Should Endangered Languages Be Preserved?

Introduction:
After reading an article in class written by John McWorther (2014), a linguist who is also
a professor at Columbia University, titled Why Save Language, I was curious to figure out
more about endangered languages around the world. As my classmates and I continued to learn
about different languages such as Click and Whistle languages, as well as the endangered
language of Nushu, which happens to be the only language that is exclusively known by women,
I wondered what steps were being taken to preserve these rare languages. I originally began my
research with the question of: How Could Endangered Languages Be Saved? However, after my
research I decided to change my question to: Should Endangered Languages Be Preserved? I
decided to conduct my research not only to learn more about endangered languages but to help
others learn what may happen if we decide to preserve a language or not.
Growing up in New York City and being surrounded by many different languages I
believe that endangered languages should be preserved. Seeing how in New York there are many
different languages spoken made me realize the great power language can have by creating a
common diversity. In my opinion saving endangered languages preserves the culture and
traditions that are associated with that language. By keeping these traditions, language included,
I believe that it will allow future generations the opportunity to be proud of their heritage.
Although I favor preserving endangered languages, I conducted some research on why
endangered languages shouldnt be preserved, and was surprised with the results because I never
thought Id change my mind on believing every language should be preserved. After conducting
my research on how endangered languages could be preserved and why they shouldnt I came up
with my own possible answer. I believe we should allow the cultures themselves to decide

whether or not they want to preserve their endangered language. If they decide that they do then
there should be some form of way, such as school programs, that allows those specific languages
to be taught in the area where that language is spoken, so that the language may grow. For
example in an article that I read it mentions how a man who revived an extinct language created
the Myaami Center at Miami University in Ohio, where people may learn more about their
community as well as learn the Miami (Thurman, 2015). This is a good example of a way to
strengthen the languages spoken in a community of an endangered language.
How did I begin?:
I first began my research by trying to figure out how languages die. My first thought to
figuring out how to save endangered languages was to start from the problem and then figure out
how it could be resolved. While reading a article written in 2015 titled Is Azerbaijani Turkish an
endangered language? Language attitudes among Azerbaijani youth in Tabriz by Naser Nouri, a
professor who is a part of the Department of English Language and Linguistics in Islamic Azad
University, I learned four possible ways that a language may die out. These four ways are a
sudden death; radical language death, bottom-to-top death, and gradual death. Sudden
language death is when the speakers of a language suddenly die. Although there were no exact
examples of sudden language death in an Nouris article, I found one in a New Yorker article
written in 2015, by Judith Thurman. She describes how a language nearly died out when a
Native American tribe in Massachusetts, in the seventeenth century lost most of its members due
to disease.
Radical language death is when the people of a specific language stop speaking because
they are either forced to or are doing it because of a political repression or even a genocide. I also
wasnt able to find much research to support a radical language death that completely killed off a

language, however in my opinion I believe it would be something similar to when the Native
Americans were forced to learn Spanish after they were conquered by them. Bottom-to-top
language death begins from the lower class and rises up to the higher class or places of worship,
such as a church. For example, the Coptic language is considered a dying language, as common
Egyptians no longer speak it and is now mainly used only for religious purposes. Finally, gradual
language death, which is also the most common form language death, happens when an official
language begins to fade due to the over use of a newer language (Nouri, para 3-7). After
gathering this information I decided to find a way to solve these problems.
After reading numerous articles and papers I realized that the majority of them dealt with
gradual language death, and how people have tried to resolve that issue. I then decided to
disregard the other three methods of language death that Nouri mentioned in his paper and focus
more on how to prevent gradual language death. After focusing on only one particular problem I
was able to find more research that focused on why language should be preserved, that also
included examples of how it was preserved. In Judith Thurmans article she discussed her
encounter with a man who happened to be the last speaker of a particular language. It also
described her encounter with Daniel Kaufman, a linguistics professor at Columbia University.
This paper helped me figure out numerous ways that an endangered language could be
preserved. Thurman mentions in her paper that with the help of Mr. Kaufman she learned about
the different ways people have tried to preserve their language. In an article written in 2015 titled
Why do we fight so hard to preserve endangered langauges? written by James Harbeck, a
writer for The Week, he describes both positive and negative effects of preserving languages.
Finally, in a chapter, from the book titled Endangered Languages (1998) titled Western
language ideologies and small-language prospects, written by Nancy C. Dorian she gives

several explanations of how language may die out and why it is okay for it to happen. By
focusing on these three writing pieces I was able to understand the importance of language and
whether or not it should be preserved.
Results:
I first began reading the Judith Thurman article and learned a lot of information of why a
language should be preserved. In the beginning of her paper Thurman explains her encounter
with a man named Joubert Yanten Gomez. Gomez, who is also known as his tribal name Keyuk,
was fascinated by his familys history while he was a boy, and decided to study the Selknam
culture, which is located in Chile. After studying the Selknam language Keyuk soon became a
fluent speaker. Being able to understand the language Keyuk was able to have a new perspective
of the world. He stated that the Selknam mythology is rich, everything in our world-plants and
animals, the sun and starts-has a voice. (Thurman, para 7). By studying the language and being
interested in his cultures beliefs and its ways of thinking Keyuk was able to build a stronger
understanding of the language, which he could pass down to others so that more generations may
be able to understand the Selknam culture. Reading this first part of the story made me realize
the importance of language to people in the world because each language possesses its own
unique
As I continued to read Thurmans paper she mentioned how a professor from Columbia
College, named Daniel Kaufman helped her with her research on language. Through her
encounter with Mr. Kaufman she learned that in both America and Canada, Mohawk tribes have
created language camps where people of Mohawk heritage could learn their language (para 1526). Reading this I realized how important language was for the Mohawk community. Thurman
also described the progress of the camps by stating that the number of language camps has grown

and expanded, so that more people can go to a nearby camp. Thurman also mentioned another
story where she sat with Mr. Kaufman, who had sponsored a radio show, where three hosts spoke
either Spanish or their native languages Kiche, of Guatamala; Totonac of Mexico; and Kichwa
of Colombia and Ecuador(para 29). The purpose of this radio station was best describe by
Kaufman:
Radio is an important tool for language activists. It reaches remote populations that might
not have access to other media and boosts their morale. (para 29).
After reading this I was stunned to see the strong positive affect this radio station has on
its listeners. I was also stunned by two other stories mentioned in Thurmans article. In her article
Thurman also describes an instance where Jessie Little Doe Baird, a member of the Mashpee
Wampanoag tribe located in Massachusetts, revived the extinct language of her ancestors known
as Wopanaak. Through her strong dedication Baird, who had no experience with linguistics, was
able to partner with linguists from the Massachusetts Technical Institute, where they all were
able to revive the Wopanaak language (para 32-33). Thurman also describes how she had learned
from Kaufman that a man named Daryl Baldwin, who is a member of the Miami tribe in
Oklahoma, was able to study his tribes ancient Algonquian language and start the Myaami
Center at Miami University in Ohio, where people may learn more about their community as
well as learn the Miami language Baldwin studied (Paragraph 34). What stunned me most about
Thurmans paper was the numerous instances of people learning and preserving languages. From
these examples I was able to gather strong evidence of why a language should be preserved.
These people were devoted to making their language live longer so that others may learn the
importance of what their language has to offer. By practicing their language and preserving their
culture and heritage I believe they were able to boost their morale as Kaufman stated.

While doing my research I also came across an article written in 2015, by James
Harbeck, who is a writer for The Week that gives both view points on whether or not endangered
languages should be preserved or not. Harbecks article first mentioned the negative effects that
come along with losing a language which are linguistic diversity, intellectual diversity, cultural
diversity, and cultural identity (para 2). My interpretation of what Harbeck meant by these four
things, in order, are, we lose a unique language spoken in the world, we lose a unique way of
thinking, we lose a unique belief system, and a unique group of individuals. Harbeck then goes
on to mention how by losing a language we are also losing knowledge about plants, animals,
ecosystems, and geography. Reading this made me aware of the great treasures that would be
lost if a language was to die out. However, after reading more of Harbecks article he stated:
In any event, if speakers no longer want to speak a language, who are we to tell them that
they are wrong? Its their language, not ours, and its paternalistic of us to expect them to
do as we wish just to satisfy our need (para 8)
This quote from Harbeck made me realize that it isnt right pressuring a culture to
preserve their language. Instead we should allow them to decide whether or not they want to
preserve their old cultural beliefs or leave them for new modern ones. The book titled
Endangered Languages (1998) features a chapter titled Western language ideologies and smalllanguage prospects, written by Nancy C. Dorian. Nancy C. Dorian is a well-known linguist and
is also a professor of Linguistics in German and Anthropology at Bryn Mawr College. In her
paper, Dorian mentions the problem of gradual language death. She discusses how colonies that
have been conquered by armies and that have both powerful and prestigious attributes learned
the language of those who conquered them. She then goes on to give an example of how the
Spaniards, with their powerful army and prestigious language, were able to influence many

civilizations in the New World, such as the Aztec and Incas, to learn their language (Dorian,
1998, pages 3-4). In her paper Dorian also mentions some odd instances where those who
conquered a civilization learned the language of the civilization. For example, the Vikings in
some instances, after conquering several other powers, decided it would be best to give up their
language to learn the language of those they had just conquered. They learned the Romance
languages, as well as the Slavic language (Grenoble, 1998, Pages 4). She also mentions how the
French Normans, after invading England learned the English language, however as my professor,
Ms. Haiduck, stated in class it took hundreds of years for the Normans to officially learn the
English language, which happened to be a mixture of both French and English (Dorian, 1998,
page 4). Dorian stated that these few instances of conquerors learning languages of the
conquered only occurred when:
the conquering group is usually numerically thin, compared with the size of the
conquered population, and it may deliberately intermarry with indigenous aristocracy (for
lack of enough women of its own group or for the sake of adding legitimacy to its seizure
of local power and property, or both). (Dorian, 1998, Pages 4)
These examples, as well as others stated in Dorians piece give good arguments
explaining why a language may not be preserved. For example, in these examples we see how
certain groups or people gave up their language, such as the Vikings, Normans, Aztecs, and
Incans, in order to fit in with the new society that they were a part of. Although their languages
didnt completely die out at the time they decided to learn the new language. In my opinion,
these groups decided that it would be best give up their languages in order to be able to
understand their new culture better.
Conclusion and Discussion:

After reading these articles my opinion on preserving language has changed. I first
believed that any language should be preserved because it would be beneficial for the world to
learn what it has to offer. However, after reading James Harbeck and Nancy Dorians articles I
have decided to change my opinion. My opinion now is similar to that of what James Harbeck
stated. I believe we shouldnt force a culture with an endangered language to preserve their
language. It isnt societies right to pressure them to do something that they may not want to do.
However, if they do wish to preserve their language I believe that we should use several of the
methods mentioned in Judith Thurmans paper, such as forming language camps for that
particular culture. Also, forming clubs in universities or other schools and teaching the language
of the different cultures that lives in that region, such as the Myaami Center at Miami University
in Ohio, that Daryl Baldwin created (Thurman, 2015), would be beneficial for those particular
cultures to strengthen their heritage. Also, forming radio stations for endangered languages
would be beneficial because as Kaufman stated in Thurmans paper it builds the morale of those
who listen to it.
The problem I believe with all of these potential ways of strengthening and preserving
endangered languages would be the cost to run these programs. Although it may be a gracious
act to have a program to preserve all endangered languages, I believe that it would be hard to
start these programs, find people to manage these programs, and find people who want to
participate in these programs. I do hope that there are cultures that wish to preserve endangered
languages and share with the world what they believe in and what they have discovered. I also
hope that more things could be done to preserve endangered languages because as stated before,
I am a bit bias to preserving endangered languages. If I had more credibility as a writer I would
want my readers to realize that to preserve endangered languages we should first make sure that

it is okay with that particular culture. I would also want them to realize the benefits of preserving
an endangered language and that if a culture doesnt want to preserve that language it may be
because they want to advance into the new technological society we are all developing into.

Work Cited
1. Dorian, C. N. (1998) Western language ideologies and small-language prospects.
Endangered Languages, 3-21.
2. Harbeck, J. (2015, March 02). Why do we fight so hard to preserve endangered
languages?
Retrieved October 9, 2016, from http://theweek.com/articles/541609/why-fighthard=preserve-endangeredlanguages.
3. Nouri, N. "Is Azerbaijani Turkish an endangered language? Language attitudes among
Azerbaijani

youth in Tabriz." Theory and Practice in Language Studies 5.7 (2015):

1476+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 9 Oct. 2016.
4. Thurman, J. (2015, March, 30). A loss for words. New Yorker, 91(6), 32-1