Language Death

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Preface......Page 9
1 What is language death?......Page 13
The language pool......Page 14
The size of the problem......Page 23
Levels of danger......Page 31
Conclusion......Page 36
2 Why should we care?......Page 39
Because we need diversity......Page 44
Because languages express identity......Page 48
Because languages are repositories of history......Page 52
Because languages contribute to the sum of human knowledge......Page 56
Because languages are interesting in themselves......Page 66
Conclusion......Page 78
3 Why do languages die?......Page 80
Factors which put the people in physical danger......Page 82
Factors which change the people’s culture......Page 88
Conclusion......Page 100
4 Where do we begin?......Page 103
Establishing the top priorities......Page 104
Fostering positive community attitudes......Page 114
Promoting the authenticity of the whole community......Page 127
Seeing language as part of culture......Page 131
5 What can be done?......Page 139
The role of the linguist......Page 156
The revitalization team......Page 166
Conclusions......Page 175
Appendix: some relevant organizations......Page 179
References......Page 182
Index of dialects, languages, language families, and ethnic groups......Page 194
Index of authors and speakers......Page 197
Subject index......Page 200