Language Death and Language Revival

Language Death and Language Revival

Introduction

Half of more than seven thousand languages in the world are considered “in danger of extinction,” since parental transmission forego to other influences and thus, power languages capture the mission of global communication (Nettle & Romaine, 2000). Hence, the process through which languages turn out to be extinct is known as language death, while the efforts to encourage vitality and strength in a language which is either dead or in the course of becoming so are known as language revival.

Discussion

What is Language Death?

A language which is not passed on from to the coming generations is defined as dilapidated (Crystal, 2000), whereas one which is not spoken any longer is considered to be extinct or dead. Furthermore, if languages are well thought-out as the effective communication tools then a language with just one residual speaker can also be deemed as dead. In a few instances people discontinue using certain languages like their regular way of communication, however carry on using them in limited and specific domains, like religious services. In this manner, languages can uphold a level of liveliness for long even after their utilization as commune languages has come to an end, and may yet be invigorated as vernacular languages. Hebrew, Latin, Coptic, Church Slavonic and Ancient Greek have all been utilized for scholarly and/or religious reasons, for instance, Hebrew has been invigorated and revived as a routine verbal communication tool in Israel (Leonard, 2008).

Other than these cases, languages become deprived of all their speakers and are not utilized yet in restricted domains with the exception of maybe a few phrases and words, though are adequately well recorded to maintain a possibility of their revival. These types of languages are measured neither completely alive nor fully dead. In its place they might be labelled as sleeping languages that could be set off. For instance, until 1960s, an Algonquin language “Miami” was spoken in different regions of Oklahoma, which went into total neglect for around 30 years and is at present being revived.

The procedure of language loss is approaching language death, though it is just fraction of the language that has gone astray, instead of the entire language. Dialects can become extinct if the customs and traditions of life linked with them fade away or if other varieties or dialects of language restore them. For instance, in certain parts of Wales, the dialects of Welsh are being substituted by normal Welsh language and similar is the case with Irish dialects in some regions of Ireland.

Why and How do Languages Become Extinct?

Languages can become extinct very quickly if all or majority of their speakers pass away on account of natural disasters, genocide or war (Crystal, 2000). One instance is the 1932 mass destruction of Pipil, El Salvador speakers, later than which a number of surviving Pipils bunged up using their language since they were scared of additional reprisals.

When a region or country is put through colonisation, take-over or across-the-board immigration, the language spoken by ...