![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
found on today's linguistlist
Mar. 26th, 2002 08:17 pm"On Friday, March 8, 2002, page W13, the Wall Street Journal
published an editorial by John J. Miller entitled: "How do you say 'extinct'?: Languages die, the United Nations is upset about this."
Miller's basic point is that promoting minority languages entails a "careless embrace of multiculturalism" that "gives short shrift to the interests and choices of people in tiny language groups." Miller makes many mistakes, including confusing language change with language death and, by extension, the death of entire language families with language change. He is dismissive of native culture, preferring the "reality" --his word-- "that most people would rather
eat a Big Mac than a fistful of beetle larvae." He says that the reason "some languages are disappearing is precisely that their native speakers don't regard them as quite so precious" as linguists make them out to be. He shows no recognition of the many factors ranged against minority languages [like say, getting shot if you speak a minority language, being beaten if you speak the minority language in school,etc--tae], and even against a "decision" about abandoning a language.
I have written a response, but it will probably not be published. If it is not, I may post it here. "
As someone who is trying in bits and pieces to study two languages facing language death--Gaelic and Yiddish--I can tell you, this John J. Miller guy has it backwards. Wanting to 'fit in' in a world where only some languages are used widely is only one of the factors of language death. Puntative legislation against speaking and learning the language (in the case of Gaelic) and literal death of a whole people (in the case of Yiddish)is a factor. Why learn if you are a speaker of a majority language? I started on it because it's fun to learn new words, new ways to talk about ideas, people, emotions, and I think I could learn something about people who came before me, who did not know English, who shared hopes, dreams, and ideas in these languages.
But such a one language, 'globalization' cheerleader like Mr. Miller probably wouldn't get that.
published an editorial by John J. Miller entitled: "How do you say 'extinct'?: Languages die, the United Nations is upset about this."
Miller's basic point is that promoting minority languages entails a "careless embrace of multiculturalism" that "gives short shrift to the interests and choices of people in tiny language groups." Miller makes many mistakes, including confusing language change with language death and, by extension, the death of entire language families with language change. He is dismissive of native culture, preferring the "reality" --his word-- "that most people would rather
eat a Big Mac than a fistful of beetle larvae." He says that the reason "some languages are disappearing is precisely that their native speakers don't regard them as quite so precious" as linguists make them out to be. He shows no recognition of the many factors ranged against minority languages [like say, getting shot if you speak a minority language, being beaten if you speak the minority language in school,etc--tae], and even against a "decision" about abandoning a language.
I have written a response, but it will probably not be published. If it is not, I may post it here. "
As someone who is trying in bits and pieces to study two languages facing language death--Gaelic and Yiddish--I can tell you, this John J. Miller guy has it backwards. Wanting to 'fit in' in a world where only some languages are used widely is only one of the factors of language death. Puntative legislation against speaking and learning the language (in the case of Gaelic) and literal death of a whole people (in the case of Yiddish)is a factor. Why learn if you are a speaker of a majority language? I started on it because it's fun to learn new words, new ways to talk about ideas, people, emotions, and I think I could learn something about people who came before me, who did not know English, who shared hopes, dreams, and ideas in these languages.
But such a one language, 'globalization' cheerleader like Mr. Miller probably wouldn't get that.
