January 24, 2008
Another dead language
A woman believed to be the last native speaker of the Eyak language in the north-western US state of Alaska has died at the age of 89.From the BBC.Marie Smith Jones was a champion of indigenous rights and conservation. She died at her home in Anchorage. She helped the University of Alaska compile an Eyak dictionary, so that future generations would have the chance to resurrect it.
Nearly 20 other native Alaskan languages are at risk of disappearing. . .
According to Michael Krauss, a linguist and professor with whom she worked, "she was very much alone as the last speaker of Eyak" for the last 15 years.
ADDENDUM: Note this NPR story:
Every two weeks, one of the world's 7,000 languages becomes extinct. Some succumb to dialects, others to a dominant language. . .Another related story here. For further reading: When Languages Die.David Harrison, a professor of linguistics and co-director of National Geographic's Enduring Voices project, explains why we should care and how to save them.
Posted by David on January 24, 2008 12:30 PM
One can only wonder at the number of languages that humanity has created and certainly, many, many more languages are lost than are still spoken, most never to be documented. I suspect there are scores of languages still spoken by groups of varying size throughout the world that remain at best poorly known in structure or content and which should be documented to the extent possible. Certainly the folk content of languages and culture should be preserved, and it seems that in this time of great accomplishment in technology and transportation, there is no reason for not accomplishig this task. Just as there is a list of threatened and endangered species with an international base for preservation, perhaps a linguistic-cultural effort on an international scale is required. Certainly we would all be the richer for such an effort.
Posted by: Donald Wolberg on January 26, 2008 9:29 AM
Did any early emigrants to the North American colonies speak Cornish or Manx Gaelic, I wonder. Does anyone know?
Posted by: dearieme on January 27, 2008 11:12 AM
cronaca.com