Endangered Languages of South American Indigenous and More


Written by: Jenna Corrice


 https://www.livescience.com/30366-atlantic-forest-jungle-brazil-ecosystem.html



Around the world there are many languages that are spoken, some natural some artificial. There are many more than just the main ones that are so widespread, such as English, German, Spanish, as well as others. There are a great many of these that are indigenous. Of these indigenous languages, there are a vast amount of them that are endanger. Endanger of going extinct. A language is thought of as extinct when there are no longer any people who can speak it.
There are many aspects of indigenous languages that are important. For one, there is a social importance. The shape of a culture influences the language and the language influences the people right back. Every single human language has a uniqueness to it. They may have similarities, and or come from the same linguistic group, but they are still solely themselves and how a culture has evolved, changed, and endured can be seen in the development of the language. Not every language is able to express the same meanings as another, not entirely at least. There are things, as the saying goes, that get lost in translation (AL#2).
In South America there are many languages spoken. Not all indigenous, but a vast majority of them are. Many of the people living there bilingual or even multilingual. With this vastness there is a danger of many of these languages dying out, going extinct. Whether from societal pressures or something else they are in danger. Tehuelche,  Pacarhaura, and many others are in danger if something is not done to help them (AL#4). In Brazil there are many indigenous languages that are spoken, around a hundred and sixty of them. Of that number, there are too many that are in danger. There are at least forty-two that are known to (AL#1). After an estimate taken in 1993, it was found that around seventy-five percent of the languages that were spoken over the territory of Brazil five hundred years ago were no longer there. They were gone, dead, went extinct. With around forty-two of the one hundred sixty to one hundred eighty being endangered, that percentage could rise quickly (AL#2).
Another thing about indigenous language that shows the tragedy that would be if they went extinct, is its scientific and educational importance that they present. Language shows an instrumental role in a culture’s development, maintenance, and transmission. Anthropologically, it gives a unique way in which the researcher can look at and understand the many aspects, both basic and intricate, of a culture. It covers knowledge of taxonomies like plants, animals, human beings; as well as, health, society, religion, mythology, and many, many more. Understanding a people’s language is a large step towards understanding them as a whole, or at least knocks down a sort of barrier that could be a hindrance (AL#2)
There are many ways and practices that can be done in order to preserve and save these dying languages. Some may work better than others, and ideas need to be adapted and changed when dealing with different groups, but there are ways that it can be done. One way is to utilize the ever-evolving technology to help preserve them. This is already being done in some ways, the Inupiat creating a video game in order to help spread their culture and to spark interest in it is one example (AL#3). Technology can be used to not only write down the languages, but to also record the sounds that are made by the people. There are an innumerable number of videos on YouTube that are of people teaching others how to speak languages and use the proper grammar. This can be done with the endangered languages. The languages can be preserved, and even if it somehow it dies out, though that is not the hope, it will have the possibility of being revived and brought back. There sites, apps, and programs that people use in order to learn new languages; DuoLingo, Rosetta Stone, and more. These can be used in order to better educate people on the language and make it easier for people to learn.
Other things that could be done are increase awareness of these languages, as the Inupiat people did create video games and books and more that will allow for people interest to be brought to the cultures and their languages by extension (AL#3). When I was younger, my interest was sparked by a fictional series, while it centered around classical mythologies, it gave me something to be interested in. From there, I looked more into the mythologies and went into some of the history that surrounded it. With an aspect towards the language, it made me interested in learning about Latin and more.





Sources
1.       http://memoria.ebc.com.br/agenciabrasil/noticia/2003-05-04/brazilian-indigenous-languages-danger-extinction
2.       http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-44502014000300447
3.       https://www.hcn.org/issues/48.21/can-this-video-game-make-alaskas-inupiat-more-visible
https://www.daytranslations.com/blog/2018/09/know-some-of-the-critically-endangered-languages-of-south-america-12353/

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