Meadya Doski

Candidate number:
0009
Center number:
US619
John Overton Comprehensive High School
May 2016
Question:
Is there any value is preserving minority languages?
Word count:
1950

Today there is an estimated 7,000 spoken languages around the world, yet about half of
these are endangered for extinction and will die out by the end of this century (Wilford). In an
effort to salvage a special and beautiful form of communication, many people struggle in an
attempt to solve this issue. Some believe that it is inevitable for languages to "die" as this has
been the pattern for all of human existence. Languages and dialects are constantly changing and
people are failing to keep up with these changes. Different dialects are disappearing fast, almost
one every two weeks (Wilford), and with that we are losing culture, ways of thinking, and
history. From personal experience, I have seen this fear of a persons way of speaking to fade
away especially in America. This issue is mainly seen in indigenous and immigrant communities.
It affects many different types of people all around the world. For example, the Bikya language
spoken in Cameroon, the Ainu language in Japan, and the Apiaka language in Brazil*, all face
possible extinction. These three dialects are currently considered the most vulnerable. To be
exact, a minority language by definition is a language spoken by less than 50% of a population of
a region, state, or country (Pegg). It may seem that almost every language is part of that
definition, but not exactly. Some speculate if these minority languages are worth the trouble of
preserving, while others see it as a preventable issue that can be solved. The purpose of this
paper is to address endangered and extinct languages and the overarching trend of extinction that
is becoming common today.
How do people prevent a language from dying? Educating children on dying languages in
an attempt to save them is a great idea; however, it comes at a cost. Children of indigenous or
tribal speaking families are expected to lose their knowledge of their native tongues in school
despite efforts to save their language. Indigenous tongues are overwhelmed by the dominant

language at school (Wilford). If people want their kids to succeed in todays society, some
parents find it beneficial to allow their children to drift away from their tribal tongue. It would be
extremely difficult to get qualified teachers who also speak a specific language to properly
educate these children and prepare them for a future that could potentially find this knowledge of
use. Intergovernmental organizations, like the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU),
are in the midst of a great debate if protection of minority languages is a human right.
Even if some do agree that dying dialects are an issue, it may seem difficult to find a
solution. According to Rita Izsk, the UN Independent Expert on minority issues, the United
Nations is fully capable of giving protection to minority languages (Protection). She believes that
this protection is a human right. She defines language as a central element and expression of
identity and of key importance in the preservation of group identity. Rita Izsk works within the
United Nations in helping minorities receive protective care. Ms. Izsk has plenty of experience
in this field of politics; she has a masters in law from Pter Pzmny Catholic University,
located in Budapest, Hungary (Deri). Her position as of 2011 is the Independent Expert on
minority issues by the Human Rights Council. Keep in mind though, Izsk has a personal
connection to the issue, with a past of facing prejudice and discrimination. This past lead her to
the integral role she plays in the prevention of dying languages. She shows the importance in
maintaining traditions and cultures. Although many do not see the initial harm of a language
dying out, it can possibly come back into importance. By this I mean, we have seen at many
times historians struggling to interpret an old text, because of the languages in which it is written
is no longer spoken. Such as old Latin epics and poems that are so popular, there still is not a
straight forward translation of each writing. There are several different versions of the
translations, but how do we know it is correct?

Some countries have a long history of trying to prevent minority languages from
growing. A large example of this is Turkeys oppression of the Kurdish language. Egyptian
Journalist Nadeen Shaker writes that since Turkey's first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatrk in the
1923 laws have passed to ban languages other than Turkish from being spoken (Shaker). The
results of these laws caused difficult changes in education and everyday life. The Kurds in
Turkey make up 15 to 20 percent of the population and most did not speak Turkish (Shaker).
Increased tension and violence between the two groups led to these laws and also to the
endangerment of the language. However the "Language Ban Act of 1983, which mandated that
only Turkish be spoken in public, was lifted in 1991", and since then the new generation of
Kurds are strongly devoted to relearning their mother tongue. Though some may believe that the
endangerment of languages simply happens on its own, this shows that some truly believe that
other dialects do not deserve to be preserved or protected, especially when racism and
intolerance are involved.
With the United Nations attempting to make the protection of minority languages a
human right, the European Union also faces a strong debate on whether or not they too should
take serious action. Although Europe has more than 50% of its residents speaking at least two
languages fluently (Nardelli), it still deals with indigenous languages such as Finnish, Gaelic,
and Norwegian. Many would suspect that these languages are not endangering because of their
countries being developed. Most people in these countries speak English and languages outside
of its origin. However the European Commission states that the "national governments are the
main decision-makers on language policy" (Regional). The European Commission and European
Union cannot enforce linguistic minority protection, but can work with national governments in
dealing with its own specific issue.

The truth of the matter is that many people, indigenous or not, think if everyone spoke
one languagea universal languageit would be beneficial. It would make life a lot easier by
not having to deal with misunderstandings, whether it is daily life or politics. If a language were
to die out, it does not necessarily mean that the way of life that corresponds with that language is
gone too. This is a large concern in the debate of minority languages. There have been instances
where politicians have attempted to make this possible. In a more recent event, presidential
hopeful Rick Santorum in 2012 made a speech in the American territory Puerto Rico that the
island should make English its primary language if it wanted to became a state (Seelye). This
remark was met with lots of criticisms and chagrin from Puerto Rican citizens and officials.
Many times in the past there have been instances where politicians have tried to make English
the only spoken language in America. In the 1990s the English Only Movement also became
popular in mainland United States. Some Americans did not like hearing languages other than
English. Some even wanted political change, which never happened because democratically this
was always voted against. Fortunately this did not become as extreme as the situation in Turkey,
but the idea still exist today.
Many countries have voiced concerns facing their indigenous speakers to the Human
Rights Council in the United Nations. Countries like Australia, Russia, and Cameroon have all
shown that the multiple languages spoken within their nations have lead to conflicts between
these groups of people (Human). These countries have attempted to bring an end to conflict by
starting development projects to help create equal opportunity for all. The effort seemed just;
however, this lead to the decline of some of the minority languages previously spoken in the end.
A country that has effectively put effort in preserving a minority language, and also
received their desired results is China. As strife between China and Tibet worsened, all displays

of Tibetan culture were oppressed, especially language. In an effort to fight back, the China
Association for Preservation and Development of Tibetan Culture is meant to enforce the same
rights as others in the country while ending other issues they face. The association has been keen
on preserving the language by making it the "first digitized minority language in China". This
gives people who understand Tibetan access to a separate internet than other Chinese citizens
(Human). This is a great example of how it is possible to protect a language and its people with
no further issues. Another country that has done something similar is Finland. In Finland all three
languages: "Finnish, Swedish, or the Sami languages (an indigenous language) are taught in
schools. Under the new legislation, children who reside in Finland permanently, thus including
immigrant children, have both the duty and the right to go to comprehensive school where they
are exposed to and taught the three main languages (Press).
Although minority groups do face the issue of language endangerment, there are many
other problems they face that sometimes pushes the issue to language lower on the agenda. Most
minorities would agree that this is not a main priority to them. Issues, such as discrimination
which is dealt with everyday, are more dangerous, deadly, and are in more urgent need for
change than the way a person speaks. Izsk agrees that minorities "are frequently excluded from
taking part fully in the economic, political and social life of their countries", and this connects
with these groups attempting to learn and comprehend the language of their country (Special). It
is reasonable to think that it is done purposely for minorities to motion away from their mother
language, because it is human nature to feel connected and involved. For many minority
communities it is easier to abandon their language in an attempt to assimilate into the majority
culture than to preserve their language as well as absorbing another language and customs.

There is major value in preserving and maintaining tribal and indigenous languages, as is
described above. It is a clear moral issue, and every culture and tradition is unique and special. In
reality we cannot save every dialect, but efforts should always be made as a declining language is
often times indicative of a larger issue at hand. In the United States there are about 162
indigenous languages and 149 immigrant languages (Rhein). These languages are in competition
with each other to survive, especially Native American languages. With Kurdish being a
language spreading across the globe due to immigration, its speakers have to learn to adapt to the
culture around it. That means forgetting Kurdish and speaking a different one is becoming as
common practice. Many young Kurds are forgetting their mother language, and with that is a loss
of significant portion of culture. Language is a central element and expression of identity and of
key importance in the preservation of group identity (Protection). Although minorities do face
greater issues, this one should not be ignored. A great measure of intelligence is speaking and
comprehending other dialects than your own. Being knowledgeable in many different languages
not only is different, but it is also helps to develop a different way of viewing the world around
you. A direct translation of a speech is never fully right as many nuances and subliminal
meanings are lost in translation. As community-based organisms it is necessary for us to
understand and communicate with each other well in order to never lose any of our feelings and
thoughts in translation. Although we know languages are dying at an alarming rate, further
research is needed to make an effective solution as to how this issue can be resolved.

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