Next year, 2006, has been nominated Year of African Languages by the African Union, which also launched the African Academy of Languages in 2001. This brief article on the BBC web site asks whether it matters that many indigenous languages are dying out, to be replaced by emerging new languages such as Kenya's Sheng, a mixture of Swahili, English, and local languages.
With over 300 African languages on the UN's endangered list, having fewer than 10,000 speakers, new languages won't come anywhere close to replacing them all. If the purpose of language purely for communication, as one respondent suggests, then does it matter if languages spoken by so few people disappear? Or does language also reflect culture and ideas which, once lost, cannot be replaced?
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Language and culture
It is not really the purpose of this blog to delve into the minefield that comprises linguistics, but I was struck by a couple of recent articles that I thought were worth a link. The first is a very interesting piece from the Tehran Times, discussing the relationship between Persian and the national identity of Iran.
The author accepts that Persian is a peripheral language as far as the rest of the world is concerned, with English being the international language of both politics and economics. He goes on to say that Persian was once the most important scientific language of the Islamic world, and the main objective of government policies for the development of Persian should be to restore it to its former status. The author is realistic in assessing the problems associated with that aim, and he also contends that the status of Persian is indicative of Iran's status in the world, rather than responsible for it.
The other piece is an interview with award-winning Kannada author U R Ananthamurthy in The Times of India (beware pop-ups, even in Firefox). Ananthamurthy has supported moves to rename Bangalore to Bengaluru, arguing that it is called that in usual conversation by the locals, which should be the real determiner of how places are named. He argues that this is not linguistic chauvinism, but a reflection of the local cultures. He also claims that Kannada is not a vernacular, but an identifiable language in its own right, but that in India both English and Hindi are necessary for dialogue across the regions.
The author accepts that Persian is a peripheral language as far as the rest of the world is concerned, with English being the international language of both politics and economics. He goes on to say that Persian was once the most important scientific language of the Islamic world, and the main objective of government policies for the development of Persian should be to restore it to its former status. The author is realistic in assessing the problems associated with that aim, and he also contends that the status of Persian is indicative of Iran's status in the world, rather than responsible for it.
The other piece is an interview with award-winning Kannada author U R Ananthamurthy in The Times of India (beware pop-ups, even in Firefox). Ananthamurthy has supported moves to rename Bangalore to Bengaluru, arguing that it is called that in usual conversation by the locals, which should be the real determiner of how places are named. He argues that this is not linguistic chauvinism, but a reflection of the local cultures. He also claims that Kannada is not a vernacular, but an identifiable language in its own right, but that in India both English and Hindi are necessary for dialogue across the regions.
New Mnong dictionary
The VietNamNet Bridge reports that the Mnong language of the Mnong ethnic minority is going to have 700 million Vietnamese Dong (about GBP25,500) spent on it by the Dak Nong People's Committee of the Central Highlands. The money will be spent on carrying out surveys to produce a standard for a script, plus creating a Mnong-Vietnamese dictionary. The project is due for completion in late 2007.
Mnong is one of the Bahnaric languages spoken by tribespeople of Cambodia, Laos, and Viet Nam, where there are 86 languages currently spoken
Mnong is one of the Bahnaric languages spoken by tribespeople of Cambodia, Laos, and Viet Nam, where there are 86 languages currently spoken
Unfamiliar language in the Low Country
In the United States, the area around South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida is referred to as the Low Country. Part of this area is known as Gullah, and the inhabitants there speak their own language, also called Gullah, according to the Epoch Times.
The Gullah language is a creole, based on English, and devised by slaves shipped over from Africa as a means of communicating with each other and with Europeans.
The Gullah language is a creole, based on English, and devised by slaves shipped over from Africa as a means of communicating with each other and with Europeans.
Reviving Irish
Just to show that it's not just in the developing world where there is a debate about indigenous languages and the effects that their loss has on local cultures, this article from Daily Ireland focuses on what would be required to revive Irish.
The article commences by comparing Irish with Hebrew, the revival of which is seen by the author as a model for Irish to follow. The two prerequisites identified for Hebrew to survive were idealism and necessity, the former of which exists with regards to Irish, but the second of which doesn't, with almost everyone in the Republic speaking English. The article's author identifies his own requirements for Irish to succeed: learning the language, and using the language.
The key to making a language successful, and sustainable, is to create a demand for it. Obviously, the best way to do this is to make it the default language of a large number of the population, but this is difficult to achieve. The author suggests that the Irish government ought to set a target for a certain number of people to be speaking Irish within five years, but he doesn't indicate how that might happen, and he concedes that it's unlikely anyway.
The article commences by comparing Irish with Hebrew, the revival of which is seen by the author as a model for Irish to follow. The two prerequisites identified for Hebrew to survive were idealism and necessity, the former of which exists with regards to Irish, but the second of which doesn't, with almost everyone in the Republic speaking English. The article's author identifies his own requirements for Irish to succeed: learning the language, and using the language.
The key to making a language successful, and sustainable, is to create a demand for it. Obviously, the best way to do this is to make it the default language of a large number of the population, but this is difficult to achieve. The author suggests that the Irish government ought to set a target for a certain number of people to be speaking Irish within five years, but he doesn't indicate how that might happen, and he concedes that it's unlikely anyway.
Aramaic still spoken in Syria
According to this article in the Edmonton Journal, a Canadian newspaper, there is a village of 5,000 inhabitants in Syria, called Ma'aloula, where Aramaic is spoken. Ignoring the somewhat sentimental title and initial tone of the article, there are some interesting snippets of information buried therein.
For example, there are just 18,000 Aramaic speakers remaining in the world, whereas once it was the main language of the Persian Empire, which occupied most of what we now term the Middle East. The article also touches on the evolution and history of Aramaic, so that in its current state it would probably be incomprehensible to that spoken 2,000 years ago, although this is by no means universally agreed.
Written Aramaic died out in the 3rd Century AD, when the Romans kidnapped Queen Zenobia, and the spoken language gradually faded thereafter, although its legacy remains in modern Hebrew and Arabic. In an attempt to preserve the language, Syrian President Al-Assad established an Aramaic language school.
For example, there are just 18,000 Aramaic speakers remaining in the world, whereas once it was the main language of the Persian Empire, which occupied most of what we now term the Middle East. The article also touches on the evolution and history of Aramaic, so that in its current state it would probably be incomprehensible to that spoken 2,000 years ago, although this is by no means universally agreed.
Written Aramaic died out in the 3rd Century AD, when the Romans kidnapped Queen Zenobia, and the spoken language gradually faded thereafter, although its legacy remains in modern Hebrew and Arabic. In an attempt to preserve the language, Syrian President Al-Assad established an Aramaic language school.
History of a Language
A brief article in Beijing Weekend, a Chinese daily paper, describes an exhibition at the National Library of China, which explores the history of Chinese writing. The exhibition includes computers showing cartoons of the evolution of Chinese script.
Sounds fascinating, but a bit more detail would be appreciated.
Sounds fascinating, but a bit more detail would be appreciated.
Kiswahili and local languages in Uganda
In Uganda, New Vision reports that Kiswahili, which is being promoted as a lingua franca for East Africa, could endanger local languages; a scenario that is already being observed in Tanzania, and is beginning to be seen in Kenya. The article recognises that Kiswahili is unlikely to ever become widespread outside of the region, and suggests that therefore local languages need to be promoted alongside Kiswahili, as they have their own cultural, economic, and social values that might otherwise be lost if they disappeared.
The author of the article contends that a similar process occured when English and the other colonial languages began to take over in Africa, with many poets beginning to write in the new language, leaving a cultural vacuum in their native tongues.
The article concludes with this interesting anecdote: "One relatively well educated man in Kabale once told me that if he had gone through school with his mother tongue Rukiga as the medium of instruction and reading, he would certainly have made it to university because he would have understood and responded to the subject matters of the many disciplines far much better."
The author of the article contends that a similar process occured when English and the other colonial languages began to take over in Africa, with many poets beginning to write in the new language, leaving a cultural vacuum in their native tongues.
The article concludes with this interesting anecdote: "One relatively well educated man in Kabale once told me that if he had gone through school with his mother tongue Rukiga as the medium of instruction and reading, he would certainly have made it to university because he would have understood and responded to the subject matters of the many disciplines far much better."
Dying languages in Malawi
An interesting, but very long, article from Malawi's The Daily Nation explores some of the country's languages that are in danger of disappearing. The example is given of Ngoni, which now exists only in chants, but which some people are trying to revive.
The article says that "A 1966 population census showed that Lomwe was the country’s second largest spoken language. Chichewa was number one, Yao came third with Tumbuka on fourth", although the accuracy of the statistics are doubted, and examples given whereby people speak different languages according to their situation or location. It also contends that "Perhaps, the worst setback to all languages in independent Malawi was the Malawi Congress Party’s 1968 convention which resolved that Chichewa be a national language." There has been some resistance to this, but it has meant that some of the more marginalised languages have been under threat.
The article says that "A 1966 population census showed that Lomwe was the country’s second largest spoken language. Chichewa was number one, Yao came third with Tumbuka on fourth", although the accuracy of the statistics are doubted, and examples given whereby people speak different languages according to their situation or location. It also contends that "Perhaps, the worst setback to all languages in independent Malawi was the Malawi Congress Party’s 1968 convention which resolved that Chichewa be a national language." There has been some resistance to this, but it has meant that some of the more marginalised languages have been under threat.
New consonant added to phonetic language
I guess it's always kind of exciting when any language has a significant new development, and so it is with the phonetic language. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that the labiodental flap, which occurs in 70 African languages, is being granted its own symbol by the International Phonetic Association, a v with a hook.
(Thanks to SIL International for the image)
The International Phonetic Alphabet was established in 1886, and now includes 28 symbols for vowels, 86 for consonants, and 75 other marks for tone, stress, aspiration, and other phonetic details.
(Thanks to SIL International for the image)
The International Phonetic Alphabet was established in 1886, and now includes 28 symbols for vowels, 86 for consonants, and 75 other marks for tone, stress, aspiration, and other phonetic details.
How many languages?
Today's Boston Globe asks (and answers) the question "How many different languages are there?" The answer it gives [it estimates the number at about 6,900] is possibly a tad simplistic, as it doesn't define what is a language, and so it leaves itself open to interpretation.
However, the article does offer some interesting titbits, such as "About half of the world's languages are expected to die out within the next century. It is estimated that the last fluent speaker of a language dies every 10 days or so. Almost 550 languages have fewer than 100 fluent speakers still alive." It also delves briefly into Noam Chomsky territory, looking at basic linguistic structures, but obviously has limited space with which to do the subject any justice.
However, the article does offer some interesting titbits, such as "About half of the world's languages are expected to die out within the next century. It is estimated that the last fluent speaker of a language dies every 10 days or so. Almost 550 languages have fewer than 100 fluent speakers still alive." It also delves briefly into Noam Chomsky territory, looking at basic linguistic structures, but obviously has limited space with which to do the subject any justice.
Ancient Berber script revived
The BBC reported today that the Amazighs of Morocco are being taught to read their ancient Berber language. Although the language has been around in spoken form for hundreds of years, ever since Arabic culture took over Morocco seven hundred years ago, and was originally written using a script devised at the same time as Egyptian Hieroglyphs.
The BBC report says "Berber is one of the oldest languages in the world - some historians place it at 5,000 years old. It was spoken across a huge swathe of North Africa before the Arabs came". And "To resurrect the writing means bringing back an ancient script called Tifinagh, which originated around the same time as Egyptian hieroglyphics".
The script, called Tifinagh, apparently died out due to the demise of the Amazigh elite when the Arabs took over. This site has further information. It looks like this:
The BBC report says "Berber is one of the oldest languages in the world - some historians place it at 5,000 years old. It was spoken across a huge swathe of North Africa before the Arabs came". And "To resurrect the writing means bringing back an ancient script called Tifinagh, which originated around the same time as Egyptian hieroglyphics".
The script, called Tifinagh, apparently died out due to the demise of the Amazigh elite when the Arabs took over. This site has further information. It looks like this:
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