The term ‘cultural extinction’ likely conjures up images of ancient civilizations in peoples’ minds-the Greeks and the Romans in Europe, the Aztecs and Mayans in Central America or the Byzantine Empire in the Middle East. Everyone knows these civilizations have met their demise, taking with them the knowledge and cultures of their worlds.
In today’s society, the idea of cultural extinction may seem a thing of the past. However, cultural traditions are lost throughout the world on a regular basis as the last remaining speakers of various languages die.
According to the National Geographic Web site, a language disappears every 14 days. At this rate, it is estimated that half of the world’s 7,000 languages will become extinct in the next century.
“Languages are abandoned when speakers come to think of them as socially inferior, tied to the past, traditional/backward, or economically stagnant,” according to Gregory D. S. Anderson on his Web site, livingtongues.org.
This trend could have disturbing effects on the rest of the world.
Disappearing languages affect other cultures
Many people feel that this issue does not affect them and become complacent to what is happening, but Professor Robert Wakefield, who teaches classes about these international issues, said he thinks it is important for students to be informed about events happening around the world.
“There is tremendous knowledge that is lost when a language dies,” Wakefield said. We lose information about all of the things these people learned-how they cultivated the earth and interacted with each other, as well as knowledge about plants, animals and cultural traditions, he said.
“Over time, as these languages die out, it squelches the rich diversity we have among cultures,” Wakefield said. “Diversity is important; it gives variety and meaning to our lives. We can learn from our differences.”
He said he is concerned about the great “sameness” that is spreading throughout the world.
“Unfortunately, it’s hard to keep people informed about this issue when we go throughout our daily lives and everything revolves around English,” he said. “People don’t know and don’t care.”
Students at BYU-concerned about the cultural drift
Many students at BYU, on the other hand, realize the danger that comes from language extinction. Elsie Pulupuna, a 20-year-old student from Tonga, majoring in International Relations, said she has noticed a change in her native culture as English influences are spread throughout the world.
Back in Tonga, the language is dying out in the island next to her home island, Pulupuna said.
“People realized that you can get more places with English, so they concentrate on learning [English] instead of their native language. Everything has become less traditional.”
Pulupuna said she worries about what these changes will eventually do to her culture.
“Language is a carrier of culture,” she said. “If this trend continues, the culture will die out eventually.”
On the other side of the world, in Nepal, less than 1,000 people now speak the language of Chintang. Dikshya Prasai, a student majoring in Mechanical Engineering, said she has not heard of this language even though it is from her native land; however, she is not surprised that it is dying.
“When I was really young, the Western influence started coming in,” Prasai said. “People thought it was more comfortable and stylish to wear these new styles of clothes. They started listening to English songs and watching movies from Hollywood and Bollywood. They started ignoring their own culture.”
Prasai said she has noticed in her country how one generation abandons the native culture and neglects to teach it to their children. The children never learn the traditions and eventually they become lost.
“It is really degrading to the Nepali language. Everyone inserts American words from movies and songs, and some of the original words from our language are not even used anymore.”
Solutions to the problem
There are many things students can do to stop this problem from progressing further.
“Students should keep abreast on what is going on around them,” Wakefield said. He recommends they become informed about the issue and develop a humanitarian spirit for other cultures.
Students can learn about other cultures and languages. Studying other languages will ensure that those languages will not die out. There are classes offered for 90 languages at BYU. Amazingly, this incorporates just over one percent of all the world’s languages.
“The most important thing is just to stay informed,” Wakefield said. “What people don’t realize is how much this affects us. Everything affects us.”
source : http://news.google.com.np/news?
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