Importance Of Indigenous Languages

In most cases, some people think that it is not important for them that several languages die out every year because they believe that if there are fewer languages in the world that means they need not to learn so many languages at all and their life will be easier to have a communication with foreign people. While others do not think so, which sound reasonable but ironical based on the fickle situation in society and history. Because for me, despite the adventure of being entitled as ‘absolutist’, I will consistently support that it is significant to prevent the truth that several languages die out every year.

Language is a beautiful tool that can be used to unify or divide. Language brings people together but it can also tear them apart. In “Mute in an English Only World”, Chang-Rae Lee writes about how his mother was impaired from doing simple tasks such as going to the store alone because she could not speak English. Second, in “Lingua Franchise”, by Charles Foran, he shows how English is unifying people across the globe.

In Mother Tongue, an essay written by Amy Tan, the fictional author explains how we all speak different languages and how we are all categorized and treated differently by the way we speak. She gives us examples and stories that have happened to her and how they made her become “fascinated by language in daily life.”

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.

Many parents believe that it is better not to speak English. When this happens the students will not receive the practice that they really need. The student must know their parents’ language it is imperative to the student’s cultural identity and has to maintain a healthy relationship with their family. Parents’ have concerns about using their native language with their children include: learning another language is too difficult it will delay their language development; the child will not be able to master either language; they will not be as proficient as the students who know one language; confusing the two languages will happen; and they will communicate in English with an accent. The school should address these concerns before the school year begins.

Tan, “Mother Tongue,” also stated in her essay about broken English that she used with her mother and her husband. She also mentioned that her mother was also not fluent in English, but she felt love and intimacy with her mother when they spoke broken English. Tan said that language which we speak helps to shape our thinking, also helps us to express our feelings in a better way. Tan wants to convey the message to reader that mother tongue is not same as other languages, but they do help to value culture generation to generation. The language tells history about our family and where we are

In Vanishing Voices by Russ Rymer, the author gives readers an in depth overview of the significant loss in the number of languages over the years. “One language dies every 14 days. By the next century nearly half of the roughly 7,000 languages spoken on Earth will likely disappear, as communities abandon native tongues in favor of English, Mandarin, or Spanish. What is lost when a language goes silent?” he asks. A major argument Rymer includes in his essay is that languages are seeming to “compete” with one another. Parents children who speak tribal languages encourage their children to break away and learn to speak major languages such as English, Spanish, or

Language plays an important role in communication by bringing people together and enriching their relationships. Language can also alienate those who do not speak it properly, or at all, from those who do. The essays, Mother Tongue, by Amy Tan, best known for her book, The Joy Luck Club, and Se Habla Espanol, by Tanya Barrientos, delve into the many powers that language holds. These essays reflect how by not speaking a language in proper form and by not speaking a language at all, affects the lives of the subjects of the stories.

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

Approximately 7,000 languages exist in the world today. Scientistsestimate that by the year 2100, only 200 languages will remain. Languagescan go extinct for a variety of reasons. In the modern world, lesser knownlanguages are often overtaken by more dominant languages. Other languagesare spoken by such few people, they simply go extinct once the remainingindividuals are no longer living. Languages can only survive if peopledocument them and continue to speak them. In a world where 85 of the global population speak one or more of only100 languages, it is often surprising to learn that thousands of languagesexist in the world. Many of these languages are found in indigenouspopulations. Approximately, 400 Native American languages existed beforethe

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

In “Saving Languages through Korean Soap Operas” Rose Eveleth details the global efforts to save dying languages. She begins by citing globalization and the increasing pressure to understand and speak English as the primary reasons for decline of many local languages. Eveleth asserts that language is a key part to a people’s cultural identity and should be preserved. Because the benefits of learning English are so high, many of the younger generations lack the desire to learn their own local languages. But globalization and diffusion of culture may be the key to saving these languages; specifically, through cultural commodities such as movies and popular television shows.

In the world today, there are more and more multicultural people who can speak different languages; and they need to choose different tongues to correspond to the immediate community they belong. Language makes people remember their own cultures and contribute to their own identity. In “Mother Tongue,” a short story written by Amy Tan; she strongly narrates the stories about her different experiences and life comprehensions based on varying types of English she speaks throughout life. Wandering on two different languages; Amy discovers the importance and power of language: “the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth” (Tan 38). As human beings, language is the tool that contains the mighty powers; it forcefully affects people’s lives, personality, and lifestyles. Moreover, language is the “bridge” of communication between people. However, for Amy, the views on mother’s language are changing from the sense of shame into pride; as she is feeling the effects that two different types of English are giving to her as well as their respective symbols in her mind.

Why should people nowadays see languages as a big prize? A person speaks more languages have more opportunities are skewed to him because he benefits the profit comparing to a person who speaks only one standard language. It is time for globalization and its effects on children for speaking other languages as a must. In two articles “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” by Richard Rodriguez and “Whose Voice Is It Anyway?” by Victor Villanueva, the two authors both expressed their opinions on native language and how the assimilation impacts a child. However, Rodriguez believed that the assimilation was beneficial for him as he had grown up in the English-speaking world and he disliked bilingual education which created many controversy.

Language is one of the valuable gifts which have been passed to children. The first language is significant and builds the basis for all later language progresses. Parents, family members and early childhood professionals have very important role on the development and maintenance of the first language. Studies shows that knowing one language can assist the child to comprehend how other languages work. First or home language is