Free Essay

Language Maintance

In:

Submitted By mlesetla
Words 980
Pages 4
Language endangerment should be a concern for everyone in our society. We need to take an active role to ensure proper elevation to stop any further language deaths.
One would ask what do mean when we say a language is endangered. It is when its speakers cease to use it, use it in fewer and fewer domains, use fewer of its registers and speaking styles, and/or stop passing it on to the next generation. The truth is there is no single factor that determines whether a language is endangered, but there are many of them, the list could go on. I think the important question should be what is the role that we allow our languages to occupy in our society? Are we content that our children can understand our languages but cannot speak it?
Why should be of concern to us and what exactly should we do as speakers to ensure that these languages do not just end up being the language to honor our ancestor like in India as stated by Ladefoged (1994) that “many of the younger people want to honor their ancestors, but also to be part of a modern India bearing the cost of giving up their langue in their daily life”? It should be a great concern for a number of reasons. One, every language reflects a unique world-view with its own value systems, philosophy and particular cultural features. The extinction of a language results in the irrecoverable loss of unique cultural knowledge embodied in it for centuries, including historical, spiritual and ecological knowledge that may be essential for the survival of not only its speakers, but also countless others.
For speaker communities, languages are the creations and the vectors of tradition. They support cultural identity and are an essential part of a community’s heritage. Besides the cultural identity, historical and ecological knowledge, I think it is important that the speakers of each and every language take the maintenance and the revitalization of our indigenous languages seriously not just because of ‘identity’ only because identities are not fixed entities so as our cultures. As SALSA (1993:104) nicely argues that “culture and language are not things, but ways of thinking and doing. Further seals the argument by hitting the nail of the head when he says “things can be therefore simply be lost or replaced over time, while ways are actively shaped, reshaped, reshaped and remade by their human practitioners”.
As speakers we must ensure that our languages are not just languages “to function as an everyday vernacular for all some community members, or sonly serve in sacred ritual” (p105). I believe that if languages must not just be given an ‘official status’ on paper but rather must be used for business, political and technical discourse, languages will stand a very high chance to be respected and taken seriously. If the language is used as a tool for upward social and economic mobility in our societies, people will change the attitudes towards their languages. When I collected data for my Masters thesis, measuring the attitudes of Zulu speakers towards IsiZulu, the main point that stood out amongst all was that: (a) they were not interested in studying the content subjects in IsiZulu because IsiZulu is not the business language but rather they showed positive attitude towards English because it is the language of business and (b) IsiZulu was just a language of communicating with their siblings and family members. The truth is who would want to learn a language that will be of no important use to her or him besides honoring the ancestors and communicating with their siblings? The speakers argued that they already know the language and use it at home. What should be done? That is why I urge native speakers of Indigenous languages to take an active role to ensure that that our language does not just remain as languages for rituals and communication among members only. It is our job as native speakers to ensure that government provide financial support for material development, create job market, and that these languages also become the language of used in business, by government and private sectors. In that way, the indigenous languages will surely end up enjoying the supremacy as English does around the world. Situations as stated by Ladefoged (1992) when he was working in Rural district of Kenya on Dahalo language, when he asked the consultant whether his teen aged sons spoke Dahalo, s/he responded “No, they can still hear it but they cannot speak it, they speak only Swahili (Smiling)”. If we speakers ensure that our languages can be used to gain money, position and power that way we can able to move up the social and economic ladder. I believe that we can make and push for our languages to be more respected and valuable than it is currently. If we stand strong, work fiercely to develop our languages to gain a prominent place in the corporate world, I have no doubt that we can have a true success. If we do not ‘fight for our language liberation’ the very idea of an African country or experience will remain just a romantic idea that exists only in the ideal; to be found among those in nostalgia. In reality it does not exist. If we say that we are content with the way and the current state of our indigenous are, we heading for a disaster, indigenous languages will be wiped out completely there will be nothing left for the next generations to come. If we truly to maintain and revitalize indigenous languages, let’s give them an active role in our society, the one that the native speaker can be proud of, not just for identity, heritage and culture.

Mpolokeng is Masters Student (African Studies Program) at Indiana University. She writes in her personal capacity.

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Psychology

...Tiara Morgan Professor Stav General Psychology 9 October 2012 Chapter 7 Questions 1. The purpose of Intelligence test is to pick individuals who can form concepts, solve problems, acquire information, reason, and perform other intellectual operations. It also gives schools a guide to a student's potential weaknesses and strengths and to identify students or peers that either have learning disability or “gifted.” In my opinion, I believe Intelligence test is an achievement test that gives predications of school performance than any other measure that psychologists or educators now possess. Even though the predications are not precise, they are very helpful in different cases such as if a child made an IQ of 110 they are more likely to perform better in school than a child with an IQ of 75. But psychologists or educators can’t predict if a child with an IQ of 95 will do better than a child with an IQ of 85 so it is still helpful. So basically it is design to compare a student’s performance to another student’s performance. 2. The pros of an Intelligence test are that can provide a lot of information about a person’s personality characteristics and how they can adjust to stress and anxiety. Also, this test can identify students and peers who have mental retardation that may need extra assistance therefore leading them to a better quality of life. The results of the Intelligence test are very reliable and validated therefore it will leave you feeling like the results...

Words: 549 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Demonstrative Communication

...Different types of cultures also have different ways of how they communicate with one another. There are two different types of communication, verbal and nonverbal. Verbal communication focuses on how you use words and language. People who work together in groups communicate by using language. If they did not use language they would not be able to discuss what is happening and how they plan on getting their work done. Nonverbal communication uses messages other than words that generate meaning. Eye contact and the tone of your voice are just two examples of nonverbal communication. If someone talked to you in a tone of voice that did not change it would be hard to interpret the meaning of what they are saying to you. You can tell what kind of mood a person is in by the tone of their voice. There are differences in the way a man and a woman communicate. Women speak to people more tentatively. They tend to use qualifiers and tag questions when they talk. A qualifier is words such as maybe or perhaps. When they use these words it makes them seem like they are uncertain about what they are saying. Tag questions are questions that are connected to a statement. Women use a more corporative when speaking this helps people to respond easier. When men speak they use a language that is more assertive. They are less likely to express themselves like women do. Their speech is more forceful and direct. Men have a tendency to only listen to what they want to hear. When I listen to people I like...

Words: 540 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Nerd Rules

...any field of biological sciences, but preference is given to the general areas in which Francis Crick himself worked—uh, genetics, molecular biology, and neurobiology. And you’ll see that this, ah, evening’s speaker is imminently well-suited to talk to us. So, the Francis Crick lecturer, ah, for this year is Dr. Simon Fisher. Dr. Fisher is, ah, a Royal Society, ah, research fellow, um, so he’s, ah, a fellow of one of our flagship, ah, schemes for young scientists in the society, and he’s also reader in molecular and neuroscience in Oxford at the Welcomme Trust Centre for Human Genetics. Ah, he’s head there of the molecular neuroscience group. His laboratory carries out research into molecular mechanisms that underlie human speech and language. Simon is also, ah, the Isobel Laing Fellow at Oriel College in Oxford, where he teaches biochemistry and, ah, genetics to undergraduates, ah, studying medicine. So, lucky undergraduates to be getting it straight from the horse’s mouth. The Francis Crick Lecture was...

Words: 14101 - Pages: 57

Premium Essay

Language Teaching and Learning Style

...processing of the structure and the meaning of larger syntactic untis, i.e. phrases or sentences. The top-down reading skills were considered to be additive or compensatory after the bottom-up processing is achieved. Moreover, second-language learners are required to have a fluent recognition of words before acquiring text-processing skills. Together with word recognition fluency, morphophonemic structure of words and phrases, bottom-up processing has shifted the teaching method of reading to young and adult second-language learners. For young school-age and older leaners, teachers are required to begin with teaching visual appreance of words, sound letter relationships and development of word recognition fluency before developing top-down skills. However, the second-launguage learners must be familiar with the reading fundamentals before benefiting from the top-down instruction method. Reading and Vocabulary In the 1970s and 1980s, the teaching of vocabulary was secondary to the teaching of reading. At present, it is widely agreed that vocabulary knowledge is key importance to the teaching of reading. According to Hu and Nation (2010), a second-language learners needs to understand approximately 98% of words of the texts. A second-language learners are required to be familiar with about 5,000 word families which is defined as a base word with several related words and their inflected forms). In addition, the vocabulary range in university textbook are overlapping with general...

Words: 672 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Informative Speech

...Please choose one of the following formats for your informative speech: • Present an activity, routine, or practice in a “how-to” instructional teaching lesson • Pick an everyday item and teach your audience “how-to” use it for a purpose it was not intended for Your informative speech should focus on the following: • Constructing creative ways to share information and communicate your credibility as a knowledgable speaker • Employing narrative (stories) and sensorial or image-rich language (metaphors etc.) • Presenting with enthusiasm and sharing your interest in this topic/process with us Your informative speech will be graded on the following criteria: • Practiced and improved delivery • Creative use of stories, vocals, images, gestures, body movement, props, and/or space • Turned in and typed speech outline (must be turned in on the day you speak) • Your ability to manage your time When planning your speech: • Tell a personal story, use humor, choose engaging language/imagery, statistics, quotes, or facts to motivate and create desire to listen • Visual aids are strongly encouraged; however, no Powerpoints will be allowed • Please practice your presentation so that you can make sure you are within the time limit allowed (not too long, not too short) Speech Tips: • Be organized—have a clear and...

Words: 377 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Whatever

...In Other Words This book addresses the need for a systematic approach to the training of translators and provides an explicit syllabus which reflects some of the main intricacies involved in rendering a text from one language into another. It explores the relevance of some of the key areas of modern linguistic theory and illustrates how an understanding of these key areas can guide and inform at least some of the decisions that translators have to make. It draws on insights from current research in such areas as lexical studies, text linguistics and pragmatics to maintain a constant link between language, translation, and the social and cultural environment in which both language and translation operate. In Other Words examines various areas of language, ranging from the meaning of single words and expressions to grammatical categories and cultural contexts. Firmly grounded in modern linguistic theory, the book starts at a simple level and grows in complexity by widening its focus gradually. The author explains with clarity and precision the concepts and theoretical positions explored within each chapter and relates these to authentic examples of translated texts in a variety of languages, although a knowledge of English is all that is required to understand the examples presented. Each chapter ends with a series of practical exercises which provide the translator with an opportunity to test the relevance of the issues discussed. This combination of theoretical discussion and...

Words: 109520 - Pages: 439

Premium Essay

Essay Women

...Chapter 3: Language and Communication er symbol 2. Words have Multiple Meanings---in two ways we can distinguish A. Denotative---a Literal meaning of a word that can be found in the dictionary. B Connotative---Subjective meaning of a word based on our attitudes and experiences. 3.Thought Informs Language---how does it do this? By a theory called cognitive language A specific system of symbols that we use to describe people, things abd situations in our mind. It is related to your thoughts, attitudes, co-culture and the society in which you live. 4. Language is Ruled by Grammar--- 2 Types of Rules: SYNTACTIC---These are rules that govern where words come in a sentence. Example----subject---verb---noun SEMANTIC---These are rules that govern the meaning of words and guidelines on how to interpret them. • If we didn’t agree on the meaning of words---communication would be impossible. Examples: Pin—pen are our Dear—deer Where---wear fly---insect fly (a plane) Right---write Back---back Pale---pale 5. Language is Bound by Context---These are the words that govern meaning and word choice according to context and social custom. Example----would you jump up laughing or screaming while a church service is in progress? Would you tell someone you want to see others or take a break from the relationship on an amusement park ride? 5 FUNCTIONS...

Words: 463 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Choose Three Topics from the Languages Review Final Report 2008 and Discuss Their Importance to Language Teaching

...My aim here is to present three of the recommendations made in The Languages Review Final Report , presented in 2008. In doing so I acknowledge that many of the recommendations may have in fact already been actioned, however I will be presenting the report's recommendations as if they are still contemporary and relevant. 1) The first recommendation I would like to advance is from section 3.10 on Transition Coordination. The the proposal of the Training and Development Agency to develop an ages 9-14 training course I suggest would be greatly beneficial in facilitating the transition from Key stage 2 to key stage 3. The important need to do so is of course to harness the evident success of the introduction of MFLs at primary level in order to arrest their decline in uptake for GCSEs. Such a training course is essential to promote the smooth transition from Junior to secondary level by enabling teachers to coordinate activities between feeder schools and the secondary school. Questions about which languages are taught at the schools and be posed and how these can be accommodated. It will be possible to look at whether teaching staff and materials can be shared. And ideas can be discussed such as the possible introduction of a language passport for each student, so that each teacher can easily identify the current linguistic skill levels and of a student, which languages are have been learnt or are already spoken and the be better able to tailor lessons to individual needs. As stated...

Words: 840 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Period Piece by Joyce Cary

...answer:  How did we get from animal vocalization (barks, howls, calls...) to human language? 2. Animals often make use of signs, which point to what they represent, but they don’t use symbols, which are arbitrary and conventional.  Examples of signs include sniffles as a sign of an on-coming cold, clouds as a sign of rain, or a scent as a sign of territory.  Symbols include things like the words we use.  Dog, Hund, chien, cane, perro -- these are symbols that refer to the creature so named, yet each one contains nothing in it that in anyway indicates that creature. 3. In addition, language is a system of symbols, with several levels of organization, at least phonetics (the sounds), syntax (the grammar), and semantics (the meanings). 4. So when did language begin?  At the very beginnings of the genus Homo, perhaps 4 or 5 million years ago?  Before that? Or with the advent of modern man, Cro-magnon, some 125,000 years ago?  Did the neanderthal speak?  We don’t know. 5. There are many theories about the origins of language.  Many of these have traditional amusing names (invented by Max Müller and George Romanes a century ago), and I will create a couple more where needed. 6. 1. The mama theory.  Language began with the easiest syllables attached to the most significant objects. 7. 2.  The ta-ta theory.  Sir Richard Paget, influenced by Darwin, believed that body movement preceded language.  Language began as an unconscious vocal imitation of these movements -- like the way a child’s...

Words: 1500 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Prime

...COURSE SCHEDULE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE LIN 100/ANT 100-003 COURSE SCHEDULE – SPRING 2014 PROFESSOR SHARON AVNI Date/ lesson | Topic | Read/Watch | Assignment(s) due | 1 1/28 | Introduction Course overview | * Intro: * What is language What do we want to know about language? | | 2 1/31 | What is language? What do we know about language and society? | * Yule, Chapter 1 * Language truths http://rosinalippi.com/portfolio/docs/EWA-Intro.pdf | Study questions – Yule, Chapter 1 | 3 2/4 | Animal communication and human language | * Yule, Chapter 2 | Yule chapter 2 study questions | 4 2/7 | Human language | * Corballis, “From Hand to Mouth” (located in course materials) | Class discussion questions | 4 2/11 | Phonetics Phonology | * Language and Linguistics (located in course material) * Yule, Chapter 3 | Yule study questions -- Chapter 3 | 5 2/14 | Phonetics Phonology | * Yule, Chapter 4 * Esling, “Everyone has an accent but me” http://lrc.ohio.edu/lrcmedia/Streaming/lingCALL/ling270/myth20.pdf | Study questions – Yule, Chapter 4 | 6 2/18 | Morphology Grammar | * Yule, Chapter 6 & 7 * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y8aLt4kLcI | Yule Chapter 6 & 7 | 7 2/21 | Word formation | * Yule, Chapter 5 * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca0xFvMfcqo&feature=related | Classroom questions | 8 2/25 | Semantics | * Yule, Chapter 9 * Hooten, “Fighting...

Words: 795 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Learning to Talk

...details what they want and don’t want. From a baby’s gibberish first words through to pre-schooler, elementary to middle school; detailed and defined conversations, early language development milestones are among the most momentous events in any caregivers or parent’s life. For most children learning how to talk may seem easy but for some it is a stage of struggle and difficulty. Children learn how to talk more easily and faster if the adults in their homes spend enough time talking to them. Other children find it more difficult to develop speech because they do not hear their parents talk much. All children have the ability to learn how to talk. Learning to talk is a natural habit, a natural gift inscribed deep within mankind’s genetic inheritance ( Bardies, De Bevoise 1999 ). In about the second year after conception or one year after being born, a child will utter his first words. The swiftness and skills with which many children master the art of speaking has always fascinated many adults. Before a child knows how to coordinate his hands to snap a toy, he will utmost have understood some if not all the sentences addressed to him by an adult. Before they even how to tie up or knot their shoelaces they will virtually have mastered the art of talking their language. This special ability of acquiring language so fast could only be described to come from a gift. Speech is the sound coming out of the mouth which takes shape to form words. The process of learning how to talk is...

Words: 1560 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Siop Lesson Plan

...Area: Sheltered Instruction Topic: Teaching English Learners Content: 1. Students will write poems about themselves using the letters of their names to begin each line. 2. Learning how to write about themselves with key vocabulary words. 3. Be able to discuss poems with their peers Vocabulary words: busy bold cool dare famous friendly grand imaginative powerful observant Learning Outcomes: The students will discover how to write artistically about themselves. Students will find words that begin with the letters in their name. They will create a poem, and share it with their classmates. Then they will review and reflect on their experience as a classroom. Objectives (standards addressed): Florida Grade 2 Reading and Language Arts Technology Standard 1 benchmark 1 – The learner’s exhibits familiarity of the alphabetic standards and utilize grade level phonic competences to recite, interpret, and write text (.Florida State Board of Education, 2007). Materials Needed: Word Banks Paper Writing Materials (pencils, crayons, or markers) Assorted Color Flash Cards Procedure or Method of Instruction: This lesson will consist of a sheltered lesson approach including creating a poem about themselves. The teacher will guide the students, helping them write their names, and choose words from the word bank that describe them. Teacher-Guided: - Review the letters of the student’s names to make sure they have a good start. - Review the vocabulary words and their...

Words: 461 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Religion

...Honesty Is The Best Policy highest sense, honesty is the best policy in the end. Honesty could be defined as truthfulness in speech and action. While this sounds simple, it's surprisingly... Premium Honesty Is The Best Policy I, Ansh Arvind of class XI-A, am here to present a speech on the topic Honesty is the best policy. When I was given this topic I was flabbergasted. I didnt know... Premium Honesty Is The Best Policy to be elected next time. So we should always speak honesty. Generally, honesty is the best policy in any situation. Some people are very reliable and they hate... Premium Honesty Is The Best Policy HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY Honesty, the quality of being honest, is a value which can be defined in multiple ways. In the context of human communication, people are... Premium Honesty Is The Best Policy to be elected next time. So we should always speak honesty. Generally, honesty is the best policy in any situation. Some people are very reliable and they hate... Premium Honesty Is The Best Policy with others of his own kind. What is the moral of the story? It tells us that honesty is the best policy, even when we are dealing with people who may be less... Premium Honesty Is The Best Policy Honesty is the best policy Honesty is the best policy. As children, we hear this old saying everywhere; from our parents, teachers, and even see it in countless... Premium Honesty Is The Best Policy Honesty is the Best Policy: Academic Dishonesty and...

Words: 750 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Cognitive Procceses Involved in the Use of Language

...Jr, Meyer, A. S., & Wurm, L. H. (2003). Language comprehension and production. Comprehensive Handbook of Psychology, Volume 4: Experimental Psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Pages 527-548. Copyright John Wiley & Sons. Psycholinguistics: Language comprehension and production Rebecca Treiman Wayne State University Charles Clifton, Jr. University of Massachusetts Antje S. Meyer University of Birmingham Lee H. Wurm Wayne State University Acknowledgments: Preparation of this chapter was supported by NSF Grant SBR-9807736 to R.T. and NIH Grant HD18708 to the University of Massachusetts. To appear in A.F. Healy & R.W. Proctor (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of psychology, Vol. 4: Experimental Psychology. New York: Wiley. Treiman et al., Psycholinguistics, 2 Introduction Language comprehension Spoken word recognition Printed word recognition The mental lexicon Comprehension of sentences and discourse Phenomena common to reading and listening comprehension Phenomena specific to the comprehension of spoken language Phenomena specific to the comprehension of written language Language production Access to single words in spoken language production Generation of sentences in spoken language production Written language production Conclusions INTRODUCTION Psychologists have long been interested in language, but psycholinguistics as a field of study...

Words: 4043 - Pages: 17

Premium Essay

Tghuy Fhj

...UNIT 1: Nature, culture, language True/False 1. Nature alone can reveal and preserve its beauty. 2. Thanks to culture, nature can be recognized with value and identity. 3. Thanks to language, the value and beauty of nature can be preserved with its identity. 4. A nature without culture is characterized with oblivion, anonymity and randomness. 5. Regarding the Linguistic Relativism, the proposal of the idea is that different people speak differently because they …………………………………. (in 2 or 3 words). 6. People think differently because their languages offer them different ways of expressing the world around them Explanation 1. How can people identify themselves as members of community? (in one line) ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 2. How can culture liberate people? (in one line) ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 3. How can culture constrain people? (in one line) ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 4. Regarding the topic, way and style of presenting information, please provide one example about the reactions of social groups based on differing values given to a speech act in different cultures. ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 5. Regarding the imagined communities, it is said that the city of London is inseparable, in the cultural imagination of its citizens, from Shakespeare and Dickens. Please provide one example about imagined communities as far as Vietnamese culture...

Words: 2043 - Pages: 9