Endangered Language, Knowledge Loss, and Sustainability

Speaker: K. David Harrison, PhD.

Time: 4PM MONDAY OCTOBER 9

Location: DEY 402

Sponsored by: The Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and the Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies

Dr. Harrison is a professor of linguistics at Swarthmore College. (http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/dharris2/)

Abstract: Of the world's nearly 7,000 known languages, the majority are endangered, and up to half may disappear in this century. Most languages remain unwritten, undocumented by science and cannot be recreated once lost. How, where, and why do languages vanish; what do we stand to lose; and what are scientists doing about it? This talk addresses four key aspects of language extinction. First, the distribution of languages across space and populations is highly uneven. Mapping global hotspots of linguistic diversity is proposed as an efficient way to identify areas of critical endangerment. Second, we consider who abandons languages, when, and why. What are the demographics of endangerment and factors driving the disappearance of languages? Third, languages are shown to serve as repositories of traditional knowledge that contribute to human survival and ecosystem management. Specific domains of human knowledge are packaged in languages in such a way that they cannot be readily transferred when a community switches to speaking a global language. Fourth, each language with its grammatical quirks provides unique insights into human cognition. The ability to understand and explain the architecture of cognition is diminished as the number of languages decreases.

For more information, please contact Caleb Baker at caleb_baker@unc.edu.