The Extinction of the World's Languages and the Erosion of Human Knowledge Harrison explores dying languages, how they differ from stable languages, Paperback: pages; Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (July
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- When Languages Die - Paperback - K David Harrison - Oxford University Press
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- When Languages Die: The Extinction of the World's Languages and the Erosion of Human Knowledge
The author showed the uniqueness of thought worlds that are lost once the last speakers of a language die. I felt that his case would have been stronger if he used more ethical arguments. Dec 24, May Helena Plumb rated it really liked it Shelves: It explores various topics in language diversity that are valued by linguist ic anthropologists.
Harrison is an excellent writer and has so many wonderful stories to tell. Apr 14, Russell rated it really liked it. Wide range of languages treated from various parts of the world. The question of what is lost when a language disappears is approached through the prism of folk traditions and the structures of interpretation that are unique to cultures and reflected in their linguistic mostly lexical systems. Mar 17, Nneoma Ibe rated it really liked it. Offers really insightful information about language extinction. This book really showed me how much we take for granted the dominance of our native languages, while pushing minority languages that have taught us many things to the back burner.
Dec 27, Ushan rated it it was ok Shelves: There are approximately living human languages. Of these, approximately are spoken by a total of 8 million people, or 0. Mostly these are tribal people living in isolated villages or on remote islands. As they join the global economy, watch television and listen to the radio, and go to school, they learn the dominant language of their country or province and start speaking it more and their tribal language less.
If they move to the city or marry outside the t There are approximately living human languages. If they move to the city or marry outside the tribe, they communicate with their spouses in the dominant language, and their children do not learn the tribal language. If children do not learn the language, then when their elders die, the language dies with them. The science of linguistics will suffer a loss: Russian has special cardinal numerals for masculine nouns referring to humans "semero" etc.
In American English, a man is likely to say "to piss" and a woman "to pee"; in the Native American language Arapaho, such common words as "hello" and "yes" are different when spoken by a man and by a woman. When a language goes, so does the folk taxonomy of animals and plants embedded in it, its special way of reckoning time and describing the landscape, and the tribal mythology recited in it. That the loss of a language is bad for linguistics is incontrovertible, but is it necessarily bad for the tribal people themselves? David Harrison mentions in passing that his grandfather was a farmer; he is an assistant professor of linguistics, an occupation that is more intellectually stimulating and better paid.
He did not follow in his grandfather's footsteps; who is he to ask the tribal people to follow in their grandfathers'? By the virtue of being fluent in English, Harrison has access to virtually all modern science and world literature; fluency in Russian gives you access to almost as much. The Tofalar people of the Irkutsk Province of Russia and the Chulym people of the Tomsk Province of Russia should be free to decide whether to revive their ancestral languages or to continue speaking Russian only; when an American professor visits them and persuades them to do the former, he demands that they make a sacrifice that he does not demand of himself; does he have the right to do it?
I don't know if K. David Harrison asks himself these questions, but if he does, this book does not mention it. Conservative newspaper columnist Thomas Sowell once met some Navajo schoolchildren and their white schoolteacher; the boys were ignorant of something Sowell thought is basic knowledge, and he surmised that this was because the schoolteacher taught what he thought Native American adolescents should learn, as opposed to all American adolescents. The white teacher confirmed that he did "promote Navajo culture as the vital foundation for personal growth" and claimed that this his activities make the boys "learn more about correct living [ Feb 16, Clint Dalrymple rated it liked it.
In this book, the author presents two problems with a common source, but not in my opinion a common solution: The loss of traditional language, and the loss of traditional knowledge. However, the author seems to have trouble at times distinguishing the two, and in the end doesn't really offer any solutions. As an example, the author describes a Siberian reindeer herding group who are giving up their language in favor of Russian. While the author is quite ready to explain in detail how the nativ In this book, the author presents two problems with a common source, but not in my opinion a common solution: While the author is quite ready to explain in detail how the native language is much better equipped for a life of reindeer herding, he ignores one linguistic truth - that if the speakers themselves felt that having a single noun to cover the concept of a 'two year old male unmated domesticated reindeer' made things easier, they would either bring the old term into Russian, or create a new term in Russian.
Since according to the author they are not doing this, it speaks to the conclusion that the native speakers see their whole lifestyle as something that is old and useless. The author also rather ignores that the loss of traditional knowledge and terms is happening in all languages, not just minor ones. If I asked a group of English speakers to bring me a 'Hairy fetlocked flea-bitten grey', how many of them would know that I was asking for a grey horse covered in tiny brown speckles, with large tufts of hair above its hooves? And while the author spends a large amount of time discussing the languages that are dying, the reader is left with an impression that the author is quite cynical of language preservation efforts.
Irish is presented as an odd anomaly, Cornish seems like an aberration, and not much is given on the other efforts. Jul 24, Jules rated it liked it. Clearly Harrison is very passionate about the subject of dying languages and the loss they represent to our collective knowledge and cultural history. And I agree with the essential fact that losing languages means losing a piece of our understanding about how the human brain can work and adapt to different environments and cultures.
At the same time, Harrison focuses so much on the detrimental aspects of language extinction, that he completely ignores the benefits of shared languages on spreadi Clearly Harrison is very passionate about the subject of dying languages and the loss they represent to our collective knowledge and cultural history. At the same time, Harrison focuses so much on the detrimental aspects of language extinction, that he completely ignores the benefits of shared languages on spreading peace and cultural understanding throughout the globe.
If we were all able to speak the same language, even if that language lost some of the efficiency and embedded knowledge of now-dead languages, I think we might gain more than we'd lose by being able to communicate and understand each other better. Jan 30, Davis rated it it was ok Shelves: A relatively interesting read about some unusual features of smaller languages or some usual features used in new ways.
The author does make a point in that we can lose ever getting a full range of what language is capable of if these languages are to die, something that could have untold effects on how we view cognition and such, but I think in the last chapter or so he went quite overboard with the linguistic relativity, citing Boroditsky, whose work is often criticized, and whose seminal stud A relatively interesting read about some unusual features of smaller languages or some usual features used in new ways.
The author does make a point in that we can lose ever getting a full range of what language is capable of if these languages are to die, something that could have untold effects on how we view cognition and such, but I think in the last chapter or so he went quite overboard with the linguistic relativity, citing Boroditsky, whose work is often criticized, and whose seminal study -- the bridge one -- has, to my knowledge, yet to be published in an academic journal or at all 15 years later, and whose other works have slightly flawed methodology that fails to take into account cultural difference, among other things.
That said, still an interesting read.
When Languages Die - Paperback - K David Harrison - Oxford University Press
I think the title pretty much said it all. I'm not sure the details of what happens when a language is lost are that interesting or important. Although I am glad someone is taking note and studying the phenomena. Or maybe I only want to be entertained nowadays. The main concept is that a language represents not only a people but a world view which when lost narrows our available choices for knowing reality. CS Lewis explored a similar idea in an article that examined the fewer areas of knowledge I think the title pretty much said it all.
CS Lewis explored a similar idea in an article that examined the fewer areas of knowledge and historical wisdom is lost now that England's higher education no longer requires Latin. Sep 03, Darcey rated it really liked it Shelves: A quick read, but an enjoyable and valuable one nonetheless. The varieties of small case studies mixed with an even balance of technical information while not overwhelming it with technical language makes this an understandable and accessible book regarding the consequences of language death and the value that languages have - no matter how small their group of remaining speakers - in contributing to our world and worldviews.
Apr 18, Wendy rated it it was amazing Shelves: I can't stop thinking about this book. It is, as my friend Emily Doolittle put it, a book "almost too sad to read," but it is also too urgent NOT to read. When Languages Die is clearly written book about a fabulously complex topic. It is, to oversimplify it, a book that seeks to illustrate the void: Nov 04, Laurel L. Perez rated it really liked it. A unique look at what language is, does, and what kinds of knowledge are lost when we don't write down orally based languages.
When we lose language, we often lose survival knowledge, and what about the gaps between languages. This book brings up a lot of important linguistic issues that I think escape most.
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Jul 20, Solveiga rated it liked it. A nice case by case study book, rooted in fieldwork on different endangered languages. Accessible to people without much linguistics background, and has nuggets of data for people who have linguistics training. It were almost great, but has too many redundant passages.
Apr 28, Anand rated it really liked it.
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This is a tremendous empirical work that anyone interested in linguistic-anthropology must read. The simple manner in which the author has explained the reasons why people need to hold on to their language leaves even a layperson, reading a technical topic, satisfied. Apr 07, Sophia Ramos rated it liked it Shelves: Read this for a linguistics class.
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There are certain aspects of it that are really interesting, but mostly each chapter is a parroting of the one that came before it. And as if that weren't enough, it does feel very much like a guilt trap, which is never fun to read. Feb 22, Bethany rated it really liked it. Read most of this, but unfortunately not all. Mar 20, Dianna rated it really liked it. An important work - Very useful for anyone in humanitarian work, the social sciences, or just those who care about indigenous and First Nations peoples.
Apr 16, Michael ODonnabhain rated it really liked it. I learned a lot from this book, although it did take me a while to get through it. Harrison's passion for language diversity is clear and I share his enthusiasm. Dec 30, Jessie rated it really liked it. This was an incredibly interesting read, and it would have been 5 stars instead of 4 if the author hadn't blamed language extinction on literacy activists.
That part had me fuming. Jan 10, Sarah Rodriguez rated it it was amazing. I had to read this for a college class, and I loved this book. I kept my copy and enjoy re-reading it. Oct 08, Jenna rated it really liked it. I was very engaged by Harrison's writing style. He fueled my desire to preserve and revitalize languages.
When Languages Die: The Extinction of the World's Languages and the Erosion of Human Knowledge
When we grieve dying languages because their are aspects we haven't thoroughly exploited And how harmful is it to humanity that such knowledge is lost forever? Harrison spans the globe from Siberia, to North America, to the Himalayas and elsewhere, to look at the human knowledge that is slowly being lost as the languages that express it fade from sight.
He uses fascinating anecdotes and portraits of some of these languages' last remaining speakers, in order to demonstrate that this knowledge about ourselves and the world is inherently precious and once gone, will be lost forever. This knowledge is not only our cultural heritage oral histories, poetry, stories, etc. Harrison's book is a testament not only to the pressing issue of language death, but to the remarkable span of human knowledge and ingenuity. It will fascinate linguists, anthropologists, and general readers. A World of Many Fewer Voices 2. An Extinction of ideas about Species 3.
Urban Nomads of Mongolia 4. An Atlas in the Mind Case Study: Wheel of Fortune, and a Blessing 5. Counting to Twenty on your Toes Case Study: Worlds within Words Bibliography Index. As a linguist and specialist in Siberian Turkic languages, he has spent many months in Siberia and Mongolia working with nomadic herders and studying their languages and traditions.
His work on endangered languages is featured in the documentary film The Linguists and was featured on the Comedy Central series The Colbert Report. While much effort and money are now being spent to stem the loss of plant and animal species, the human tragedy of language loss is receiving little attention. This movingly written and fascinating book tells why languages are vanishing, and what we can do to save our linguistic heritage.
Rich in details yet surprisingly easy to read, When Languages Die shows what we are losing. Harrison explores dying languages, how they differ from stable languages, how they encode cultural information that is lost with them, how their speakers behave, and much more. He tells a fascinating and tragic story of immense drama.
Lightfoot, National Science Foundation.
Harrison's book focuses on the intellectual loss from the sum of human knowledge that such language death represents.