss of history, traditional songs and poetry. All kind of forms which are reliant on the language

In the United States, an emphasize in learning the dominant language, English for example, can inevitably put other languages within the country in extinction. In reality, there are many other spoken languages in the United Sates, like those spoken by Native Americans, that are becoming endangered because of the immensity of more used languages. One may ask, what is an endangered language? According to Michael Cahill (Bonvillain), who has studied and researched many different endangered languages around the world, a language is endangered when "it is in fairly eminent danger of dying out." Cahill states two ways to quickly identify when a

The documentary film, “The Linguists” revolves around the concept of language death, specifically, in four places: Siberia, India, Arizona and Bolivia. Personally, the most significant forgotten languages were in Siberia (due to my Russian heritage) and Arizona (due to close place of birth, Los Angeles).

It can also provide non-Indigenous people with alternative ways of viewing and dealing with aspects of their own lives.

In the future, as more indigenous people become filmmakers, writers, historians, museum curators, and journalists, they will be able to use a dazzling array of technological tools to tell their own stories, in their own voice, in their own way.

I have spoken for them, our life supporters. I am learning- Wa’kewenokde dyunhehgwih wa’heh gadewaye:sta. Land is not a commodity. Land is symbolic to Indigenous people all over the world, often referred to as our Mother, the Earth. She provides surface for life to grow. The connection indigenous people have with the land is significantly important to address in a First Nations Studies class; to prevent misunderstandings that are at the core of these misperceptions. The film How a People Live exemplifies this. The Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Nations of B.C had to evacuate their ancestral land; loosing their home and culture. It exemplifies living the ‘Nakwaxda’xw way the nation had lower morbidity and mortality rates; using indigenous knowledge for survivor. After the evacuation, the nation lost faith and connection to their land, forgetting the old teachings.

Latin America is rich in indigenous diversity and cultural traditions. There are hundreds of dialects spoken by indigenous communities in many regions of Latin America. Language is important because it is the way its speaker view the world and the culture that surrounds them. In Latin American indigenous communities language is also very important because it is the way cultures save memories, express emotions, share traditions, and pass on knowledge(Kung, Sherzer). All over the world language, of course, is of great value because this is how values stay intact and history gets passed on to new generations. Even though many indigenous dialects are spoken by many communities in Latin America, globalization has affected indigenous

Did you know that linguists have estimated that around 50% of the world’s estimated 6,000 endangered languages will become extinct within the next century (Hale et al. 6)? Languages are classified as endangered when a population of fluent speakers begin to decrease with no expected growth. Linguists go on expeditions in an attempt to revitalize these endangered languages. It is important for the revitalization of endangered languages because they create diversity, express identity, hold history, create human knowledge and are interesting (Crystal 41). Levels of revitalization of languages by linguists should be dependent on the willingness of the speakers to participate, the survival rate of various languages and the availability of resources provided from outside the community; they can help revitalize languages through documentation, assist speakers in developing community-based programs, and increase awareness once the project is finished.

A dying language is defined as a language that is on the edge of extinction. Right now, there are over 6000 languages spoken in the world. However, by the year 2100 it is expected for that number to take a rapid plummet down. By the year 2100 there will be around 600 languages spoken worldwide. There are many differing opinions about whether we as linguists, or even just as human beings, have a duty to protect and preserve these languages. This topic is hotly debated between linguists, as some people believe that we need to preserve these languages to keep their culture alive; while others believe we should just let them die peacefully. There are a lot of good reasons for both sides, which is why no one can really decide on which to do. I believe that we need to help protect and preserve these dying languages.

Language is necessary and crucial in many different aspects. Many may argue that language is just a form of communication; a collection of letters and sounds trying to get a message across, whereas others may argue that language is beyond such simple explanation. In this paper I will argue that there is a strong connection between language and culture by taking a deeper look into what insight language provides and its connection to culture, as well as experience.