A Cause For Concern

A Cause For Concern Subject of language and identity, which leads to the death of a language, if language dies. Language and identity comes under my course, part 1, under language and cultural context. On the 4th of February 2010, while browsing through BBCs website I stumbled upon a captivating and according to me a very sad article. It read last speaker of ancient language of Bo dies in India, Boa sr.s story saddened me, she died at the age of 85 and for almost thirty years she didnt have anyone to converse with in her native language. Imagine not being able to use English for thirty years, you loose the freedom to express in your first language. As a journalist I knew what it meant for the world to loose a language, its disheartening, in essence a piece of history and culture is lost, I believe it is as important to preserve and save a language as it is to save and preserve the environment, but everyone is not aware of the adverse affects language death can cause. As a journalist, I thought of it as my moral responsibility to throw light on language death and its adverse effects. Thus, I wrote this article and decided on publishing it in a newspaper as it would reach a larger gr oup of people and educate them on why they should preserve their native language. Language death Approximately 7000 languages exist in todays world and this number is rapidly dwindling, is it a cause for concern? As globalization spreads around the world, it is natural that smaller communities would like to move out of their seclusion and seek interaction with the rest of the world. The number of languages dying is sorrowful. People naturally tend to shift their language use due to globalization and they leave behind their native language if it is not spoken by a lot of people. Asking them to hold onto a language they do not want anymore and preserve it, just for the sake of linguists and not the community itself, it is a bit too much to ask for, isnt it?But theres actually more to it than what meets the eye. Why fight this? A national geographic study states that every 14 days a language dies. By 2100 more than half of the languages spoken on the earth may disappear, taking away with them a wealth of knowledge on world history, culture and natural environment. Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going. Rita Mae Brown This quote by the American writer Rita Mae Brown gives us an insight into why preserving a language is of importance. A language defines a culture, through the communities who speak it. Every language has words that portray a particular cultural practice or idea, when translated into another language, the precise meaning might not come across. What we essentially lose is cultural heritage. The way of expressing the relationship with nature, with the world, it is also the way in which people express humor, their love, their life; most importantly communicating effectively with family is lost. Languages are living, breathing organisms holding connections that define a culture. When a language dies a culture is lost. Because of the close links language and identity share, if an individual or group thinks of their language as useless, they think of their identity as the same. This could have adverse effects; it could lead to depression, drug abuse and social disruption. And as parents no longer pass on their language to their children the connection between grandparents and children is lost which leads to traditional values not being handed on and theres a vacuum that remains where people for generations realize they have lost something. Many languages are in danger of extinction that have rich oral cultures with stories, songs, and histories passed on from generation to generation, but with no particular written form. Much of what us humans know about nature is encoded in oral languages. For thousands of years now native groups have interacted closely with the natural world and have insightful understanding on local lands, plants, animals, and ecosystems. Many still are not documented by science itself. Therefore studying indigenous languages proves to be beneficial while learning about the environment and conservation. Sanskrit is one such ancient language that is loosing its prominence and its speakers decreasing everyday. It was said to be the mother of all languages. Sanskrit is not practically used and maybe that is one of reasons of its decline but I believe it should be conserved because of the traditional values it possesses and because of its richness in culture. Take for instance Arthashastra, it is an Indian treatise written in Sanskrit which deals with statecraft, economic policy and military strategy it was written all the way back in 4th century BC. These concepts are not new and modern, they have been around for a long time now, if we do not conserve Sanskrit we will loose all of this valuable knowledge and also lose a piece of history. Another such language dying out is Palenquero. Palenquero is thought to the one and only Spanish-based Creole language in Latin America. Fewer than half of the community speaks it. It is spoken in the village of San Basilio De Palenque. Many children and young adults understand the language and pronounce a few phrases, which is a great sign as the village of San Basilio De Palenque is trying to preserve its language and spread it, the villages resilience is commendable. Looking at the village of San Basilio De Palenque other communities whose languages are endangered, should take inspiration and not loose hope in their endeavor to save their language. Why do languages die out though? Throughout history, the languages of powerful groups and imperial countries have spread while the languages of the smaller cultures and groups have become extinct. This happens due to official language policies and also the allure of speaking a highly prestigious global language such as English. These trends explain why a small country like Bolivia would have more of language diversity rather than a big country like the USA. As big languages spread, children whose parents speak a comparatively smaller language tend to grow up learning the more dominant language. Those children may never learn the smaller language, or they may just fail to recall it as it falls out of use. These trends have occurred throughout history, but what is alarming and worrying is the rate at which languages are disappearing, it has significantly accelerated over the recent years. Associations and initiatives such as Enduring voices, Living tongue, and the endangered languages project by Google are trying to preserve language and that is a sign of hope. The organizations that are involved and that have come up with these ideas are national geographic and Google. The death of a language is an indication of a human crisis: the loss of a store of wisdom, the sense of a community being thrown away. As we try to stop global warming and save the environment, we should also try and save our languages, as they are an integral part of our heritage.

Drug Legalization Essay -- Papers

Drug Legalization Drug abuse has progressively, over the last thirty years, become a tool for crime organizations and bureaucracies, independent and under the control of the federal government, used to transform drug addiction into a profit through the passage of countless laws against drug abuse. Gore Vidal's assertive essay communicated his belief that drug addiction should be legalized in order to ensure the eventual well-being and individual freedom guaranteed to Americans by the constitution. When drugs were made illegal, freedom of choice for Americans was chiseled away by the hard-hammering central government. Many agree with Vidal in that drugs that are now illegal would be just as dangerous and addictive if they were legalized while abusers would get what they deserved given that they are aware of the often deadly aftereffects of drug use. Among Vidal's several points stated was the universal entity of "the big picture" ,so to speak, which provided the idea that drug abuse would be impossible to stop within a short time. In his first paragraph, Vidal stated this and gave the suggestion that drugs be labeled, with warnings, and sold at cost which would require "heroic honesty" among potential users as well as the labelers. This idea progressed into his third paragraph in which the subordinate concept of the natural rights guaranteed under "the pursuit of happiness" clause present the preamble of the constitution was introduced. He stated that each man should have the right to do as he wishes as long as it does not interfere with his neighbor's pursuit of happiness. When drug abuse interferes with the happiness of others, the interference, not the drug abuse, should be what is assessed under the power of the law... ...our forefathers and for which so many million courageous souls have sacrificed their lives to protect and to preserve. In order for drug legalization to gain public support, it must first be put into a grand perspective by people who are intelligent and in power which further adds to my belief and Gore Vidal's belief that drugs will never be legalized because the most intelligent people are obviously not in power at the moment. Perhaps, if drugs were legalized, the inept abusers of drugs would slowly over time be weeded out through natural selection and the remaining persons would learn from the mistakes of their predecessors and a sound foundation would be laid for our descendants. This situation is, of course, idealistic and will never become a reality unless the human race survives long enough to live out the condemnation to repeat forgotten pasts.

Internet Makes Life Better Essay

Nowadays, with the development of the Internet, our life becomes more convenient than any time in the past. With the click of the mouse, you can find everything on the Internet including shopping, communication, entertainment, study, and so on. Do you know how many percent of people on the Earth have access into the Internet? – 21% In the United States, 74% of American adults use the Internet. 94% of students in the US are using the Internet. 60% of American adults use broadband connections at home.55% of American adults connect to the internet wirelessly, either through a WiFi or WiMax connection via their laptops or through a handheld device like a smart phone. Because of the Internet, we can do shopping without going to the store which is located far away. Online shopping is the process whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time, without an intermediary service, over the Internet. It is a form of electronic commerce. We can talk with a people who are away 10,000 miles with high quality of voice and images. Brought us closer to people those are in another part of the world: video calls with Skype, Online support calls so I don’t have to drive 2 hours to a client site. Telephone: Voice over IP or VOIP Besides, we can find tons of information by one click on Google.com, Yahoo.com, and so on. Other conveniences of the Internet: Online banking. Driving Directions .We can work or study from anywhere in the world. In conclusion, I believe the Internet makes life better. I cannot live one day happily without Internet.

The Blockade Of The United States Essay - 741 Words

On March 5, 1861, William Henry Seward was appointed Secretary of State by Abraham Lincoln. Seward convinced President Lincoln to establish a blockade around the major Southern seaports. The blockade was put into effect shortly after the attack on Fort Sumter. On April 19, 1861, Lincoln issued a proclamation for a Union blockade to surround South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Later on April 27, Lincoln extended the blockade to include the states of North Carolina and Virginia. The blockade’s purpose was to stop the flow of trade goods, weapons, and supplies between the southern states and other nations. This war tactic placed an enormous amount of pressure on the Confederate states. Since the Union blockade â€Å"prevented the importation of supplies in proportion to the demand† there was an increase of â€Å"prices placed upon goods of domestic manufacture†. Southern states were denied revenue since the blockade wa s stopping the exportation of cotton to European countries. The prices of goods in the Confederacy was already high in order to finance the war and to accommodate the influx of refugees pouring into Richmond. The increase in prices went hand in hand with the growing scarcity of food supplies. Since the beginning of the Civil War, Richmond was heavily taxed. Many of the citizens of Richmond tried to help assist the refugees, but the decrease of business resulted in a decrease in income. For example, coffee was considered as aShow MoreRelatedLincoln Ordered A Naval Blockade Of The United States1024 Words   |  5 PagesIn late April, after the beginning of hostilities at Fort Sumter, Lincoln ordered a naval blockade of the states that has succeeded so far. 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