Language: A legacy worth saving

The number of languages spoken across the globe currently stands at around 6,000 but this number is falling at an alarming rate. Language experts are rallying to save the world's endangered languages and with many of these only being spoken by a handful of people, it's a very tall order. But why bother? Why not just let a language die out with its last native speaker?

Arguments against spending resources on preserving the world's endangered languages are barely worth a mention, they don't extend much beyond the view which asks wouldn't it be easier if we all spoke English? The reasons we must preserve these dying languages are overwhelming, we just need to delve a little deeper to see why.

Most of the languages on the endangered list are at such great risk because there is no written record of them at all. They exist only on the tongues of the people who speak them and the language is lost forever the moment the last native speaker dies.

Knowledge of a particular culture is locked up in its language. Our friends in the UK may be familiar with the TV anthropologist Bruce Parry. Bruce's success in communicating and integrating with tribespeople the world over most certainly comes from the fact that he willingly takes part in the tribe's customs, no matter how dangerous or painful (letting the Sanema tribe in Venezuela blow hallucinogenic tree sap up his nose for instance) but I can't help thinking that the value comes in knowing why the tribe follows a certain custom, not just that they do. This knowledge can only be gained thanks to the translator who accompanies Bruce, allowing the tribespeople to communicate in their native tongue.

Whether language determines thought or thought determines language, a language can tell us a lot about the people who speak it, and when that language dies, with it we lose the identity of that group of people.

That might sound a little dramatic but language is a huge part of our identity. This is particularly true when many different languages and dialects are spoken within the borders of one country; often the language a person speaks is the only thing which can identify the particular community which someone belongs to.

A practical example of the link between language and identity is the use of language analysis by the UK Border Agency. The UK offers asylum to members of the persecuted Benadiri clan in Somalia who can be identified by their distinctive dialect, Af-Reer Hamar. When the asylum seeker has no other form of identification, their language and accent is used to determine whether they belong to the community which they claim to come from.

Of course, the language we speak carries much more value than allowing us to be identified by others as belonging to a certain community; it allows us the basic human need of self-identity and a feeling of belonging. There are unquestionably other things which contribute to a sense of belonging - religion, customs, work - but the language we speak is a constant expression and reminder of our identity. That's something worth saving, if you ask me.

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