Download or read book Atlas of the world s languages in danger of disappearing written by Wurm, Stephen A. and published by UNESCO. This book was released on 2001-07-17 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Close to half of the 6,000 languges spoken in the world are doomed or likely to disappear in the foreseeable future. The disappearance of any language is an irreparable loss for the heritage of all humankind. This new edition of the Atlas, first published in 1996, is intended to give a graphic picture of the magnitude of the problem and a comprehensive list of languages in danger.

Download or read book Language Endangerment and Language Revitalization written by Tasaku Tsunoda and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2013-02-06 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In almost every part of the world, minority languages are threatened with extinction. At the same time, dedicated efforts are being made to document endangered languages, to maintain them, and even to revive once-extinct languages. The present volume examines a wide range of issues that concern language endangerment andlanguage revitalization. Among other things, it is shown that languages may be endangered to different degrees, endangerment situations in selected areas of the world are surveyed and definitions of language death and types of language death presented. The book also examines causes of language endangerment, speech behaviour in a language endangerment situation, structural changes in endangered languages, as well as types of speakers encountered in a language endangerment situation. In addition, methods of documentation and of training for linguists are proposed which will enable scholars to play an active role in the documentation of endangered languages and in language revitalization. The book presents a comprehensive overview of the field. It is clearly written and contains ample references to the relevant literature, thus providing useful guidance for further research. The author often draws on his own experience of documenting endangered languages and of language revival activities in Australia. The volume is of interest to a wide readership, including linguists, anthropologists, sociologists, and educators.

Download or read book The Cambridge Handbook of Endangered Languages written by Peter K. Austin and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-03-24 with total page 581 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is generally agreed that about 7,000 languages are spoken across the world today and at least half may no longer be spoken by the end of this century. This state-of-the-art Handbook examines the reasons behind this dramatic loss of linguistic diversity, why it matters, and what can be done to document and support endangered languages. The volume is relevant not only to researchers in language endangerment, language shift and language death, but to anyone interested in the languages and cultures of the world. It is accessible both to specialists and non-specialists: researchers will find cutting-edge contributions from acknowledged experts in their fields, while students, activists and other interested readers will find a wealth of readable yet thorough and up-to-date information.

Download or read book Language Diversity Endangered written by Matthias Brenzinger and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2015-07-31 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a comprehensive overview of endangered languages with a global coverage. It features such well-known specialists as Michael Krauss, Willem F. H. Adelaar, Denny Moore, Colette Grinevald, Akira Yamamoto, Roger Blench, Bruce Connell, Tapani Salminen, Olga Kazakevich, Aleksandr Kibrik, Jonathan Owens, David Bradley, George van Driem, Nicholas Evans, Stephen A. Wurm, Darrell Tryon and Matthias Brenzinger. The contributions are unique in analysing the present extent and the various kinds of language endangerment by applying shared general indicators for the assessment of language endangerment. Apart from presenting the specific situations of language endangerment at the sub-continental level, the volume discusses major issues that bear universally on language endangerment. The actual study of endangered languages is carefully examined, for example, against the ethics and pragmatics of fieldwork. Practical aspects of community involvement in language documentation are discussed, such as the setting up of local archives and the training of local linguists. Numerous case studies illustrate different language shift environments with specific replacing factors, such as colonial and religious conquests, migrations and governmental language education. The book is of interest to students and scholars of linguistics with particular focus on endangered languages (and their documentation), typology, and sociolinguistics as well as to anthropologists and language activists.

Download or read book Endangered Languages written by Lenore A. Grenoble and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1998-03-26 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an overview of the issues surrounding language loss. It brings together work by theoretical linguists, field linguists, and non-linguist members of minority communities to provide an integrated view of how language is lost, from sociological and economic as well as from linguistic perspectives. The contributions to the volume fall into four categories. The chapters by Dorian and Grenoble and Whaley provide an overview of language endangerment. Grinevald, England, Jacobs, and Nora and Richard Dauenhauer describe the situation confronting threatened languages from both a linguistic and sociological perspective. The understudied issue of what (beyond a linguistic system) can be lost as a language ceases to be spoken is addressed by Mithun, Hale, Jocks, and Woodbury. In the last section, Kapanga, Myers-Scotton, and Vakhtin consider the linguistic processes which underlie language attrition.

Download or read book Endangered Languages and Languages in Danger written by Luna Filipović and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company. This book was released on 2016-10-03 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This peer-reviewed collection brings together the latest research on language endangerment and language rights. It creates a vibrant, interdisciplinary platform for the discussion of the most pertinent and urgent topics central to vitality and equality of languages in today’s globalised world. The novelty of the volume lies in the multifaceted view on the variety of dangers that languages face today, such as extinction through dwindling speaker populations and lack of adequate preservation policies or inequality in different social contexts (e.g. access to justice, education and research resources). There are examples of both loss and survival, and discussion of multiple factors that condition these two different outcomes. We pose and answer difficult questions such as whether forced interventions in preventing loss are always warranted or indeed viable. The emerging shared perspective is that of hope to inspire action towards improving the position of different languages and their speakers through research of this kind.

Download or read book Endangered Languages written by Sarah G. Thomason and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-04-23 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An introduction to language endangerment. What is it? How and why does it happen? Why should we care?

Download or read book Language Endangerment and Language Maintenance written by David Bradley and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-12-16 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Language endangerment is a fundamental issue for humanity. What rights do minority communities have concerning their languages? How does each language conceptualize the world differently? How much knowledge about the world and a local ecosystem is lost when a language disappears? What is the process involved and how can insights about this process contribute to linguistic theory? What typological insights will be lost if undescribed languages disappear before their unique structural properties are known? How can language shift be stopped or reversed? This volume comprises: * a general overview introduction * four theoretical chapters on what happens during language shift * ten case studies of autochthonous languages under threat * four case studies of migrant languages at risk * three concluding chapters discussing strategies and resources for language maintenance.

Download or read book Language Endangerment written by David Bradley and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-11-21 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Investigates the endangerment of languages and the loss of traditional cultural diversity, and how to respond.

Download or read book Attitudes to Endangered Languages written by Julia Sallabank and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-12-19 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Language attitudes and ideologies are of key importance in assessing the chances of success of revitalisation efforts for endangered languages. However, few book-length studies relate attitudes to language policies, or address the changing attitudes of non-speakers and the motivations of members of language movements. Through a combination of ethnographic research and quantitative surveys, this book presents an in-depth study of revitalisation efforts for indigenous languages in three small islands round the British Isles. The author identifies and confronts key issues commonly faced by practitioners and researchers working in small language communities with little institutional support. This book explores the complex relationship of ideologies, identity and language-related beliefs and practices, and examines the implications of these factors for language revitalisation measures. Essential reading for researchers interested in language endangerment and revitalisation, sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology and language policy and planning, as well as language planners and campaigners.

Download or read book Ethnographic Contributions to the Study of Endangered Languages written by Tania Granadillo and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2011-08 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is a feature of the twenty-first century that world languages are displacing local languages at an alarming rate, transforming social relations and complicating cultural transmission in the process. This language shift—the gradual abandonment of minority languages in favor of national or international languages—is often in response to inequalities in power, signaling a pressure to conform to the political and economic structures represented by the newly dominant languages. In its most extreme form, language shift can result in language death and thus the permanent loss of traditional knowledge and lifeways. To combat this, indigenous and scholarly communities around the world have undertaken various efforts, from archiving and lexicography to the creation of educational and cultural programs. What works in one community, however, may not work in another. Indeed, while the causes of language endangerment may be familiar, the responses to it depend on “highly specific local conditions and opportunities.” In keeping with this premise, the editors of this volume insist that to understand language endangerment, “researchers and communities must come to understand what is happening to the speakers, not just what is happening to the language.” The eleven case studies assembled here strive to fill a gap in the study of endangered languages by providing much-needed sociohistorical and ethnographic context and thus connecting specific language phenomena to larger national and international issues. The goal is to provide theoretical and methodological tools for researchers and organizers to best address the specific needs of communities facing language endangerment. The case studies here span regions as diverse as Kenya, Siberia, Papua New Guinea, Mexico, Venezuela, the United States, and Germany. The volume includes a foreword by linguistic anthropologist Jane Hill and an afterword by poet and linguist Ofelia Zepeda.

Download or read book Language Endangerment Is an Important Issue written by Corinna Colette Vellnagel and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2011-07 with total page 25 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Speech Science / Linguistics, grade: Excellent, The University of Surrey, language: English, abstract: 'Tarn palk enim ab uo tund ' - Only a handful of people are still able to understand these Livonian words (Viitso: 1990). Reasons why languages such as Livonian are becoming extinct are manifold and the estimated 7000 languages which "are being spoken around the world" (Colls: 2009, p. 1) are expected to rapidly shrink in the upcoming decades. It is obvious that language extinction and language death have reached an exceptional level in recent years and that the forecast for a striking percentage of the world's dying languages is very high (Hale et al.: 1992). An untold number of languages has already died and the "disappearance of languages continues" (Wurm: 1991, p. 1) constantly. One reason for this loss is the fact that "more and more people switch to one of the dominant languages, especially English, and" (Deterding: 2004, p. 27) in consequence miss out on transmitting their endangered indigenous language to their descendents (Crystal: 2000). The problem of language death has only been discovered in the late 1980's and it is assumed that within this century 50% of the currently spoken languages will become extinct and that another 40% will be endangered so that their extinction is no longer ne avoidable - but only if this trend continues (Krauss: 1992). Although, this estimation might sound very pessimistic it is obvious that a drastic reduction of language diversity is on its way. In these premises, thoughts about how to countervail the reduction of diversity have come up within the last couple of years (Hale et al.: 1992; Bobaljik et al.; 1996; Grenoble and Whaley: 1998) with one possibility being to respond to the dying of languages by extensively documenting endangered languages before they actually become extinct. Considering the extent and the speed in which languages die out the task to document is particularly i

Download or read book Atlas of the World s Languages in Danger written by Christopher Moseley and published by UNESCO. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Languages are not only tools of communication, they also reflect a view of the world. Languages are vehicles of value systems and cultural expressions and are an essential component of the living heritage of humanity. Yet, many of them are in danger of disappearing. UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger tries to raise awareness on language endangerment. This third edition has been completely revised and expanded to include new series of maps and new points of view.

Download or read book Language Endangerment is an Important Issue written by Corinna Colette Vellnagel and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2011-07-11 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Speech Science / Linguistics, grade: Excellent, The University of Surrey, language: English, abstract: ‘Tarn palkö enim ab uo tundö’ – Only a handful of people are still able to understand these Livonian words (Viitso: 1990). Reasons why languages such as Livonian are becoming extinct are manifold and the estimated 7000 languages which “are being spoken around the world” (Colls: 2009, p. 1) are expected to rapidly shrink in the upcoming decades. It is obvious that language extinction and language death have reached an exceptional level in recent years and that the forecast for a striking percentage of the world’s dying languages is very high (Hale et al.: 1992). An untold number of languages has already died and the “disappearance of languages continues” (Wurm: 1991, p. 1) constantly. One reason for this loss is the fact that “more and more people switch to one of the dominant languages, especially English, and” (Deterding: 2004, p. 27) in consequence miss out on transmitting their endangered indigenous language to their descendents (Crystal: 2000). The problem of language death has only been discovered in the late 1980's and it is assumed that within this century 50% of the currently spoken languages will become extinct and that another 40% will be endangered so that their extinction is no longer ne avoidable – but only if this trend continues (Krauss: 1992). Although, this estimation might sound very pessimistic it is obvious that a drastic reduction of language diversity is on its way. In these premises, thoughts about how to countervail the reduction of diversity have come up within the last couple of years (Hale et al.: 1992; Bobaljik et al.; 1996; Grenoble and Whaley: 1998) with one possibility being to respond to the dying of languages by extensively documenting endangered languages before they actually become extinct. Considering the extent and the speed in which languages die out the task to document is particularly imperative.

Download or read book Endangered Languages of the Caucasus and Beyond written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2016-11-01 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Endangered Languages of the Caucasus and Beyond offers the readers a diversity of articles by 19 prominent scholars who address the problems related to the endangered languages in Anatolia, Ukraine, China, Mongolia, Daghestan, Ossetia and in the Greater Himalayan region.

Download or read book Lessons from Documented Endangered Languages written by K. David Harrison and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume represents part of an unprecedented and still growing effort to advance, coordinate and disseminate the scientific documentation of endangered languages. As the pace of language extinction increases, linguists and native communities are accelerating their efforts to speak, remember, record, analyze and archive as much as possible of our common human heritage that is linguistic diversity. The window of opportunity for documentation is narrower than the actual lifetime of a language, and is now rapidly closing for many languages represented in this volume. The authors of these papers unveil newly collected data from previously poorly known and endangered languages. They organize highly complex linguistic facts­ - paradigms, affixes, vowel patterns­ - while pointing out the theoretically challenging aspects of these. Beyond this, they reflect on the social and human dimensions, discussing particular problems of nostalgia and modernity, memory and forgetting, and obsolescence and ethics, while viewing language as not merely data on a page but as a living creation in the minds and mouths of its speakers.

Download or read book Encyclopedia of the World s Endangered Languages written by Christopher Moseley and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2008-03-10 with total page 946 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The concern for the fast-disappearing language stocks of the world has arisen particularly in the past decade, as a result of the impact of globalization. This book appears as an answer to a felt need: to catalogue and describe those languages, making up the vast majority of the world's six thousand or more distinct tongues, which are in danger of disappearing within the next few decades. Endangerment is a complex issue, and the reasons why so many of the world's smaller, less empowered languages are not being passed on to future generations today are discussed in the book's introduction. The introduction is followed by regional sections, each authored by a notable specialist, combining to provide a comprehensive listing of every language which, by the criteria of endangerment set out in the introduction, is likely to disappear within the next few decades. These languages make up ninety per cent of the world's remaining language stocks. Each regional section comprises an introduction that deals with problems of language preservation peculiar to the area, surveys of known extinct languages, and problems of classification. The introduction is followed by a list of all known languages within the region, endangered or not, arranged by genetic affiliation, with endangered and extinct languages marked. This listing is followed by entries in alphabetical order covering each language listed as endangered. Useful maps are provided to pinpoint the more complex clusters of smaller languages in every region of the world. The Encyclopedia therefore provides in a single resource: expert analysis of the current language policy situation in every multilingual country and on every continent, detailed descriptions of little-known languages from all over the world, and clear alphabetical entries, region by region, of all the world's languages currently thought to be in danger of extinction. The Encyclopedia of the World’s Endangered Languages will be a necessary addition to all academic linguistics collections and will be a useful resource for a range of readers with an interest in development studies, cultural heritage and international affairs.