Wednesday, January 14, 2015
English Declared Emperor
Thats right ladies and gentlemen, the emperor of language is english. And no I don't mean the sort of emperor that ruled in Japan or the emperor who ruled a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away, I mean a linguistic emperor. And yes i made the term up so what. What I am really saying is english is a prime example of linguistic imperialism. Linguistic imperialism is a term used to describe the process of one langue pushing another to extinction. Usually the native language is the one being extinct. And in this case extinct, means the language is no longer used in common situations. The languages are driven to death by another language that is used more widely, and thus is seen as superior to the native speakers. A good analogy is either the empire or and invading species. There are many reasons a language dies. Those reasons include; migration to and from a certain country, economic stability/strength, superior education, diplomatic prowess, popular pop culture, and modernization. Most of the time the new language is imposed on the people. For example many of the former colonies of Britain now speak english as one of, if not the only, primary language. This is a direct result of the British colonization. If the French had held the territory then they might speak French. It is estimated that a language dies every 14 days. The loss of a language is like losing a huge facet of culture. And even the cultural identities of thousands. We lose much knowledge of the past, and an even greater deal about ourselves. The loss of language is an abhorrent act. But the worst of it is, many do not see another way to help their children prosper. So they abandon their culture in favor of a bright future in the corporate, social, and uncertain world.
Saturday, January 10, 2015
How do you Learn a Dead Language? ACTS
How do you learn a dead language is an article. Likely it is a news article as it is not opinionated and merely informs as opposed to persuading as magazine articles tend to.
The audience and purpose are also rather easy to discern. The audience is likely comprised of those over the age of twenty, as they are more likely to read the news than those of a younger age. Additionally, the target audience is probably more cultured and has a higher education. As those with a greater education are the ones who can help to rectify the problem. The purpose is to inform and warn. The article does take a stance on the issue, saying, by its mere existence, that the loss of a language is abhorrent. However it does not proceed to argue why, which is why it is not a persuasive piece. One of the first lines of the text is "Linguists fear that 19 more will soon follow the same fate". This a clear warning that other languages may laps into extinction. This warning is furthered by mentioning that those 19 languages are specific to the Native Alaskan tongues.
The content and theme of the piece is fairly straight forward. It begins by mentioning the loss of chief Marie Smith Jones. She is the last native Eyak speaker. Then it explains how 19 similar languages will laps in the same way. But it does mention that the language was well preserved in the event of its extinction. Though it does not mention if the 19 others are being preserved as well. Then it proceeds to explain the qualifications for a well-preserved language. As it happens, to be well preserved there must be a dictionary (hopefully with pronunciation), grammar book, as well as some religious or cultural texts. If it is poorly preserved, then linguists have to use what remains, and borrow the rest.
Usually they borrow from related languages. It also explains the definition of extinct. In this case it means that the language is not used in common place settings but is used for one particular reason. One example of this is Latin, which is taught in schools and used in religious ceremonies. It then proceeds to explain how Hebrew was brought back. During an outbreak of Jewish nationalism, they decided to revive Hebrew. Couples reverted to Hebrew, with what was missing filled in, and used it at home with their kids. Their kids were then sent to Hebrew only schools. Their children were the first native Hebrew speakers in a long time. Cornish, it mentions,was only revived from a few passion plays and a lot of borrowing from Welsh and Breton, the two most similar Celtic languages. It also mentions a language made usable by actors on only 500 words of vocabulary. There are a few central ideas to the text. Primarily it is about the loss and revivification of languages. It also goes over in great detail what is necessary in order to recreate a language to a usable state.
The tone of the piece is very formal. It mentions quite a few statistics and generally uses neutral words such as documentation, primary means of communication, and Celtic. All of these examples are more likely to be used in an academic paper. The mood is very solemn and aloof.
Several literary devices are used as well. There is the anecdote of the recreation of Virginia Algonquian with only a 500 word documentation for a movie. Also the anecdote of the revival of Cornish using two similar languages. There is quite a bit of appealing to logos, as there are facts throughout, such as the dates of decisions to revive languages, number of speakers etc.
The structure is fairly standard for a news article. It contains one picture, of the deceased chief Marie Smith Jones. then normally formatted paragraphs. It contains a variety of statistics. The title is very provocative mentioning the ever feared death, but in regards to language.
Thus, i believe that how do you learn a dead language is a news article. We have looked at the article through the lens of logic and through a more penetrating light.
The audience and purpose are also rather easy to discern. The audience is likely comprised of those over the age of twenty, as they are more likely to read the news than those of a younger age. Additionally, the target audience is probably more cultured and has a higher education. As those with a greater education are the ones who can help to rectify the problem. The purpose is to inform and warn. The article does take a stance on the issue, saying, by its mere existence, that the loss of a language is abhorrent. However it does not proceed to argue why, which is why it is not a persuasive piece. One of the first lines of the text is "Linguists fear that 19 more will soon follow the same fate". This a clear warning that other languages may laps into extinction. This warning is furthered by mentioning that those 19 languages are specific to the Native Alaskan tongues.
The content and theme of the piece is fairly straight forward. It begins by mentioning the loss of chief Marie Smith Jones. She is the last native Eyak speaker. Then it explains how 19 similar languages will laps in the same way. But it does mention that the language was well preserved in the event of its extinction. Though it does not mention if the 19 others are being preserved as well. Then it proceeds to explain the qualifications for a well-preserved language. As it happens, to be well preserved there must be a dictionary (hopefully with pronunciation), grammar book, as well as some religious or cultural texts. If it is poorly preserved, then linguists have to use what remains, and borrow the rest.
Usually they borrow from related languages. It also explains the definition of extinct. In this case it means that the language is not used in common place settings but is used for one particular reason. One example of this is Latin, which is taught in schools and used in religious ceremonies. It then proceeds to explain how Hebrew was brought back. During an outbreak of Jewish nationalism, they decided to revive Hebrew. Couples reverted to Hebrew, with what was missing filled in, and used it at home with their kids. Their kids were then sent to Hebrew only schools. Their children were the first native Hebrew speakers in a long time. Cornish, it mentions,was only revived from a few passion plays and a lot of borrowing from Welsh and Breton, the two most similar Celtic languages. It also mentions a language made usable by actors on only 500 words of vocabulary. There are a few central ideas to the text. Primarily it is about the loss and revivification of languages. It also goes over in great detail what is necessary in order to recreate a language to a usable state.
The tone of the piece is very formal. It mentions quite a few statistics and generally uses neutral words such as documentation, primary means of communication, and Celtic. All of these examples are more likely to be used in an academic paper. The mood is very solemn and aloof.
Several literary devices are used as well. There is the anecdote of the recreation of Virginia Algonquian with only a 500 word documentation for a movie. Also the anecdote of the revival of Cornish using two similar languages. There is quite a bit of appealing to logos, as there are facts throughout, such as the dates of decisions to revive languages, number of speakers etc.
The structure is fairly standard for a news article. It contains one picture, of the deceased chief Marie Smith Jones. then normally formatted paragraphs. It contains a variety of statistics. The title is very provocative mentioning the ever feared death, but in regards to language.
Thus, i believe that how do you learn a dead language is a news article. We have looked at the article through the lens of logic and through a more penetrating light.
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