Is the widespread use of English killing off other languages? When did languages start becoming extinct? Does it matter?
It may seem insignificant that languages are dying. Does it make a difference to your life if a language in some part of Asia is extinct? It’s similar to if an animal species becomes extinct, it may seem sad, or even painful, but is it actually significant? Realistically, if it makes no difference to a person’s life, chances are they’re not likely to spend more than ten seconds thinking about it.
But David Crystal, the world-renowned linguist, begs to differ. He argues that languages are important and we must do something to save them. Language death is exactly what it sounds like- when nobody speaks the language anymore, and thus, dies off. It’s hard to guess the exact number of extinct languages, but according to the UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 230 languages went extinct between 1950 and 2010.
Perception of English as the superior language
Although there are about 7100 languages spoken today, only 23 languages are spoken by more than half the world’s population. These languages are perceived as superior, compared to local languages.
Part of the reason languages are dying is because of the perception of the English language. Today, more than ever, English is seen as the superior language, the language that an individual must speak to get ahead in life and accomplish great things. Of course, this perception is debatable. On one hand, English is viewed as a global language. On the other hand, shouldn’t people from all around the world still speak their local languages, retaining bilingualism, rather than only speaking English? Does it have to be one or the other?
It’s also important to remember that the English language was spread through colonialism. In various countries, the English language was viewed as superior because that’s how the colonizers portrayed themselves and their language. Specifically with the British Empire, English was, in a way, shoved down the throat of the local people. This belief continues today- a belief from hundreds of years ago that if you speak English, you will immediately have access to global opportunities.
Today, English is spoken all around the world. To speak English is just a given. If an individual doesn’t speak English, there’s the perception that they’re ‘uneducated.’ Those who speak English as a first language usually only speak one language. Statistics Canada reported that in 2021, English was the first language spoken by 75.5% of Canadians. Although French is one of the official languages of Canada, the proportion of bilingual English-French Canadians is just 18%. Those who speak English as a second language are bilingual. Learning another language is time-consuming and requires a lot of effort.
Language and culture
Language and culture are intertwined- one doesn’t exist without the other. Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, both American linguists, created the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. This hypothesis dives into the concept of linguistic relativity, which suggests that the language an individual speaks affects their thoughts and perceptions. This principle considers the question- does the language we grow up speaking directly shape our worldviews?
The two linguists explained that different languages perceive the world differently. To explain their hypothesis, Whorf explored the Hopi language, a Native American tribe language. He found that the Hopi people and Europeans have distinct ideas of time. In the Hopi language, Whorf claimed that there are no grammatical variations for the future and the past, and it’s impossible to keep track of different time periods. Eventually, the researcher Ekkehart Malotki published Hopi Time, where he discovered that the Hopi language does have a sense of time, but that there are differences in how the Hopi people view time, as compared to Europeans.
Although Whorf’s research holds a wary position in the linguistic field today, perhaps his ideas about linguistic relativity are still relevant. It is unlikely to preserve thoughts or perspectives when an individual attempts to translate concepts- things just simply get lost in translation. That doesn’t necessarily mean that language shapes thoughts, but rather that language is a part of our thoughts. Thus, languages are tied to cultures and are a part of how we think and perceive the world.
This leads us to the question- if languages are dying, does that mean cultures are dying with them? Moreover, culture is tied to identity. Thus, if everybody around the world is choosing to speak only English, there’s a sense of identical identities- to some extent. Languages are a method of sharing ideas and concepts, as a result, maintaining cultural diversity is vital. With every language that dies, another source of knowledge and culture dies with it.
Is there hope?
As we’ve discovered, languages are dying. But in some ways, there’s hope. There could be something done about it. David Crystal discusses language revitalization. He argues that if there’s funding, courses and teachers can play a significant role in saving a language. Having the language documented is equally important. Getting the language written down, recorded, and analyzed are all methods of documentation.
There haven’t been many successful cases of language revitalization. However, there is a successful revitalization story of the Māori language in New Zealand. They included the concept of “language nests”, which are organizations that provide children under the age of five with a domestic setting where they can learn Māori. The idea is that the children will retain their Māori skills once they leave their “nests” and hopefully inspire the new generation to continue learning the language.
When a language dies out, there’s a lot that dies with it. But we have the power to change that.