What can strike someone more than the fact that 473 languages are currently close to extinction and in America alone, and that 182 are endangered? These statistics should make all humans consider the fact that diversity is no longer a thing, and that English is the most dominant language. Language is an aspect that makes humans unique individuals in the world and it allows them express their identity, but when languages are being endangered that means there is a threat to identity. Over the years language has been used to pass knowledge from generation to generation, to express the variety of the customs and literature of our different territories, but political and social aspects in America cause languages to disappear. Communities often
…show more content…
The Navajo language is spoken primarily in the Southwestern United States, especially in the Navajo Nation political area. It is one of the most widely spoken Native American languages. While looking at the causes of why the language may have disappeared a look back in history shows Navajo lands were initially colonized by the Spanish in the early nineteenth century. This area was taken as part of the Spanish colony of Mexico. Shortly after the Mexican American war took place, the United States acquired these territories in 1848. As a result, when the English speaking settlers moved they allowed Navajo children to attend their schools. In efforts to assimilate the children, school authorities insisted that they learn the English language and practice Christianity. The process was a continuation because the students grew up and had children of their own, they often did not teach them Navajo, in order to prevent them from being punished from authorities in the schools.. Rapid shift to English is evident even among speakers of the healthiest indigenous languages such as Navajo, who were historically among the slowest to become bilingual. According to Crawford (1995), “As late as 1930, 71 percent of Navajos spoke no English, as compared with only 17 percent of all American Indians at the time.The people who speak Navajo in the home remains substantial—148,530 in 1990, or 45 percent of all Native American language speakers (Census …show more content…
Linguistic major Kangas(2009) says, “ Linguistic and cultural diversity on the one hand and biodiversity on the other hand are correlated, where one type is high, the other one is usually too, and vice versa, even if there are exceptions”(13). This quote emphasizes the fact the the loss of language affects everything else because culture depends on language, so when languages are lost the overall cultural diversity and population diversity is also lost. Along with that David (2010) says that,
“ Language represents the most creative, pervasive aspect of culture, the most intimate side of the mind. The loss of language diversity will mean that we will never even have the opportunity to appreciate the full creative capacities of the human mind”.
This quote definitely brings out the significance behind
The Navajo language is spoken primarily in the Southwestern United States, especially in the Navajo Nation political area. It is one of the most widely spoken Native American languages. While looking at the causes of why the language may have disappeared a look back in history shows Navajo lands were initially colonized by the Spanish in the early nineteenth century. This area was taken as part of the Spanish colony of Mexico. Shortly after the Mexican American war took place, the United States acquired these territories in 1848. As a result, when the English speaking settlers moved they allowed Navajo children to attend their schools. In efforts to assimilate the children, school authorities insisted that they learn the English language and practice Christianity. The process was a continuation because the students grew up and had children of their own, they often did not teach them Navajo, in order to prevent them from being punished from authorities in the schools.. Rapid shift to English is evident even among speakers of the healthiest indigenous languages such as Navajo, who were historically among the slowest to become bilingual. According to Crawford (1995), “As late as 1930, 71 percent of Navajos spoke no English, as compared with only 17 percent of all American Indians at the time.The people who speak Navajo in the home remains substantial—148,530 in 1990, or 45 percent of all Native American language speakers (Census …show more content…
Linguistic major Kangas(2009) says, “ Linguistic and cultural diversity on the one hand and biodiversity on the other hand are correlated, where one type is high, the other one is usually too, and vice versa, even if there are exceptions”(13). This quote emphasizes the fact the the loss of language affects everything else because culture depends on language, so when languages are lost the overall cultural diversity and population diversity is also lost. Along with that David (2010) says that,
“ Language represents the most creative, pervasive aspect of culture, the most intimate side of the mind. The loss of language diversity will mean that we will never even have the opportunity to appreciate the full creative capacities of the human mind”.
This quote definitely brings out the significance behind