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7th grade reading & vocabulary
Course: 7th grade reading & vocabulary > Unit 3
Lesson 1: Building knowledgeWelcome to the Living Tongues unit!
Languages change a lot over time and are influenced by culture, historical events, technological advances, and more. These factors also cause new languages to evolve, and, sometimes, cause existing languages to become extinct. Today, linguists are working to preserve some languages that are in danger of disappearing; although not everyone agrees that this is worth the effort.
In this unit, you will:
- Learn about endangered languages, and languages that have a relatively small number of speakers worldwide
- Consider the role languages play in society
- Think about why people are making efforts to preserve languages
By:
- Watching videos that explain different approaches and strategies for reading
- Reading and answering questions about literary and informational texts
- Learning new academic words
In order to answer the essential question: What is the value of preserving languages?
Want to join the conversation?
How many languages are extinct?(14 votes)
Upvote if you love food!🍕🍔🍟🌭🍗(11 votes)
If a language is becoming extinct because no one is using it, why do people even try to preserve the language? They can just archive it and move on, am I right?(2 votes)
That's essentially saying the same thing as "The pandas are endangered. Eh, why try to save them, we've got grizzlies instead."
Language preservation is hugely important because languages contain a unique aspect of a culture within them. Lose the language, and you lose some of the cultural and linguistic diversity that give us the perspectives that improve our understanding. Languages give us insight into various cultures and how they function, and when you lose the language, you lose things like information given by oral tradition, as well as the culture's way of expressing itself. Losing a language is akin to losing a species.(17 votes)
- how do rats speak(5 votes)
- How many languages are in danger of going extinct(5 votes)
According to World Economic Forum, "There are 7,000 documented languages currently spoken across the world, but half of them could be endangered, according to a new study. It is predicted that 1,500 known languages may no longer be spoken by the end of this century."(1 vote)
- well what if we were in a war and we needed to use a different language so they dont know or plans(3 votes)
Hi Patrick Andrade!
Perfect question and scenario! During World War 2 (specifically the Pacific Theater), the Japanese were able to crack every code that the U.S. were trying to send and even if these codes were sent safely, it would take many hours to actually decipher it. So, they used a different language called Navajo. These brilliant people, called "Navajo Code Talkers", were able to create codes for specific phrases or military tactics. It was also much more easier and efficient to use and decipher much more quickly. Also, Navajo was a key advantage since back during World War 2, Navajo wasn't a written language. Instead, it was spoken instead. They had to use sound to be able to truly decipher the codes that were being sent. For more information, I have sources that I sourced from.
Sources :
(1) https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2001/winter/navajo-code-talkers.html
(2) https://www.csmonitor.com/1997/0107/010797.home.home.2.html
(3) https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/american-indian-code-talkers(4 votes)
- how are my poop made(3 votes)
What languages are in danger of despairing(3 votes)
not everybody agrees its worth saving but... it would not even be that much work if we just, archived it right? or am i wrong?(3 votes)
