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From: ad841@lafn.org (Bob Cunningham)
Subject: Re: Language Extinction
Message-ID: <1995Feb25.053959.27087@lafn.org>
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Reply-To: ad841@lafn.org (Bob Cunningham)
Organization: The Los Angeles Free-Net
References: <3igb1a$ior@news.globalx.net> <BO04E1Y.jwmurphy700@delphi.com>
Date: Sat, 25 Feb 1995 05:39:59 GMT
Lines: 39


In a previous article, davison@globalx.net (Rod Davison) says:

>In article <BO04E1Y.jwmurphy700@delphi.com>, jwmurphy700@delphi.com says:
>>
>>Extinction of the World's Languages
>> 
>>According to a recent newspaper article I read of the world's
>>estimated 6,000 languages, up to half of them will probably
>>become extinct during the next century.  Should something be
>>done to prevent this?  If so, what?
>>Is anything being done now?
>> 
>About the only thing we can do right away is try to document about as
>much as we can.    Many of these langauges have small numbers of speakers,
>with the levelling of barriers between linguistic groups, these langauges
>will die out.  It is a consequence of social change, and I don't know how 
>we can stop that.
>
>I would hope that we can figure out some way to prevent this.  Each
>language we lose is another part of ourselves extinguished.
>
>Any thoughts anyone?
>
>>Joe Murphy

       It would be wonderful if everyone in the world spoke the same 
language.

       It would be wonderful if each of the thousands of languages in the 
world could be maintained as the robust native language of a community.

       The two dreams are irreconcilable.

Bob Cunningham
Northridge, California, USofA



