Dying languages living in New York

[Lars77]

Run time: 02:36 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Iiq-x80gKI   Posted on YouTube: May 16, 2010 By YouTube Member: AlJazeeraEnglish Views on YouTube: 333   Posted on DU: May 16, 2010 By DU Member: Lars77 Views on DU: 957

 

[IndianaJoe]

1. Thanks for posting this.

Many languages die without ever being recorded -- a great loss to linguistics. Languages also encapsulate cultures. When a language dies, a great deal of human culture is lost with it.

I am from Indiana, the original home of the Miami Indian tribe. The last speaker of Miami died in 1964. The language, as a result, died without being properly described or documented. This was a great loss to the remaining Miami, some of whom are now trying to resurrect their language with the assistance of old word-lists, comparative linguistics, and language camps for the kids. The latter are inadequate substitutes for the real living thing. Thousands of languages are now moribund and most of them will die without study. It's a real shame. Our world will be a less interesting place as a result.

[geardaddy]

3. I read that during the filming of New World

they hired a linguist to create a reconstitution of Powhatan. Now the tribe is using it to teach the kids.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powhatan_language#Reconstitution_for_The_New_World

[IndianaJoe]

4. You might be interested in this:

It tells about the Myaamia Project to revitalize the Miami Indian language. I'm skeptical. Few truly "dead" languages have ever been successfully resurrected.

<http://www.myaamiaproject.org/index.html>

[geardaddy]

5. Cool. Thanks.

They have also been reconstituting Cornish, but I don't know how successful it is as a community language.

[geardaddy]

2. K and R

Thanks for posting.

[happygoluckytoyou]

6. cant wait until FOX NEWS is a dead language