Lost and Changing Languages
I really enjoyed the article “The Indo-European Language�. My parents have always loved to travel so I have been to many places around the world and heard many different languages spoken. The idea of a languages being “lost� seems so sad. Think of everything a language does for the world. There are things that have been invented and stories that have been told that wouldn’t be possible without ever language that has ever been. I also thought a lot about the people that spoke the “lost� languages. The words they said or wrote in their language can never be said or written again unless the language is reconstructed, but even then it isn’t ever going to be exactly the same as it was before. There is sadness in that thought, but there is also something very sacred in it too.
Chapter 13 in Finegan talked about the change of language over time. I think that the world is experiencing one of the greatest forms of language changing as we speak. The internet and technology is incredible. The information that we are able to get over the internet boggles my mind. Before the internet we invented if someone came across a newspaper or magazine that was in a different language the only way they would be able to read it was if they knew the language or knew somebody who could translate it for them. Now all we have to do is go to an online translator and the whole document can be translated in a matter of seconds. The wealth of information and culture that we can obtain simply by reading a translated newspaper from another country online is amazing to me.
Comments
I think you bring up a very good point about our current language situation. Technology will have major impacts on language, like it already has. Research can be done in any language and translation dictionaries are all on-line. It's even interesting to think about the language that has been produced from instant messaging and e-mailing and other forms of talking on the internet. There are different words and acronyms that stand for things that only those who are involved in that kind of communication will understand. My-space and blogging will continue to create a new language for the future of those that speak and communicate via technology.
Posted by: Tami Swanson | March 24, 2006 3:16 PM
I agree there is a sadness to see culture disappear and language with it. If you notice look at some of the older TV shows like “Nick at night� you will find that even in early exploration into that media you will notice speech patterns have changed to the form of how we speak now. If you look at ESPN many of the news casters will speak slang in the course of their show. So in many ways our language changes over time right before our eyes.
Posted by: Adrienne Lee | March 28, 2006 1:25 PM
i think it's sad that even now, some cultures are deciding to "lose" their languages on purpose, for economic, social, whatever reasons. it seems very un-sacred.
Posted by: ally carey | March 29, 2006 1:18 PM
Along the same lines of current language evolution, anxiety about losing English as a language in the U.S. seems rampant. I also have to respond to this based on yesterday's protests where Spanish speakers sang the "Star Spangled Banner" in Spanish to demonstrate their patriotism, despite citizenship, and for some, this elicited outrage. I find it interesting how much English has borrowed or been affected by other languages, and yet President Bush and other Americans seem to not know or understand this. If all Spanish cognates should be taken out of English according to outraged individuals, what about Latin, Greek, French...words? I think you bring up great points that are extremely relevant right now in the English language.
Posted by: Amelia Christianson | May 2, 2006 5:02 PM