The Ekegusii Projects - Presentation (part)
COPYRIGHT: KENNEDY M. BOSIRE, 5- 2007
Preamble
Introduction to world languages
Language statistics
Extinct language
Endangered languages
Living languages
Ekegusii
Facts and figures
Missing data
The way forward
Revitalise now
Ekegusii Encyclopaedic projects
Community support
World Languages’ statistics
What is a language?
How do languages come to be?
How many languages are spoken in the world today?
What is the % Share of each language?
How many are active?
How many are moribund?
How many are endangered/imperilled?
How many are known to have been extinct?
How many are world, vibrant and growing languages?
Language, Values, Culture and Traditions
Who are “a people”
What are peoples’ values?
What is a people’s culture?
What are people’s traditions
How is language related to a people’s values, culture and traditions?
What happens when a language dies?
Language status and dynamics
Can a language grow?
Can it die?
Can it be killed?
How can it be murdered?
Can a language be resurrected?
Can a language stagnate?
How can a language be preserved?
Are all languages under any threat?
So what if a language dies?
Endangered languages
What is an endangered language
Why, how is a language endangered?
Safeguards against endangerment
Whose duty is it?
Language preservation
Why preserve a language
What is language revitalization?
How can a language be preserved?
Language Revival?
Who is/should be involved? What are the key elements?
Ekegusii language
Abagusii – Current population
What % percentage speaks fluent original Ekegusii?
What % know it just shallowly?
How many can read & write it correctly?
How many do not know it at all
How many may never ever learn or know it?
How many are interested in learning/knowing it?
World Languages’ statistics
6,500-7000 living languages (Ethonologue of the world)
330 languages each have 1m speakers
Median size language spoken by 6,000 speakers
Each country's % share of language (Endangered language repository attached)
50% endangered/imperilled
World Languages’ statistics cont.
96% spoken by 4% of the world’s population (UNESCO Paris 2003)
750 near extinction or already extinct
10 top languages
Chinese - 1.08Billion >
English > Hindustani > Spanish > Russian >Arabic > Bengali > Portuguese> Malay-Indonesian >
French- 0.129 Billion
Endangered languages:-Causes of language shift
Parents push children to learn prestige language thinking that they can only learn one language.
Economic factors- when a wage economy starts to replace an Agricultural economy
Education
Employment
Business
Politics
Language preservation
Not all languages are under threat of extinction especially top 10 and most world languages
Why preserve a language? Because of what it is
Revival:- The rescue of a dead language e.g. Hebrew
Language revitalization:- The rescue of a dying language.
Language preservation:-Collect and record a wide range of linguistic phenomena in genuine communicative situations
Written (Hard copy)
Sound &video recording
Language preservation cont.
Prevent loss of culture/way of life
A language dying is more significant than the death of an animal or plant
Unique creation of human beings goes from the world and with it
Facets of that society’s culture
Language to tell their world, stories, recount their past, their way of life etc
Preserve people’s identity
Many people feel that their language expresses their identity.
Prevent loss of information about plants and wildlife
Those that helped them predict seasons, used as food, medicine, type of soils etc
Language status & dynamism
Languages can grow e.g.. English language that is ranked 2nd most spoken language in the world...
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THE EKEGUSII ENCYCLOPEDIC PROJECT
dONLINE EKEGUSII ENCYCLOPEDIA |
