Imagine a country with no record of its history. No pictures, video recordings, textbooks nor documentation of what has happened in the past. A country where there are no traditions being passed on from generation to generation. The only people who can remember their countries past are those still alive to tell the stories of the past. This is what is happening today with the extinction of languages, Author K. David Harrison wrote “When Languages Die”. In this book he goes into the damage that the death of a language has on society and the world. With the death of a language comes the death of history, folk tales, farming rituals, religious rituals, medicinal plants and knowledge of the land and its resources. Language is not only a form to communicate with others in the community but it allows people to share cultural …show more content…
In my opinion unless the newer generations begin to take interest in these langauges they will die off. Even if linguist begin to record the languages and transfer them into written form there are many times words that can not be transferred over. Relecting on what I have reading in “ How Languages Die”, the information presented by the author makes you think about all the knowledge that may have been lost because no one learned the languages who had the information. There could have been medicinal plant cures to thousands of diseases which doctors and phamecetutical companies will never have acess to because those people who carried the information passed away. People are beginning to recognize that languages can package knowledge in radically different ways, thus facilitating different ways of conceptualizing, naming and discussing the world (Harrison, p.59). More people need to become aware of the damage that is being done to society and the world. After the death of each language comes the death of valuable cultural traditions and
In the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, she is trying to say that friends and friendships change over time. The first change that we found out about in the book was the group the Plane Janes that Melinda was in and they were best friend but they split over the summer, which was a change in a big group of friends. A second change between friendships was Ivy and Melinda they were apart of the Plane Janes but were never close until the ending of the school year. They were in the same art class which made them become close, through their artwork, which was a good change of friendship.
Languages are an important part of any culture, especially dying cultures that need to be preserved. This true for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, a group of Native American tribes who originally spoke many different languages. They were all forced onto a small reservation, completely wiping out their lifestyle and almost completely wiping out their language. Their story needs to be told, both how they almost lost their language forever, and how they are rebounding today. To preserve the culture of the Confederation of Siletz Indians, the story of their languages needs to be told because their culture has been lost, but a language offers a way to save part of the culture, and their story can provide to hope to many Native peoples
John Biewen, the author of Scene on Radio for his series, ‘The Land That Never Has been Yet’ made this series to talk about different historical events that relate to U.S. democracy. Biewen retells events about democracy in the United States in his own insight that they are glories and full of flaws. Episode 2 of this series recounts a specific historical event with the purpose of interpreting how U.S. citizens used their hardship as an opportunity to demand a better life. This historical event is Shay’s rebellions. Throughout the episode, John Biewen uses different rhetorical modes like example, narration, and ethos to broad out his insights of this event.
The tongue is a needed part to the body which has many functions. The tongue is used to taste scrumptious foods which we crave, and more importantly, is used to form words. These words however, can be used for good, or for bad. Each and every word that is whispered, uttered, spoken or yelled from a mouth, will either be accepted, or hated. The words that are hated are taught to be put on a leash, but “Wild tongues can’t be tamed, they can only be cut out.
Lakota Language Introduction Lakota is a Siouan language which is spoken by its people (Lakota people) who belong to the Sioux tribes. It is one of the dialects of the Sioux language apart from Dakota and Nakota (Powers, 2009). Sioux is spoken by more than 30,000 people in the US and Canada and is therefore positioned at number five amongst the most spoken native languages in the United States. Lakota is one of the three major regional varieties comprising of Western Dakota and Eastern Dakota. Western Dakota also known as Yankton-Yanktonai is at the middle of Eastern Dakota and Lakota.
Baldwin describes language as a mean for survival,”What joins all languages, and all men, is the necessity to confront life, in order, not inconceivably, to outwit death” This quote empathizes the importance of understanding that how a language is communicated
Class ESL 5 In the article, ”My English” by Julia Alvarez, the author wrote about her experience as she learn to speak English. Spanish was her mother tongue and struggled to speak English in the early phases. She thought that English was a form of Spanish, as there are different dialects in Spanish. Her parents spoke English when they didn’t want her and her siblings to know what was going on.
The essay “Let them die” by Kenan Malik points out that “languages on the verge of extinction” (Malik, 13) should be left “die in piece” (Malik, 13). However, based on the ineffectiveness
There is a hidden message behind every book. Especial one called Speak written by Laurie hales Anderson it involves a girl named Melinda Sordino. Sordino is a freshman at Merryweather high school. She has been an outcast ever since a senior party in summer where she got raped by a senior named Andy Evans. After the incident, she called the cops who shut down the party, which leads to many people hating her including her own friends.
In Mike Bunn’s reading “How to Read Like a Writer” he discuss the importance of being able to read as a writer. He explains why it’s necessary to be able to understand what the author is trying to get across. Being able to identify why a writer chose is a certain tone for his/her writing is what makes one a better reader. One should put to themselves in the author’s shoes and be able to connect with the writing and understand from what point the author is coming from. When reading like a writer it facilitates one’s ability to understand to do this.
“Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan is the short story about the importance of language and how it is a key for communication. Tan emigrated from China to Oakland, California and she was a first generation of Asian-American. The author is very fascinated by the language and she believes that the language has the power of emotions, a visual image, a complex idea, and a simple truth. She also believes that there are many different types of “Englishes”.
The loss of languages harms the cultural diversity of the world. There are four main types of causes of language endangerment. There are those causes that put the populations that speak the languages in physical danger, such as: 1. Natural disasters. An example of this is the languages spoken by the people of the Andaman Islands, who were seriously affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and
In Lera Boroditsky 's "How Does Our Language Shape the Way We Think" the purpose of the essay is apparent from the second paragraph. "Language is a uniquely human gift central to our experience of being human" she explains, so that the reader understands how language affects ones thoughts and day to day lives (2). Boroditsky 's use of empirical evidence, factual information, organizational structure, understanding and construction upon thoughts that disprove her purpose, and light tone all aide in accomplishing her purpose. Each of these methods help convince the audience that, " Language is central to our experience of being human, and the languages we speak profoundly shapes the way we think, the way we see the world, the way we live our lives" (Boroditsky 10).
Dialogue is used in a writing piece in order to move the plot, to develop or define the character, or just to deepen the conflict. All together, dialogue is used to help the reader infer the theme of the text. Sandra Cisneros expresses the theme throughout the novel with the use dialogue to develop the characters in The House on Mango Street which retells her life experiences that made her who she is today in vignettes just like No Speak English. In her other work of literature, Eleven she shows the same theme, with the addition of the theme that there is a certain amount of power held by age. In the texts Eleven and No Speak English by Sandra Cisneros, the use of dialogue helps reveal aspects of the characters in each piece in order to develop the theme of identity and belonging.
The Language Culture and Society programme provides us with strong theoretical and interdisciplinary foundation for the study of a range of educational practices across the human lifespan and in a range of theoretical and methodological perspective is brought to bear on studies that explore the nature of literate practices, democracy and civic engagement and participation in social life. The programme focuses on relationships between education school and the dynamics and changing structures of language, culture, and society. It examines connection between broader, social, cultural, linguistic, historical, aesthetic and political factors in education and the local context in which these issues take place. It has long been recognized that language is an essential and important part of a given culture and that the impact of culture upon a given language is something intrinsic and indispensible. Language is a social phenomenon.