Essay On Ecological Diversity.

Is It Important to Preserve Linguistic Diversity

Language is the human ability to acquire and use complex systems of communication. Language is one of the most important parts of any society, because it enables people to communicate and express themselves. The scientific study of languages is called linguistics. There are between 5,000 and 7,000 languages in the world. The exact number of languages could not be stated as there is no proper distinction between language and dialect. The large number of languages is the result of various factors for example historical or political movements, Economic movements, social and cultural identity, education, religion and many more.
This large number of the available languages in the world is better known as linguistic diversity; however majority of living languages are on the verge of extinction, which has in turn made the linguistic diversity one of the most debated topic of the world. Some feel that there is no point investing their time, energy and money in preserving the linguistic diversity while others feel that preserving linguistic diversity is very important. An effort to protect a language in such a way that it does not become unknown is called as language preservation.

Languages express identity
Languages are repositories of history
Language contribute to the sum of human knowledge
Languages are interesting in themselves
The above reasons not just help us to understand the importance of linguistic diversity, but they also help us to relate with the very need of preserving it. If a language dies then it is not just the loss of a language alone moreover this in turn is loss of inherited knowledge. Language helps in transmitting various cultures, also it focus attention on the people and their history who have used them. Linguistic diversity is not less important than ecological diversity. As Krauss (1992: 8) says: “Surely, just as the extinction of any animal species diminishes our world, so does the extinction of any language.”
Since we have clearly stated the importance of linguistic diversity along with the importance of preserving it, now the problem arises that “How actually it needs to be preserved?” To answer this I must say that there are various possible solutions to this problem. One proposed and easiest way could be that the native speakers of the language could be encouraged to teach the language to their younger generation and this needs to be a continuous process. This way is only limited to the communities that are affected and whose language are about to become extinct. But on broader prospective a lot of effort needs to be put, not just by communities or the individuals but also by the various organizations, which could be supported by public funds. Public funds could be utilized to raise awareness about the issues of language extinction and language preservation by the use of internet and various other technologies such as podcasts. To preserve the original form of the language, technology could also be used. The techniques which are used to preserve the oral history could also be used to preserve the spoken form of languages. Some people might argue on the use of public fund in this task however, by raising various awareness campaigns regarding this would not only help them to understand the need of doing it but it would also encourage them to support this essential task.

References

Crystal, D. “Language Death." Cambridge University Press (2000)
Krauss, Michael. "The World's Languages in Crisis". Language (1992; 8)