Alien Languages (food for thought)

[maksimsmelchak]

Some people cherish their heritage, which includes language. That's why we see efforts to preserve languages in Europe, France being the exception - Occitan is looking pretty endangered right now.

While there'll always be a few dominant international languages, with one ascendant, unless there's a concerted effort to stamp them out then there's every chance local languages will likely continue.

One the other hand, there is the example of modern Hebrew, which is a "Lazarus language" in many ways. It was a liturgical language and now it is certainly a vernacular language. It is now an everyday spoken language in wide print and usage.

There is certainly a movement towards seeing many languages go out of use, but with modern learning and preservation methods, many languages that looked as if their would go extinct, are now surviving and prospering. The language of the Isle of Manx. Modern Irish. Many Asian languages that Chinese conquerors had once tried to stamp out. Coming back... LOL

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

 

[BlackBat242]

Last night, on PBS, I saw a performance of Shakespeare's Troilus & Cressida, performed in the New Globe Theater, in London (in 2012).

By an acting troupe from New Zealand.

An all Maori acting troupe.

Who performed in traditional Maori costume.

With traditional Maori dance/actions.

In the Maori language!


Said language having been in danger of becoming "dead" in the 1970s, with fewer than 20% of the ~750,000 Maoris being considered "native speakers" in the early 1980s - but supportive legislation and restoration efforts have increased that to 24% in 2009, and the number is even higher now.


As long as "cultural identity" movements continue, there will always be small groups that are fluent in an obscure language as well as the dominant language(s) of the species.


Part 1 (of 2) of a Maori-language overview (with English subtitles) of the creation of the performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88kZQWsPazE

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktvwosrhzt4