The Preservation of Indigenous Languages

Welcome back fellow language enthusiasts!

I just realized. I haven’t posted anything since last year! ba dum tss. Since I wrote last, my understanding of the English language has furthered progressed, as in my figurative, linguistic pilgrimage, I travelled through the darkest regions of the Internet to discover the appropriate and correct ways to use a comma. Upon stumbling the cleverly titled “Comma Sutra,” I have become well acquainted with the grammatical tool and am now as well equipped with it in the same way Indiana Jones is with a whip.

Remembering the traditions of this hallowed archive. It is time for the first WOW word of the year, which in my opinion is quite a fun one to say. The word, “ubiquitous” describes something that is present everywhere. An example of this would be, Joshua’s ubiquitous writings were celebrated around the world! 

Now this task was prefaced with a formal tone, therefore from this word on the tone of this post will have transitioned from colloquial to proper.

Recently in class, we read an article published by Times magazine titled, Back to Babel. A coherent theme throughout the article was the precedence language takes in defining a culture as well as the detrimental effects that can, and have occurred when one has “died.” The question posed to us in regards to this was: What is the value of preserving indigenous languages? An equivocal question, my thoughts in regards to this matter are ambivalent, as I both recognize the positive virtues brought forth from the preservation of indigenous languages while maintaining the belief of their preservation being not entirely obligatory. 

Indigenous languages are very esoteric. In the case of aboriginal languages, the rich vocabulary is centric to describing the natural world. Many of these words, which may be considered idioms in the English language, are specialized. So in this way the value of preserving these indigenous dialects are rooted in their arcane applications that though extraneous to much of the modern world, are intrinsic to that people’s way of life, and an inherent part of their culture. Additionally, indigenous languages provide increased diversity, promoting rich cultural diversity, being ubiquitous in traditions, art and other autonomous-routine activities. A loss of this would surely affect a culture’s rich heritage but in my opinion an innocuous effect.

Indigenous languages in my opinion are not a quintessential part of a culture but instead an accessory of it. A supplement, that as mentioned, provides further depth and allows for a greater heritage. A loss of this would not mark the end of a culture or even a people but instead a facet of which was no longer relevant. Progression is an intrinsic part of society, Latin, a now dead language inspired many other languages, but the end of it did not have detrimental affects on the respective cultures it was apart of. Relating back to the concept of cultures, cultures are multifaceted and are composed of many aspects, with each being pertinent to the other but at the same not inextricable. Traditions and ways of life can continue without the integrity of their heritage being impinged upon, but instead developed and progressed in a way that is sustainable for the future.