Death of Language
The Death of Language
LNG 310 Sounds of Language
The Death of Language
As time moves past us, many things go through change. Language is always changing and taking on new forms. There are more than 7,000 languages spoken in this world but by 2100 more than half of those languages may vanish (National Geographic, n.d.). Many areas around the globe have been labeled as Language Hotspots. In these hotspots, languages are near extinction. There are a few Language Hotspots in the United States that we as American’s should know about and strive to help preserve. The Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages and the Enduring Voices Project has taken up a leading role in documenting these indigenous languages that are threatened by extinction. These people travel all over the world and to these Language Hotspots to conduct documentations of endangered languages. One Language Hotspots in particular is Oklahoma-Southwest which includes Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico (Anderson & Harrison, 2007). It’s important to learn what these endangered spoken languages are, how many speakers are left of these languages, what the cause of endangerment is and what is being done to preserve these languages.
One question about this group of people and their language is, where is the language spoken? The indigenous language of Euchee or Yuchi is spoken in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. The tribes who spoke the language were forced to move from Tennessee to Oklahoma in the early 1800s (Anderson & Harrison, 2007). And the United States Government placed the Euchee Tribe under the Mukogee Creek Nation in Oklahoma (Saving the Language, n.d.).
Another question about this language is how many speakers are left, and what is causing this language to die out? As of 2005, only five elderly members of the Euchee tribe are known to fluently speak the language (Anderson & Harrison, 2007). Since then two known members of the Euchee tribe have died (Saving the Language,
LNG 310 Sounds of Language
The Death of Language
As time moves past us, many things go through change. Language is always changing and taking on new forms. There are more than 7,000 languages spoken in this world but by 2100 more than half of those languages may vanish (National Geographic, n.d.). Many areas around the globe have been labeled as Language Hotspots. In these hotspots, languages are near extinction. There are a few Language Hotspots in the United States that we as American’s should know about and strive to help preserve. The Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages and the Enduring Voices Project has taken up a leading role in documenting these indigenous languages that are threatened by extinction. These people travel all over the world and to these Language Hotspots to conduct documentations of endangered languages. One Language Hotspots in particular is Oklahoma-Southwest which includes Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico (Anderson & Harrison, 2007). It’s important to learn what these endangered spoken languages are, how many speakers are left of these languages, what the cause of endangerment is and what is being done to preserve these languages.
One question about this group of people and their language is, where is the language spoken? The indigenous language of Euchee or Yuchi is spoken in Sapulpa, Oklahoma. The tribes who spoke the language were forced to move from Tennessee to Oklahoma in the early 1800s (Anderson & Harrison, 2007). And the United States Government placed the Euchee Tribe under the Mukogee Creek Nation in Oklahoma (Saving the Language, n.d.).
Another question about this language is how many speakers are left, and what is causing this language to die out? As of 2005, only five elderly members of the Euchee tribe are known to fluently speak the language (Anderson & Harrison, 2007). Since then two known members of the Euchee tribe have died (Saving the Language,
References: Anderson, G. & Harrison, D. (2007). Global Language Hotspots: Northwest Pacific Plateau. National Geographic. Retrieved from At Risk: The Yuchi Language Oklahoma (n.d.) Cultural Survival. Retrieved from http://www.indianyouth.org/images/stories/site_images/pdf_files/Yuchi-Cultural-Survival.pdf Euchee Language Project (n.d.). Cultural Survival. Retrieved from http://www.culturalsurvival.org/current-projects/%5Bfield_program-raw%5D/euchee-language-project-1 Grounds, R. (2011) The Yuchi House: A Storehouse of Living Treasure. Retrieved from http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/united-states/yuchi-house-storehouse-living-treasure Leutwyler, K. (2000). Preserving the Yuchi Language. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=preserving-the-yuchi-lang National Geographic. (n.d.). Losing Our World’s Languages. Retrieved from: http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/enduring-voices/ Saving the Language (n.d.). Racing Against Time to Preserve the Euchee Language. Retrieved from http://www.indianyouth.org/euchee.html