Alex, Are you suggesting that a spoken minority language might actually become endangered because it doesn't have an online presence? A vast majority of these minority languages don't even have a writing system. I'd be interested in any studies you've come across that specifically mention internet use as a factor in language loss (and I'm not sure that UNESCO article has anything to do with this idea). Joshua Joshua Raclaw - PhD student Department of Linguistics University of Colorado at Boulder Quoting Alex Kuskis <alex.kuskis@netscape.ca>: * Nils, * "You can never understand one language until you understand at least * two." -Ronald Searle (1920- ) * * * * That quotation might be debatable. What is not is that the major languages, * especially English, dispersed world wide via the Internet, are putting * pressure on minority languages far more than previous electronic media such * as TV (see below). So, it's not just a matter of language adaptation, but * rather of survival. German will adapt and survive, as will other major * languages like French and Spanish. They will be interesting case studies. * But aboriginal languages worldwide are threatened, as are many in Africa and * South America, which is a loss of cultural diversity (as suggested by the * Safir quote someone posted). Yes, for better or worse, English has become * the lingua franca, more so than Latin or French ever were.........Alex * Kuskis * * Minority languages at risk: UNESCO * Last Updated Tue, 21 Feb 2006 15:54:11 EST * CBC Arts * More than half of the world's nearly 6,000 languages are in danger of * disappearing, pushed aside by dominant languages such as English, UNESCO * warned Tuesday. * A group of linguistic specialists gathered in Paris Tuesday for a conference * marking the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural * Organization's sixth annual International Mother Language Day. * When a language dies, "it's a vision of the world that disappears," UNESCO * director general Koichiro Matsuura said, according to Agence France-Presse. * Delegates at the conference discussed new initiatives to protect linguistic * diversity worldwide, including a plan for an Italian museum dedicated to * languages and the elevating of the African Academy of Languages to a more * significant role in the African Union. * Participants, who included delegates from Europe, Africa and Latin America, * shared stories about the difficulties faced by those who speak minority * languages. * Former Iceland president Vigdis Finnbogadottir, who led the country as its * first female president from 1980 through 1996, also presented the 2005 * Danish documentary In Languages We Live - Voices of the World, which * examines the impact of disappearing languages through the stories of * individuals. * This year, the conference also looked at the specific issue of linguistic * diversity on the internet. * "It is not necessary that these [minority] languages disappear under the * weight of others," said Musa Bin Jaafar Bin Hassan, president of the General * Conference of UNESCO. * "They should be means of expression that live and exist alongside the major * languages of the world." * http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2006/02/21/unesco-languages-disappear.... * * Alex, * you just indicated why English speaker indeed * should learn another language, or why it is not * such a bad idea, despite the fact that all the * others do speak some form of English... the * reasons to learn a language go beyond love or * curiosity... to speak or understand a language - * not the same thing necessarily - also means to * understand a culture, or is at least a gateway to * begin to understand... language also transports * meaning and culture.. * * "The Internet * is not static, continues to evolve, mostly out of the English- * speaking realm where it's so integrated with the culture, " * * if this is true for the Internet, then other * languages may give a hint on how these adapt to * this technology, how they see the world etc... * also we all can communicate with English as a * lingua franca, we may not understand the other * rightly.. * * just a thought.... * * best * nilz * * >The downside of all this for the English-speaking * >world is that it reinforces mono-lingualism and language * >chauvinism. It's admirable to learn a language for love or curiosity, * >but the fact is that most people do it for economic advantage and * >up until recently, English speakers haven't had to. * * -- * Dr. Nils Zurawski * Universität Hamburg * Inst. für kriminologische Sozialforschung * Allende-Platz 1 * 20146 Hamburg * Germany * tel. +49 (0) 40 42838 6185 * fax. +49 (0) 40 42838 2328 * * Projekt zu Videoüberwachung: http://www.surveillance-studies.org * * _______________________________________________ * The air-l@listserv.aoir.org mailing list * is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org * Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: * http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org * * Join the Association of Internet Researchers: * http://www.aoir.org/ *