<lang>English and Zulu (NC:Bantu)</lang> <iframe data-autoplay width="840" height="500" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HwSKkKrUzUk"></iframe> Carmen Twillie and Lebo M - The Circle of Life --- ### Administrative Notes * Office hours are cancelled for voice preservation * I need to know about any final exam date conflicts **today**! * Any final exam questions? * Will is not going to be teaching LING 3100 --- ## Because he got a job!! <img class="r-stretch big" src="humorimg/celebration_furhat.gif" alt="$txt"> <!-- .element: class="fragment" --> --- (I'll let you know who's actually teaching it ASAP!) --- # The Circle of Linguistic Life ### LING 1020 - Will Styler --- ### Today's Agenda * Why do languages die? * How do we save them? --- # Language Death --- ### Language Death * Different people define it differently * Last speaker dies? * Second-to-last? * [The last two speakers hate each other](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/13/mexico-language-ayapaneco-dying-out)? * Only one fluent speaker? * ... but it definitely happens --- ### How often? * According to [The Endangered Languages project](http://www.endangeredlanguages.com), around 46% of languages are currently "endangered" * "9.2% of the living languages have fewer than 10 speakers and are very likely to die out soon, if no revitalization efforts are made." * "639 of the languages known to have existed are already extinct – 10% of all languages." * "Since 1960 we have lost as many as 28 entire language families." * "Language death progresses at the rate of about one language in three months" --- # Why do languages die? --- First, let's knock out some myths... --- ### "These languages are primitive and incomplete" --- <img class="r-stretch big" src="humorimg/sealiestthing.jpg" alt="$txt"> --- ### "These languages are primitive and incomplete" * Incomplete languages don't survive * "Mother-in-law languages" and Pidgins are the exception * Children will "complete" any language given to them * Solange will talk about this Wednesday * You're primitive! --- ### "These languages can't express modern concepts" --- <img class="r-stretch big" src="humorimg/batmanslap.jpg" alt="$txt"> --- ### "These languages can't express modern concepts" * Of course they can. * English couldn't express "unfriend" 10 years ago, but we found a way * However: "Speakers *don't use this language* to express modern concepts" happens * Why add 800 words to your language when the *lingua franca* already has them? --- ### "Every group wants to preserve their language!" --- <img class="r-stretch big" src="humorimg/idisapprove.jpg" alt="$txt"> --- ### "Every group wants to preserve their language!" * Some groups are no longer able or willing to * See [Maidu](http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29804445) * Some groups just don't want outsiders to preserve their language * Some people would really rather just join the larger group --- ### "Every language *must* be saved!" --- <img class="r-stretch big" src="humorimg/unamused_dog.jpg" alt="$txt"> --- ### "Every language *must* be saved!" * We shouldn't have a "linguistic savior" complex * Groups have a right to do with their languages what they please * Remember, "all languages must be preserved" *is* a cultural value * ... And it's not necessarily shared --- ### So why do languages *actually* die? * Sudden or Biological Language Death * Top-down language death * Bottom-up language death --- ### Sudden Language Death When a language dies because all speakers are killed or isolated --- ### Causes of Sudden Language Death * All the speakers are wiped out by a disease/flood/plane crash * All speakers are killed in a Genocide * (see the [Akuntsu](http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/akuntsu)) * All speakers are abruptly separated * Think diaspora, or refugee crisis --- ### Top-down Language Death When a language dies due to purposeful efforts by an external group, usually a government or occupying force --- ### Causes of Top-down Language Death * "All speakers of ______ are enemy combatants/spies/communists" * "Speaking _______ is illegal" * "Kidnap indigenous children, given them new names, then raise them in English-only boarding schools!" * [The US Government did that](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_boarding_schools) * "It's against the law to provide translation into _______ in courtrooms, hospitals, etc" * "Children are to be taught in _____ only" * "You can't teach math in your savage language!" --- ### Bottom-up Language Death When a language dies because the speakers stop using it, or stop teaching it to their children * *This is the most common cause of language death* --- ### Causes of Bottom-up Language Death * Minority languages in mostly-monolingual cultures face massive pressures * "We're surrounded by speakers of English, why would I want to teach my kids Arapaho?" * "All business with outsiders is done in English, and they've got all the money..." * "We don't have materials to run schools in our language" * "We can't write in our language, it's not worth making a new system" * "Why speak ____ at home when everybody else is speaking English?" * Remember, older generations aren't *cool*. --- ## You are not allowed to judge people when their language dies --- ### This is often a tough situation for speakers * "Supportive" or not, society wants assimilation * Minority populations often have enough disadvantage as it is * Teenagers aren't exactly forward-thinking * Survival always come first * "$50,000 for roads, or a math textbook in our language?" --- ### Often, these problems all work in concert * "Well, the gov't kidnapped all the kids, and now we don't have any time to teach their kids..." * "After the genocide, the government separated speakers" * "We were too busy rebuilding after the flood to keep teaching kids..." --- <section data-background="img/clickerbkgrnd.png"></section> A mudslide hits, killing or scattering all 80 remaining speakers of a language. This is... A) Sudden language death B) Top-down language death C) Bottom-up language death --- <section data-background="img/clickerbkgrnd.png"></section> A mudslide hits, killing or scattering all 80 remaining speakers of a language. This is... <correct>A) Sudden language death</correct> B) Top-down language death C) Bottom-up language death --- <section data-background="img/clickerbkgrnd.png"></section> A group is isolated within a larger culture which is strongly anti-indigenous, so speakers stop using the language to 'blend in'. This is... A) Sudden language death B) Top-down language death C) Bottom-up language death --- <section data-background="img/clickerbkgrnd.png"></section> A group is isolated within a larger culture which is strongly anti-indigenous, so speakers stop using the language to 'blend in'. This is... A) Sudden language death B) Top-down language death <correct>C) Bottom-up language death</correct> --- So, languages die. ### How can speakers and linguists help turn the tide? --- # Language Revitalization --- ### Language Revitalization An attempt to increase the number speakers and frequency of use of an endangered language --- ### Endangered Languages grow less endangered when speakers... * Increase the language's prestige within the dominant community * Increase their wealth * Increase their legitimate power in the eyes of the dominant community * Have a strong presence in the education system * Can write down the language * Can use electronic technology * These come from David Crystal's [Language Death](http://books.google.com/books/about/Language_Death.html?id=u_s9fR8pczMC) --- ### Methods of Language Revitalization * Hinton gives eight steps, but there are other ways! * Here's a pretty generic outline --- ### Step 1: Evaluate the Situation * Are there any speakers left? * How old are they? * What resources does the community have? * How do people *feel* about the language? * Are there "gaps"? * What's the goal? --- ### Step 2: Document the Language * If there are still speakers, *document everything ASAP*! * Get cultural *as well as* linguistic information * If the language is dead, resurrect it using past work * ... or by using other related languages * Build vocabulary for any gaps * What's the Navajo word for "Cell phone charger"? --- ### Step 3: Start teaching the adults * Adults need to learn to be able to teach children * ... and to talk to adults * Mentorship programs work well * "Hang out with this person who speaks the language, and learn" * They help identify gaps, and help build early materials * Adults can start using the language at home --- ### Step 4: Develop a niche for the language * Resurrect old cultural practices which use the language * Introduce the language back into religious practices * Create new cultural practices * "_______-speaking potluck!" * Give people a place where speaking the language is *expected and desired* --- ### Step 5: Develop materials for teaching children * Create second-language materials ("Hey English speaking kids, learn _____!") * Age-appropriate grammar materials, developed from the grammar in Step 2 * [Berenstain Bears in Lakota](http://www.lakotabears.com) * Create first-language materials ("Let's learn math, using ______!") * There are immersion schools for Maori and Hawaiian * At this point, kids *will* learn the language * *This is **really** expensive and difficult* --- ### Step 6: Encourage adults to use the language at home * Young children will grow up speaking it * Adults will grow more proficient (by force!) * ... but everybody needs support * "How the heck do you say "I'm not going to see a Michael Bay movie!!" in Massachusett?" --- ### Step 7: Expand the language into the community * Put the language in places where the apathetic will hear it * Local meetings and government * Shops and commerce * TV, Radio, Facebook, Internet --- ### Step 8: Expand the language into other communities * Show other communities your language * Encourage adoption by outsiders * Encourage a broader presence online * Uniting disparate groups of speakers on the internet * WoW guilds in Hawaiian * *This may not be a goal for all communities* --- ### So, in summary --- ### Steps for Language Revitalization * Figure out the goals and resources * Document what's left of the language and fill in blanks * Teach adults * Bring the language back to the culture --- ### Steps for Language Revitalization (continued) * Teach kids to speak the language * Put the language back into the home * Put the language back into the community * Expand from there! --- Sounds easy, right? --- <img class="r-stretch big" src="humorimg/false.jpg" alt="$txt"> --- ### Revitalization is *really* hard --- <danger>What problems do you see with revitalization?</danger> --- ### Major barriers to revitalization * Requires a lot of community *desire* * Requires a lot of community *effort* * Requires the language to be documented in the first place * This often requires a trained linguist, either in or out of the group * Cost! * Most importantly... --- ### You're still fighting the same forces that killed the language in the first place! * Revitalization can't succeed if people still don't want to use the language * ... but remember, if you reach the kids, you've won --- ## How do we know if revitalization is working? --- <danger>What good signs can you think of?</danger> --- ### Success in Revitalization * "We have a grammar" is not success, just a first step * If children are learning the language, you're doing well * If children are using the language, you're doing great! * If children are teaching their parents, you're doing *awesomely!* * ... but the very best sign? --- > "I've heard that teenagers are now using Lakota to talk behind their parents' backs" --- <img class="r-stretch big" src="humorimg/celebration.gif" alt="$txt"> --- ## Revitalization Success Stories --- ### Yurok * [Yurok](http://articles.latimes.com/2013/feb/06/local/la-me-yurok-language-20130207) had six speakers * Used a Master/Apprentice program, and Elementary/High School programs * In 2013, "300 basic Yurok speakers, 60 with intermediate skills, 37 who are advanced and 17 who are considered conversationally fluent." --- <img class="r-stretch big" src="humorimg/celebration_colbert.gif" alt="$txt"> --- ### Wampanoag/Massachusett * Outright extinct for 100+ years * A member of the tribe (and MIT-trained Linguist) created a grammar from old texts * They now have 400 basic speakers, and will open a charter school soon * Some children are being raised speaking Wampanoag in the home --- <img class="r-stretch big" src="humorimg/celebration_fey.gif" alt="$txt"> --- ### Maori * Maori faced strong threat from English in New Zealand * Was in the process of bottom-up death (even with 60k speakers) * Maori people went at things legislatively * One of three Official Languages of NZ * "[Maori is] appearing on building names, administrations, businesses and other signage along side English --- > In fact the language's presence is so strong that Maori interpreters are readily available at all parliamentary sessions or other high level government affair should a speaker choose to use Maori. --- <img class="r-stretch big" src="humorimg/celebration_hallway.gif" alt="$txt"> --- ### Hebrew! * Died as a spoken language in 1st to 4th Centuries CE * Survived only as a liturgical language in Judaism * Resurrected (rebuilt, reconstructed) in the 19th Century * Now has around 7 million speakers * One of Israel's official languages --- <img class="r-stretch big" src="humorimg/celebration_desert.gif" alt="$txt"> --- ### Wrapping Up * Languages die for a number of reasons * Language Revitalization is complex * ... and really hard * But it can work! --- ## Next time: Pidgins and Creoles with Solange James <correct>No reading.</correct> --- <huge>Thank you!</huge> ---