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NOT ONLY DINOSAURS GET EXTINCT! HOW CAN WE PREVENT THE VARIETY OF LANGUAGES FROM DISAPPEARING?

Michael was born in Italy. His parents come from the Philippines and talk to each other Tagalog, while they decided to speak only Italian with him to prevent him from having difficulties with other children. 

Michael’s mother (In Tagalog): Michael has just arrived

Michael’s father (In Tagalog): Great!

Michael’s father (In Italian): Welcome home!

Michael’s mother (In Italian): How was school?

Michael understands Tagalog, but he does not speak it himself.

Michael’s mother (in Tagalog): Do you want to eat more?

Michael’s father: Yes, please, a little bit

Michael (In Italian): Me too!

 

Sometimes, for very different reasons, some languages are put aside and parents choose not to pass them on to their children[a1] . This process, in the long and large scale, can threaten the linguistic variety of our planet.

(In different languages): Hi.

More than 7,000 languages are spoken in the world.

The most widespread are Mandarin Chinese, Hindi-Urdu and English, Spanish and Arabic.

The vast majority of the world's languages have very few speakers !

Chinese 902 million, 

Hindi-urdu 457 million, 

English 384 million, 

Spanish 366 million, 

Arabic: 254 million, 

Tagalog: 23.000

Dyirbal: 28 men

 

4% of the world's population speaks 60% of the world's languages!

Many languages run the risk of disappearing.  Like animals or plants, a language does not suddenly disappear but gradually.

The number of contexts in which it is used decreases : for example, first a language used both at home and at school is subsequently only used at home.

Or else the number of speakers diminishes: over time a language is no longer taught to children who, perhaps, will end up understanding it but will not be able to speak it.

Or for political reasons: during some historical periods, like the colonial period in South America and Africa or the creation  of European countries, many languages were abandoned, while English and Spanish were imposed. Klallam*, an American Indian language, is now considered an extinct language.

Klallam woman (in Klallam): world

Klallam man (in Klallam): moon

Klallam woman (in English): world

Klallam man (in English): moon

All languages are valuable tools for communicating and understanding the culture of the people who speak them. Aga, who speaks Greenlandic and lives at the North Pole, knows many words in her language to refer to the snow. For example, "qanipalaat" describes soft snow that falls and "apusiniq" refers to a snowdrift. In most other languages, there is only one word!

Aga (in Greenlandic): Soft snow

Aga ( in Greenlandic): snowdrift

How can we preserve and protect all of the languages in the world, like we protect plants, ecosystems and animal species?

First of all, by talking and passing on all the languages and dialects we know to our children and grandchildren.

Michael’s mother (in Tagalog): How was school?

Micheal (in Tagalog): I had a good day at school

Michael’s teacher (In Italian): Thank you

Michael’s father (in Tagalog): Hi!

Secondly, by speaking all the languages we know, maintaining a space, a moment and the appropriate situation for each language.

A child born to two monolingual parents can learn other languages. Learning more languages leads to a richer experience in the world: more words to talk, more people to speak with and listen to.

Paul: ‘I can speak with my Indian friend!’

Marie: ‘I understand Arabic’

Andreas: ‘I learn Chinese’

 

It would be nice if Michael could speak Tagalog well, along with Italian and maybe English! In this way, Michael could also contribute to preserving his languages and the linguistic variety of the world!

Michael: I speak Tagalog, English and Italian