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Language in Danger
Every two weeks the world loses another indigenous language. Evolving over hundreds or even thousands of years, distinct languages are highly complex and extremely adaptable, but they are also more fragile and endangered than we might expect. Of the approximately 5,000 languages spoken around the globe today, Andrew Dalby predicts that half will be lost during this century. How will this linguistic extinction affect our lives? Is there a possibility that humanity will become a monolingual species? Should we care?
Language in Danger is an unsettling historical investigation into the disappearance of languages and the consequences that future generations may face. Whether describing the effects of Latin's displacement of native languages in the aftermath of Rome's imperial expansion or the aggressive extermination of hundreds of indigenous North American languages through a brutal policy of forcing Native Americans to learn English, Dalby reveals that linguistic extinction has traditionally occurred as a result of economic inequality, political oppression, and even genocide. Bringing this historical perspective to bear on the uncertain fate of hundreds of pocket cultures-cultures whose languages are endangered by less obvious threats, such as multinational economic forces, immigration, nationalism, and global telecommunications― Language in Danger speaks out against the progressive silencing of our world's irreplaceable voices.
More than an uncompromising account of the decline of linguistic diversity, Language in Danger explains why humanity must protect its many unique voices. Since all languages represent different ways of perceiving, mapping, and classifying the world, they act as repositories for cultural traditions and localized knowledge. The growing trend toward linguistic standardization―for example, politically designated national languages―threatens the existence of more marginalized cultures and ethnic customs, leaving only a few dominant tongues. The resulting languages become less flexible, nuanced, and inventive as they grow increasingly homogenized. Dalby argues that humanity needs linguistic variety not only to communicate, but to sustain and enhance our understanding of the world. People do not simply invent words out of thin our creativity and intelligence are, to a significant degree, dependent on other languages and alternate ways of interpreting the world. When languages intermix, they borrow and feed off each other, and this convergence catalyzes the human imagination, making us more intelligent and adaptable beings.
Language in Danger is an unsettling historical investigation into the disappearance of languages and the consequences that future generations may face. Whether describing the effects of Latin's displacement of native languages in the aftermath of Rome's imperial expansion or the aggressive extermination of hundreds of indigenous North American languages through a brutal policy of forcing Native Americans to learn English, Dalby reveals that linguistic extinction has traditionally occurred as a result of economic inequality, political oppression, and even genocide. Bringing this historical perspective to bear on the uncertain fate of hundreds of pocket cultures-cultures whose languages are endangered by less obvious threats, such as multinational economic forces, immigration, nationalism, and global telecommunications― Language in Danger speaks out against the progressive silencing of our world's irreplaceable voices.
More than an uncompromising account of the decline of linguistic diversity, Language in Danger explains why humanity must protect its many unique voices. Since all languages represent different ways of perceiving, mapping, and classifying the world, they act as repositories for cultural traditions and localized knowledge. The growing trend toward linguistic standardization―for example, politically designated national languages―threatens the existence of more marginalized cultures and ethnic customs, leaving only a few dominant tongues. The resulting languages become less flexible, nuanced, and inventive as they grow increasingly homogenized. Dalby argues that humanity needs linguistic variety not only to communicate, but to sustain and enhance our understanding of the world. People do not simply invent words out of thin our creativity and intelligence are, to a significant degree, dependent on other languages and alternate ways of interpreting the world. When languages intermix, they borrow and feed off each other, and this convergence catalyzes the human imagination, making us more intelligent and adaptable beings.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
1 person is currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Dalby
45 books20 followersAndrew Dalby (born Liverpool, 1947) is an English linguist, translator and historian who most often writes about food history.
Dalby studied at the Bristol Grammar School, where he learned some Latin, French and Greek; then at the University of Cambridge. There he studied Latin and Greek at first, afterwards Romance languages and linguistics. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1970. Dalby then worked for fifteen years at Cambridge University Library, eventually specializing in Southern Asia. He gained familiarity with some other languages because of his work there, where he had to work with foreign serials and afterwards with South and Southeast Asian materials. In 1982 and 1983 he collaborated with Sao Saimong in cataloguing the Scott Collection of manuscripts and documents from Burma (especially the Shan States) and Indochina; He was later to publish a short biography of the colonial civil servant and explorer J. G. Scott, who formed the collection.[1] To help him with this task, he took classes in Cambridge again in Sanskrit, Hindi and Pali and in London in Burmese and Thai.
Dalby studied at the Bristol Grammar School, where he learned some Latin, French and Greek; then at the University of Cambridge. There he studied Latin and Greek at first, afterwards Romance languages and linguistics. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1970. Dalby then worked for fifteen years at Cambridge University Library, eventually specializing in Southern Asia. He gained familiarity with some other languages because of his work there, where he had to work with foreign serials and afterwards with South and Southeast Asian materials. In 1982 and 1983 he collaborated with Sao Saimong in cataloguing the Scott Collection of manuscripts and documents from Burma (especially the Shan States) and Indochina; He was later to publish a short biography of the colonial civil servant and explorer J. G. Scott, who formed the collection.[1] To help him with this task, he took classes in Cambridge again in Sanskrit, Hindi and Pali and in London in Burmese and Thai.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 23, 2015
AGAK sukar menjadi manusia angkuh sehingga memandang rendah bahasa ibunda dan etnik sekiranya membaca buku tentang evolusi bahasa daripada sudut sejarah dan masa depan seperti Language in Danger karya Andrew Dalby ini.
Melainkan individu itu mempunyai kepentingan ekonomi yang sempit atau memang sifatnya bodoh sombong, membaca buku ini menginsafkan apabila ia menguak pintu sejarah panjang bahasa yang saling berkembang dan berinteraksi, kemudian bertahan dan menguasai yang akhirnya hilang, terserap atau menjadi unggul.
Dengan gaya penulisan popular, buku ini menyorot bahasa daripada pelbagai sudut dan dimensi hubungannya dengan manusia dan perubahan serta kaitannya dengan masyarakat penutur asal dan negara yang mempunyai bahasa kebangsaannya.
Prolognya saja sudah menggugah sensitiviti pembaca terhadap kemandirian bahasa itu khususnya bahasa ibunda apabila menyuguh ramalan 2,500 daripada 5,000 bahasa akan hilang dalam tempoh 100 tahun, iaitu kira-kira satu bahasa setiap dua minggu.
Bagi pembaca yang merasakan ramalan itu hanya diperbesar-besarkan, buku ini memulakannya dengan premis mudah betapa ibu bapa di setiap negara semakin kurang mengajar bahasa ibunda yang minoriti kepada anak mereka, manakala sekolah pula menekankan bahasa kebangsaan dan bahasa antarabangsa secara hebat.
Tidak hairanlah, Language in Danger memberikan tumpuan kepada bahasa Inggeris dengan melihat ia berkembang daripada `datuk'nya, Proto-Jerman bertemu dengan Celtic (bahasa yang tidak direkod), selain menerima pengaruh bahasa Latin dan akhir sekali bahasa Perancis, sebelum merebak ke seluruh dunia melalui imperialisme.
Sekiranya masih kurang yakin dalam isu imperialisme bahasa, Dalby mengimbau sejarah empayar Rom yang `membunuh' kira-kira 50 bahasa di Eropah apabila bahasa Greek dan Latin meratahnya lewat dominasi kuasa politik, ekonomi, status sosial dan pendidikan.
Tidak terlepas daripada nasib malang itu adalah dua bahasa penting di Eropah ketika itu, Gaul atau Gaulish (timur dan utara Perancis) dan Punic (selatan dan pantai timur Semenanjung Sepanyol) yang akhirnya ditelan empayar Rom kerana penutur aslinya tidak mempunyai kesedaran dan kekuatan untuk mempertahankannya.
Proses kehilangan bahasa di Eropah di tangan Rom mungkin sukar untuk dilihat secara terperinci apabila bahasa yang mati itu tidak meninggalkan sebarang nesan, tetapi proses yang sama akibat imperialisme bahasa Inggeris khususnya melalui penjajahan dan globalisasi terbentang di hadapan kita.
Bahasa Inggeris mempunyai sejarah `pembunuhan bahasa' yang paling buruk dalam dua tiga abad kebelakangan ini termasuk `pembersihan etnik' di Australia yang menyebabkan bahasa Tasmania pupus hampir serta-merta apabila etnik penuturnya diburu dan dibunuh oleh imigran-kolonial Eropah.
Dalby memetik ahli linguistik Australia, RMW Dixon: Pada 1803, sekurang-kurangnya ada lapan bahasa berlainan di Tasmania tetapi hanya beberapa bahagian yang sempat direkod sebelum penuturnya mati atau dibunuh.
California, Amerika Syarikat (AS) menjadi makmal bahasa paling baik untuk kajian `kepupusan bahasa' apabila daripada 98 bahasa yang per-nah dituturkan, bahasa yang sudah tidak mempunyai penutur adalah sebanyak 45; ba-hasa yang mempunyai seorang hingga lima penutur (17) dan hanya penutur tua (36).
Antara sebab penting untuk menyekat kepupusan bahasa, Dalby menegaskan, kita memerlukan ilmu pengetahuan yang dipelihara dan beredar dalam sesuatu bahasa kerana setiap bahasa menyimpan pengalaman budaya berhubung sumber alam yang sebenarnya mempunyai nilai saintifik dan bermanfaat kepada manusia.
Contohnya etnobotani termasuklah perubatan herba etnik Shoshoni di California yang menyumbang kepada perubatan moden seperti tumbuhan bersusu me'eppeh tepuhi untuk rangsangan penyusuan ibu dan tumbuhan renek kwitaweyampeh (pendarahan usus serta berpotensi untuk agen anti-barah).
Buku setebal 329 halaman terbitan Penguin Books berupaya menyedarkan pembaca untuk memelihara bahasa ibunda dan mengangkatnya sebagai bahasa ilmu, politik dan ekonomi, sekali gus mengingatkan kepupusan bahasa bukanlah dongeng atau ramalan yang tidak berasas.
Melainkan individu itu mempunyai kepentingan ekonomi yang sempit atau memang sifatnya bodoh sombong, membaca buku ini menginsafkan apabila ia menguak pintu sejarah panjang bahasa yang saling berkembang dan berinteraksi, kemudian bertahan dan menguasai yang akhirnya hilang, terserap atau menjadi unggul.
Dengan gaya penulisan popular, buku ini menyorot bahasa daripada pelbagai sudut dan dimensi hubungannya dengan manusia dan perubahan serta kaitannya dengan masyarakat penutur asal dan negara yang mempunyai bahasa kebangsaannya.
Prolognya saja sudah menggugah sensitiviti pembaca terhadap kemandirian bahasa itu khususnya bahasa ibunda apabila menyuguh ramalan 2,500 daripada 5,000 bahasa akan hilang dalam tempoh 100 tahun, iaitu kira-kira satu bahasa setiap dua minggu.
Bagi pembaca yang merasakan ramalan itu hanya diperbesar-besarkan, buku ini memulakannya dengan premis mudah betapa ibu bapa di setiap negara semakin kurang mengajar bahasa ibunda yang minoriti kepada anak mereka, manakala sekolah pula menekankan bahasa kebangsaan dan bahasa antarabangsa secara hebat.
Tidak hairanlah, Language in Danger memberikan tumpuan kepada bahasa Inggeris dengan melihat ia berkembang daripada `datuk'nya, Proto-Jerman bertemu dengan Celtic (bahasa yang tidak direkod), selain menerima pengaruh bahasa Latin dan akhir sekali bahasa Perancis, sebelum merebak ke seluruh dunia melalui imperialisme.
Sekiranya masih kurang yakin dalam isu imperialisme bahasa, Dalby mengimbau sejarah empayar Rom yang `membunuh' kira-kira 50 bahasa di Eropah apabila bahasa Greek dan Latin meratahnya lewat dominasi kuasa politik, ekonomi, status sosial dan pendidikan.
Tidak terlepas daripada nasib malang itu adalah dua bahasa penting di Eropah ketika itu, Gaul atau Gaulish (timur dan utara Perancis) dan Punic (selatan dan pantai timur Semenanjung Sepanyol) yang akhirnya ditelan empayar Rom kerana penutur aslinya tidak mempunyai kesedaran dan kekuatan untuk mempertahankannya.
Proses kehilangan bahasa di Eropah di tangan Rom mungkin sukar untuk dilihat secara terperinci apabila bahasa yang mati itu tidak meninggalkan sebarang nesan, tetapi proses yang sama akibat imperialisme bahasa Inggeris khususnya melalui penjajahan dan globalisasi terbentang di hadapan kita.
Bahasa Inggeris mempunyai sejarah `pembunuhan bahasa' yang paling buruk dalam dua tiga abad kebelakangan ini termasuk `pembersihan etnik' di Australia yang menyebabkan bahasa Tasmania pupus hampir serta-merta apabila etnik penuturnya diburu dan dibunuh oleh imigran-kolonial Eropah.
Dalby memetik ahli linguistik Australia, RMW Dixon: Pada 1803, sekurang-kurangnya ada lapan bahasa berlainan di Tasmania tetapi hanya beberapa bahagian yang sempat direkod sebelum penuturnya mati atau dibunuh.
California, Amerika Syarikat (AS) menjadi makmal bahasa paling baik untuk kajian `kepupusan bahasa' apabila daripada 98 bahasa yang per-nah dituturkan, bahasa yang sudah tidak mempunyai penutur adalah sebanyak 45; ba-hasa yang mempunyai seorang hingga lima penutur (17) dan hanya penutur tua (36).
Antara sebab penting untuk menyekat kepupusan bahasa, Dalby menegaskan, kita memerlukan ilmu pengetahuan yang dipelihara dan beredar dalam sesuatu bahasa kerana setiap bahasa menyimpan pengalaman budaya berhubung sumber alam yang sebenarnya mempunyai nilai saintifik dan bermanfaat kepada manusia.
Contohnya etnobotani termasuklah perubatan herba etnik Shoshoni di California yang menyumbang kepada perubatan moden seperti tumbuhan bersusu me'eppeh tepuhi untuk rangsangan penyusuan ibu dan tumbuhan renek kwitaweyampeh (pendarahan usus serta berpotensi untuk agen anti-barah).
Buku setebal 329 halaman terbitan Penguin Books berupaya menyedarkan pembaca untuk memelihara bahasa ibunda dan mengangkatnya sebagai bahasa ilmu, politik dan ekonomi, sekali gus mengingatkan kepupusan bahasa bukanlah dongeng atau ramalan yang tidak berasas.
March 31, 2014
Lots of intriguing arguments about why we should strive to preserve language diversity. In addition, it debunks the need for Official English in America by arguing that anyone who wants to prosper or wants their children to prosper will learn English as a matter of course regardless of outsider attempts to make them either adhere to their native language or force them into learning "proper" English. (I also hadn't considered the side-effect the Official English movement creates by marginalizing Amerindian languages.) As for the prescriptive language argument, it remains to be seen whether language constrains thought but nearly everyone can agree that language diversity increases the possibility for original thought and expression.
April 3, 2018
This is a fascinating look at the patterns of language decline in the world. There is some fascinating historical analysis of how the spread of Latin and Greek in the ancient world lead to the extinction of the then indigenous languages of large areas of Europe, the Middle East and north Africa. This is then compared to the way in which English has in more recent years become a global language and how this affects other languages. How is the prevalence of English as a global second language affecting other languages? It's clear that English words are making their way more and more into the vocabulary of many other languages, though I'm less convinced that familiarity with English is necessarily changing the structure of other languages. I certainly notice if I (try to) read an old book in German or Italian I am more likely to give up on it than a modern book but that feels to me a result of modern informality and story telling styles that seem to me not necessarily a direct result of the influence of English. This is just one of the many fascinating elements of this book.
The most interesting element of the book from the point of view of this blog is what it says about the links between language, culture and knowledge about the natural world. The author gives examples of how local dialects of English have unique words that relate to their local environment (words that have often been borrowed from the local (often dying) indigenous languages. These words sometimes end up being the only remaining traces of those indigenous languages. Also fascinating is the attempt to trace the history of certain common words relating to the natural world - words such as apple (afal in Welsh, a Celtic language) seem to have a very ancient origin, speaking in part to the vital importance our ancestors recognised in the natural world.
The book also traces how people living in different environments have languages that reflect those environments and perhaps therefore offer a different world view. (This is incidentally, discussed in relation to attitudes to climate change, in this recent article).
It may be tempting for some people to shrug their shoulders and say 'so what?' at the thought of languages disappearing. However, as languages disappear, so do specific banks of knowledge, which offer insights into not only the natural world itself but into medicinal applications for plants. Taking as an example this quote from the book:
'Ethnobotanists looking for possible new sources of medicinal drugs have found that they need to be selective: they need peoples who have been resident in the same region for many generations......The Polynesians have had 1,500 years .....time to test and prove a hundred odd medicinal plants, far more than the Europeans of New Zealand or Hawaii. There's no magic about it, it takes a long long time for a reasonable proportion of plants to be tested....'
The most interesting element of the book from the point of view of this blog is what it says about the links between language, culture and knowledge about the natural world. The author gives examples of how local dialects of English have unique words that relate to their local environment (words that have often been borrowed from the local (often dying) indigenous languages. These words sometimes end up being the only remaining traces of those indigenous languages. Also fascinating is the attempt to trace the history of certain common words relating to the natural world - words such as apple (afal in Welsh, a Celtic language) seem to have a very ancient origin, speaking in part to the vital importance our ancestors recognised in the natural world.
The book also traces how people living in different environments have languages that reflect those environments and perhaps therefore offer a different world view. (This is incidentally, discussed in relation to attitudes to climate change, in this recent article).
It may be tempting for some people to shrug their shoulders and say 'so what?' at the thought of languages disappearing. However, as languages disappear, so do specific banks of knowledge, which offer insights into not only the natural world itself but into medicinal applications for plants. Taking as an example this quote from the book:
'Ethnobotanists looking for possible new sources of medicinal drugs have found that they need to be selective: they need peoples who have been resident in the same region for many generations......The Polynesians have had 1,500 years .....time to test and prove a hundred odd medicinal plants, far more than the Europeans of New Zealand or Hawaii. There's no magic about it, it takes a long long time for a reasonable proportion of plants to be tested....'
November 28, 2010
A good addition to the small literature on language endangerment, Dalby’s book is not especially unique—and may not be as thorough or professionally informed as Romaine and Nettle, or Crystal, or as entertaining as Abley. He does include a useful section on the languages of the Roman Empire and their transformation over time, but his prognosis of the current situation is bleak. He stresses the current knowledge (particularly ethnobotanical) which we lose with a language and has decent summaries of familiar related topics, viz. the decline of Yiddish, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, the amazingness of Damin etc.
August 13, 2010
This book took a very, very, VERY long time to get to the actual thesis, which honestly seemed pretty self-explanatory. I felt that it danced along the border between pop-sci and actual scholarly analysis in a way that would probably frustrate both camps.
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August 12, 2011Well written, scary & important - how & why languages become extinct, why it's important. Makes us think about what we can do.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews