"The Linguist"
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Wolran Kim
September 2013
Language is culture, life, and we in an instance. The death of language is the same as the death of culture and ultimately human life. Language and human life go along together. Linguistic diversity shows the range of human’s linguistic ability. Language contains history and geography; thus, the extinction of language is the same as destroying an entire library that holds all the historical documents. Language is the foundation of culture’s beginning and ending, so cultural diversity will be disfigured if only a small number of the mainstream languages survive after continued extinction of language.
Language and ethnicity, and language and culture, are a shared destiny. Giving priority to only particular languages would become cultural imperialism through the destruction of cultural diversity. Paying special attention to the minority languages of the world is based on truly understanding others’ beginnings with the recognition of their value in the globalization of diversity. Language is a tool of expressing their values and the base to understanding community.
Surprisingly, there are 7,000 languages in the world; however, those are becoming increasingly converged. More and more languages will be extinct if the movement of the population increases. If only adults use a language, the fate of the language is already decided. Based on this assumption, many linguists give warning about the tragedy of human history. Some say that 90% of the world’s languages may be disappear before the end of the 21st century. The reason for large-scale extinction is complex in the destroying of aborigines’ habitation, ethnic extermination, assimilation, and reducing of language users.
In reality, we cannot preserve all the languages in the world such that we cannot keep all the animals and plant species on the planet. However, we cannot overlook the message of alert about English hegemony, cultural imperialism, and colonialism. I would be daunted and fearful if my language, Korean, were on the verge of extinction just as Chulym, Chemehuevi, or Kallawaya are, because language is the basic source of life and spirit. Disappearing language means there is no future, and life and hope in reality will be extinct if there is no future.
Language lasts only when children are learning. The children may want to learn their parents’ language when they get along and adapt to home training. Children do not acquire a standard of value yet as adults do, so their parents’ lifestyle and effort will control their values and their way of life. In my case, I sent my two children to Korean school until they were in middle school, and I also tried to use Korean at home. However, they seemed to think the Korean language is only for their parents after middle school, because Korean was not useful at all in their school and social lives. Since their adulthood, they seriously feel the lack of a second language. I also have a lot of regret as their parent, who has a responsibility to teach my mother tongue to my children. It was not easy to keep this in mind amidst the hustle and bustle, stress of daily life, and laziness. We often transfer slow Korean conversations to fast English chatter.
Children may want to learn their parents’ language if they have a sympathetic relationship with their parents, and they have fun and receive benefits while learning. Enough conversation with their parents and basic curriculum should provide children through everyday life. Forced or simple learning and teaching systems may be stopped short-term. Children may not want to learn their parents’ language caused from the lack of communication with their parents and refusals of the learning method. Learning one’s parents’ language should be supported by the intimacy, love, respect, and relationship of the family because that language is their personal identity and the person itself.
This sign is selfish and opinionated behavior without any consideration and generosity in a multi-cultural society. Even people who do not speak English have the right to order and eat at restaurants. The recipient in the restaurant will have a hard time, but that should be accepted for their customers. Forcing the main language is no different from the discrimination of those with disabilities. Personally, I had a similar experience once; when my husband asked about the way to a Korean restaurant with perfect English to the owner of a gas station, the white man had replied, “If you want to eat your food, go to your country.” I never forgot that shocking answer from 20 years ago.
In this film, two linguistic scientists, David Harrison and Gregory Anderson, are looking for the tribes whose languages are on the verge of extinction in spite of their hard journey. They try to give them the courage and applaud them to keep using their language while journeying through deep mountainous areas. They also create opportunities for them through various cultural projects, and give hope and cheer on their children to keep learning their dangerous languages. The disappearing languages in the deep mountains do not matter to personal greediness or selfish hearts at all. However, this effort of scientists is priceless for the human future in this globalized world that needs to be concerned about diversity and coexistence.
==============
Wolran Kim
September 2013
Language is culture, life, and we in an instance. The death of language is the same as the death of culture and ultimately human life. Language and human life go along together. Linguistic diversity shows the range of human’s linguistic ability. Language contains history and geography; thus, the extinction of language is the same as destroying an entire library that holds all the historical documents. Language is the foundation of culture’s beginning and ending, so cultural diversity will be disfigured if only a small number of the mainstream languages survive after continued extinction of language.
Language and ethnicity, and language and culture, are a shared destiny. Giving priority to only particular languages would become cultural imperialism through the destruction of cultural diversity. Paying special attention to the minority languages of the world is based on truly understanding others’ beginnings with the recognition of their value in the globalization of diversity. Language is a tool of expressing their values and the base to understanding community.
Surprisingly, there are 7,000 languages in the world; however, those are becoming increasingly converged. More and more languages will be extinct if the movement of the population increases. If only adults use a language, the fate of the language is already decided. Based on this assumption, many linguists give warning about the tragedy of human history. Some say that 90% of the world’s languages may be disappear before the end of the 21st century. The reason for large-scale extinction is complex in the destroying of aborigines’ habitation, ethnic extermination, assimilation, and reducing of language users.
In reality, we cannot preserve all the languages in the world such that we cannot keep all the animals and plant species on the planet. However, we cannot overlook the message of alert about English hegemony, cultural imperialism, and colonialism. I would be daunted and fearful if my language, Korean, were on the verge of extinction just as Chulym, Chemehuevi, or Kallawaya are, because language is the basic source of life and spirit. Disappearing language means there is no future, and life and hope in reality will be extinct if there is no future.
Language lasts only when children are learning. The children may want to learn their parents’ language when they get along and adapt to home training. Children do not acquire a standard of value yet as adults do, so their parents’ lifestyle and effort will control their values and their way of life. In my case, I sent my two children to Korean school until they were in middle school, and I also tried to use Korean at home. However, they seemed to think the Korean language is only for their parents after middle school, because Korean was not useful at all in their school and social lives. Since their adulthood, they seriously feel the lack of a second language. I also have a lot of regret as their parent, who has a responsibility to teach my mother tongue to my children. It was not easy to keep this in mind amidst the hustle and bustle, stress of daily life, and laziness. We often transfer slow Korean conversations to fast English chatter.
Children may want to learn their parents’ language if they have a sympathetic relationship with their parents, and they have fun and receive benefits while learning. Enough conversation with their parents and basic curriculum should provide children through everyday life. Forced or simple learning and teaching systems may be stopped short-term. Children may not want to learn their parents’ language caused from the lack of communication with their parents and refusals of the learning method. Learning one’s parents’ language should be supported by the intimacy, love, respect, and relationship of the family because that language is their personal identity and the person itself.
This sign is selfish and opinionated behavior without any consideration and generosity in a multi-cultural society. Even people who do not speak English have the right to order and eat at restaurants. The recipient in the restaurant will have a hard time, but that should be accepted for their customers. Forcing the main language is no different from the discrimination of those with disabilities. Personally, I had a similar experience once; when my husband asked about the way to a Korean restaurant with perfect English to the owner of a gas station, the white man had replied, “If you want to eat your food, go to your country.” I never forgot that shocking answer from 20 years ago.
In this film, two linguistic scientists, David Harrison and Gregory Anderson, are looking for the tribes whose languages are on the verge of extinction in spite of their hard journey. They try to give them the courage and applaud them to keep using their language while journeying through deep mountainous areas. They also create opportunities for them through various cultural projects, and give hope and cheer on their children to keep learning their dangerous languages. The disappearing languages in the deep mountains do not matter to personal greediness or selfish hearts at all. However, this effort of scientists is priceless for the human future in this globalized world that needs to be concerned about diversity and coexistence.