Author Topic: Language Death (Read 4744 times)

Jonathon · « **Reply #25 on:** January 24, 2008, 08:04:13 AM »

I definitely believe in documenting languages. It does seem rather futile to try to keep people speaking a language that they have no incentive to keep alive otherwise. Eric Bakovic wrote a good post on Language Log about this problem a couple weeks back.

Noemon · « **Reply #26 on:** January 24, 2008, 09:22:54 AM »

Agreed.

pooka · « **Reply #27 on:** January 24, 2008, 11:31:16 AM »

So is the blog agreeing or disagreeing with the review of the book? I got confused.

Jonathon · « **Reply #28 on:** January 24, 2008, 11:34:46 AM »

It sounds like he thinks the book is worth reading overall, though he agrees with some of the criticism and says it's made him think about how he'll teach things in the future. At least that's what I got from it.

Farmgirl · « **Reply #29 on:** January 24, 2008, 02:03:34 PM »

Yes, I heard that on the news yesterday (about the link Noemon posted) , as well, and felt somewhat as Goofy voiced -- this is just the progress of time. No language will stay static, and languages have always died off, or morphed into other forms. I'm more sad about her being the last full blooded Eyak, than the last speaker of that language.

But overall -- we don't really want the hands of time to stand still, do we?