Social 10-2
 Why
is Language Diversity Important?
• Chinese, English and Spanish are the three most
popular languages in the world, in terms of
number of people who speak them.
• According to figures from UNESCO, the United
Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural
Organization. The most widely spoken language
on earth is Mandarin whish used as a first
language by nearly a billion people.
• Second on the list is English with around 358
million followed by Spanish.
• UNESCO estimates that over 50% of the world’s
6900 languages are endangered and that one
language disappears on average every 2 weeks.
It notes that 96% of the world’s 6000 languages
are spoken by 4% of the world’s population and
90% of the world’s languages are not
represented on the Internet.
1. Loss of Identity – Language transmits culture.
People identify their culture closely with how
they communicate. Losing Language then is
losing collective/ individual identity.
•
“Eh” – Canadian vs. Universal English American?
2. Loss of Knowledge – Language is a human
knowledge base. Many cultures have no written
tradition. Within language then is a vast source of
history, beliefs and scientific knowledge.
• 80% of species are undiscovered by science, but
not necessarily unknown to humanity. In Bolivia,
the Kallawaya people , have been traditional
herbalists since the time of the Inca Empire.
Within their language is information about
thousands of medicinal plants, some previously
unknown to science, that the Kallawayas use as
remedies.
3. Loss of Cultural Insight
•
words shape how you see the world, and a
language monoculture would mean a
monoculture of thought as well, as sharp
limitation in our ability to think. Thus, language
gives humanity diverse perspectives and
cultural enrichment.
 What
are Linguistic Rights?
• The right to chose the language or languages for
communicating in a private or public
atmosphere (education, media, government,
court) regardless of ethnicity or the number of
speakers of a language in a given territory.
 How
can language be revitalized?
• Some languages policies are national, like the
Official languages act, while others are regional.
In 2004, the government of the Northwest
Territories introduced a policy requiring school
boards to provide 90 hours of instruction in
Aboriginal languages every year.
 Many cultures fear globalization is threatening
their intangible heritage – things that aren’t solid
or permanent. ( carnivals, songs, theatre, stories,
poetry, dance etc) Many if these “intangibles”
transmit culture, knowledge and understanding
and are thus seen as critical to preserve.
