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From: selvakum@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca (C.R.Selvakumar - Electrical Engineering)
Subject: Re: Language Extinction
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References: <3ik4ngINNofi@SUNED.ZOO.CS.YALE.EDU> <1995Feb24.192957.5397@il.us.swissbank.com>
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 16:53:30 GMT
Lines: 51

In article <1995Feb24.192957.5397@il.us.swissbank.com>,
Karen McIntyre <klm@il.us.swissbank.com> wrote:
>Scott Horne writes
>> What can you do to prevent the extinction of languages?
>>     Learn a language on the endangered list!
>
>Perhaps a better answer:  Help prevent the extinction of the People that  
>speak the language.
>
>I just finished reading an article in OMNI magazine (March 95) entitled  
>"Last Chance For First Peoples" by Stephan Mills.  Though it doesn't have  
>anything to say about language, I'd guess that many of those "half of  
>~6000 languages that will become extinct during the next century" are  
>represented by the list of indigenous peoples in OMNI's article.
>
>
>-----------------------------------------------------------
>
>C. R. Selvakumar writes
>> ... When we see millions of dollars being spent to 
>> preserve living species (flora and fauna) ... should not
>> preserving every living language also be a high priority? 
>
>Please don't lament the millions being spent to save flora and fauna --  
>some of those dollars are, in turn, helping to preserve the lands which  
>indigenous peoples need to continue their lifestyles and those keep their  
>languages "living".  Maybe environmentalists buy "Rain Forest Crunch" to  
>save a rain forest, or buy organic cosmetics at the Body Shop to protest  
>animal testing, without ever realizing that they are helping to save  
>languages and peoples.  It's not so much the motive that matters, but the  
>result.
>

    I agree with you. What I meant was
    'when we have so rightly recognized the need for those other preservations, 
    should it be difficult to see the need for language preservation'. 
    In fact significant eco knowledge is with these people and in their
    languages. I admit my wording was not adequate. I was not lamenting, but
    rather was pointing out an example of preservation (!)

    Thanks for drawing attention to OMNI article, I hadn't seen it.

    -selvaa
    
>
>--
>----_/--_/----_/-------_/_/--_/_/----Opinions expressed herein are
>---_/_/------_/-------_/--_/--_/-----my own and do not reflect the
>--_/---_/---_/_/_/---_/------_/------opinions of Swiss Bank Corp.


