Comments on: All That is Solid Melts Into Air — Including Our Words

By: accendere23

accendere23 — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 04:47:40 +0000

I am really touched by this story. It made me think of all the millions of different dialects that there must be in our world, and how each one developed and integrated with other dialects to form new ones. It is pretty cool. I am bilingual and the language from my relative’s hometown is really old. It is sad to say, but I think that within a few decades it is going to be in a steady state of decline. More people are beginning to speak English – which on the one hand is great because it can bring everyone together, but at the same time is deadly to the other dialects which are already dying.

By: pennstate420

pennstate420 — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 04:35:19 +0000

The issue of languages disappearing throughout the world is one which I have mixed feeling about. On one hand, if all people spoke the same language, communication would be unhampered and many cultural walls and barriers held up by language differences would come crashing down. However, language holds special significance for its speakers, whose ancestors’ ways of life and integral cultural practices are deeply seeded in its roots.

Language is a means to communicate and exchange information about our surroundings our world, and our lives. If you want to know what a culture was like and what it valued and prized, you need only to look at the culture’s language. For example, the farming Haunoo people of the Philippines have words to describe 10 standard and 30 derivative types of soil. This allows them to communicate information in distinct ways that we, lacking these descriptors, cannot. With all of the significance and distinct cultural information embedded into the essence of each language we cannot allow them to simply disappear. The push towards globalization has not spared language. In fact, they are disappearing at a rate of one every two weeks! When you think about this, it is an absolutely staggering statistic. Many of the languages have survived for thousands upon thousands of years and are know dying out, leaving these languages and the people who spoke them covered in a cloak of obscurity. While many of these languages probably are “unnecessary” and do not need to be spoken or used daily, it is our responsibility to learn what we can from them before they are gone, and along with them, our opportunity.

While language holds much significance and information, much of this can be adapted and retained without holding on to the actual language itself. Global interaction between people of different nations, ethnicities and language groups has never taken place at such a high rate of speed or efficiency. However, it has been taking place since the beginning of civilization, and the ease of intercommunication we see today is partly the result of competition between languages spoken by these interacting civilizations. Since the average language is spoken by only 6,000 people, it is good to have languages like Spanish and English with large speaking bases to facilitate international trade and business.

By: sublime7143

sublime7143 — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:56:40 +0000

I think this is extremely interesting and something that we do not often think about. Throughout the course of history, this problem happens time and time again. Cultures become extinct as they assimilate into the majority and with that, go their customs and languages. It can be traced back to the bible times, when there were empires from Egypt or Italy, and even further. As these large powers overtook smaller nations, they wiped out the individualism and put their own customs in place.
As the world changes and becomes more modern, cultures either grow into what is happening or risk becoming extinct. They are forced to develop or be left behind. With them goes their individuality and stories that can only be expressed in their native language. As these cultures are essentially “left in the dust”, so are their stories, contributions, and learnings.
We often forget that where we come from as a society, came from the cultures before us. Without their influences, the world would be dramatically different than what it is today. Although American society is not directly related to the Egyptians, because of their developments, we are able to live the lives we live.
Granted there really isn’t much anyone can do about it. This is how the world operates and has operated for thousands of years. Societies become extinct and a part of history and new ones develop from the ones that exist. This is just how it works and how things evolve. Nothing can stay forever, everything is always changing
It is interesting to relate this to the story of the Tower of Babble and how it is theorized that all these languages were formed. In this story, there were many people trying to build a tower and there was a communication problem that caused the tower to fall. Because of this, God gave everyone their own language so they could not communicate as the tower fell. Naturally, the version I am telling of this story is off because I am not well-versed. But that is the basic gist of the story. Could it be possible that the languages are gradually going back to one distinct language that we will see in a few thousand years? That would be interesting to see.
Perhaps one day, all the languages will roll-up and transform into a new language with elements from each. English with Spanish and some Chinese here and there. Who knows? It’s possible.
I do think its great that before this woman died, she was studied and her words were recorded. At least there is a record of this language and of what it meant to these people. It may be lost, but never forgotten.

By: emilyhuff

emilyhuff — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:25:07 +0000

I think that this article is really eye opening. It is such a shame that all of this history, even from this one language, has been laid to rest. I have a hard time even thinking about what may happen one day when my native language, English, is gone. Hopefully, however, that wont be for a very long time. It is hard to believe that this Bo language isn't going to be ever spoken again. I often wonder why there isn't a scripture of this language or why this lady that just died didn't teach it to anyone in her community, because she knew she was going to die someday. She was 85 years old when she died and her people the Bo tribe had been around for 65,000 years. That is a crazy amount of time for a culture to set in and then with the blink of an eye, its gone. As people hear the news of this language dying and how it will continue to happen in the future, by saying that by the time I'm gone, another 7,000 languages will be too! It’s easy enough to say well let’s just teach the next generation and they can pass it on, but the world is different now and clearly that’s easier said than done. It was even more upsetting to read about how Johnny tried to teach to the rest of the tribe but he just can’t because “they say they want to learn it, but when it comes time to do the work, nobody comes around”. Unfortunately, as sad as it was to read that, I completely believe it, people are lazy. I myself would say I have an interest in learning this language, but would not really dedicate myself to it, but then when the last person speaking it dies, I would feel shameful. People seem to care less and less about culture and our ancestors and history and more about the future, which leads me to believe that this article is just another reason to believe that as technology continues to grow, the importance of culture in our society just dwindles. The rapid growth of technology is sort of devastating because it’s clear there is so much out there to learn but everyone just is stuck on their own little technologically advanced worlds.

It’s just sad to think that all those people who spoke the Bo language were never able to spread their culture and teach others about their lives and their history for future generations, this is something, that if I knew about before, I would have been very interested in.

By: blp5094

blp5094 — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:41:35 +0000

I can’t even imagine being the last person alive speaking a certain language. The fact that half of today's known languages will be extinct by the time we die is crazy to think about. This article was very interesting to see how lives are affected and how people's entire culture seem to come to an end if a language dies. However, I also believe that we are lucky that we speak English and that it is one of the most spoken languages in the world. More and more people are stopping to speak their original language and starting to pick up newer more popular ones, which is usually English. This could be due to all the ways of communication and advanced technology like computers, cell phones, and television. Years ago individuals would usually only talk to people around them geographically. All these people would speak the same language, so there was really no need to try to learn another language. A great amount of Native American's culture, lifestyle, beliefs, heritage, and history from the beginning of existence have died and with no living heir left to carry on the tradition and the language. It is said how a Native American tribe and a Bo language will never be heard again. It is a shame that languages like Boa Sr.'s are becoming lost, and there must people who are trying to preserve these languages before they are lost forever. This article was also kind of upsetting because so many of those cultural ideas were never written down. They were simply passed on only by oral tradition. Their beliefs and traditions are now never going to be heard of again. Language is the first thing you learn as a child and will remain that way because of the importance of communicating to others. It is truly unique if you speak another language, however I can see how in today’s society that could make communication very difficult. Everyone wants to speak the most superior language in order to get ahead in society. I think most people overlook how language is the extremely important to understanding different cultures. I can't imagine how it must feel to have one's language and culture die along with you.
I think that language is a very important role in all of society. It's what brings cultures together and to unite so we can all be in understanding of each other. It is difficult to succeed in any country where the most popular language is not what you were raised to learn. Personally, I am not sure what we can do to prevent other languages from becoming extinct. Hopefully some people will hear about this and realize how important it is to pass down their languages if they are in danger of becoming extinct.

By: explrr16

explrr16 — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:36:38 +0000

I guess I never really took the time to think about the extinction of an entire language. I did not even know that was possible. Aren’t there scriptures and other records of the language that people can still speak if they wanted? I do not know how that works but it really is something interesting and strange to think about. It is not something I have ever heard about, and it’s cool that it came to my attention now. Does this mean that English may one day no longer exist? Or does the fact that we have so many records of it prevent that from happening?

By: msh5190

msh5190 — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:17:51 +0000

I came across this article a few days ago on my own and thought about this because it is very weird to think that this particular language will never be spoken again—at least by a native of the language. It’s strange to think that the entire population that spoke a language has been wiped out. If this were the case for another language, such as English or Spanish, which would probably never happen, people would be fully aware. It is very sad that an entire language will no longer be practiced because of one woman who has passed away. I understand that the language was not widespread, but knowing that people used to speak this language, and now it is gone is alarming and quite disturbing.

By: Dlj13

Dlj13 — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:13:31 +0000

Language is something that I never gave that much thought towards because it was always just been there. It’s crazy to think that a language can just disappear like that. Until now the only language I knew which was known as the language of the dead was Latin. Although after reading this article and seeing that clip it really hits me how crazy it is that languages disappear and never reemerge. That might sound dumb but it in a way blows my mind that something that has been around for so long can just be gone like that. This occurred by just one person passing away. The thing that I’m stuck on is that did this woman not have any relatives that she could teach this to, so that this wouldn’t have happened? I understand that maybe her death wasn’t known prior and it was sudden. But she was an older woman that has been around speaking this same language, so how did no one pick up on it? Just think if this were to happen to the English language, in the future there could be another dominant language that pushes English to the side and eventually fizzles out. That’s crazy it will be right there next to the Bo and Latin language.

By: mmillen

mmillen — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:50:26 +0000

I think this article is really interesting and I have never really thought about languages and how they can actually die out. At first I was like, who cares, it is not that big of a deal- there is just one less language in the world. But after reading the article, there is a lot more than that. No, it is not an issue that will significantly affect us, but it is something to think about and it is just very interesting. If anything, like Sam said, it is just a sentimental issue. Maybe I am just too much of a girl and I think it is sad that no one will hear the Bo Language again and the many languages across the world that are dying out. Yet, the article said some very true things. Since no one has learned these people’s language, no one will ever know their history and background. Language carries so much importance and because of language we are more easily able to share knowledge with one another. If languages are dying out, we will never be able to learn about the history of some tribes or areas or groups of people. We will never learn about their myths, feats, or rituals. This is a sad issue because it is just like forgetting a group of people ever existed. Also, the article talks about how when we understand forgotten languages, we are taught their language and learn to understand what they experienced. It says, “As the last speakers converse, they spin individual strands in a vast web of knowledge, a noosphere of possibilities. They tell how their ancestors calculated accurately the passing of seasons without clocks or calendars. How humans adapted to hostile environments, from the Arctic to Amazonia.” Since languages are being lost and forgotten, people will never be able to learn about people who inhabited our world before us, learn how they survived, what they learned, and what went on in their lives. This is something that I think would benefit us. Of course, if no one cares about learning someone’s language, it is not going to happen and things will be lost and forgotten, and the world will still continue to go round and we will still continue to advance and happily live our lives. But, like Sam said, there is some sentimental value to knowing that languages and people will be long forgotten and never fully understood because their ancestors did not care to learn their language and carry on their memories, traditions, knowledge, or stories. I think we would be better off to at least gain some knowledge of these random languages, but then again, if people do not care, they will not do anything about it.

By: JulietaVenegas

JulietaVenegas — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 23:22:41 +0000

This is not the first time that I have thought about this topic. Back when I was in middle school, I had to do a report on a country of my choice. Due to some family ties, I chose to do Ireland. I became fascinated with the Gaelic language because it is so old and so beautiful. A couple of years later I even went as far as trying to find out if it would be possible to take Gaelic as a class at Penn State or to possibly learn it from a private tutor. I soon discovered that it is really difficult to do either of those simply because it’s considered to be a “dying language.” This of course saddened me but made me realize that it couldn’t possibly be the only language that was considered to be dying. Language fascinates me and I really wish that I were one of “those people” who can pick up a foreign language with ease simply so that I could learn a dying language. It seems so strange that something like a language could die out, but at the same time it’s also a clear indication of progression. From a overall corporate standpoint, I can see the advantage of having fewer languages because then your product or services can then be marketed and sold to a greater number of people using the same language. But at the same time, the diversity of languages is one of the things that make the human race so beautiful. I mean, even if you don’t understand a language, you can still appreciate the complexity and beauty of it. And for something like that to just be…. gone…. I simply can’t imagine it.
When you think about it, language is one of the things that preserves us when we die. The words on our tombstone, the words that our friends and family members use to tell stories about us… and if that language were to ever die, so would the concrete meaning behind them. Of course there’s always translation, but that’s never the same. Just ask someone who has read the same book in two different languages. Often times the main points are the same, but because sometimes there aren’t direct and exact translations for every single word, the meaning behind everything changes slightly.