Definition and Examples of Language Death

Definition and Examples of Language Death Language death is a  linguistic term for the end or extinction of a language. Also called language extinction. Language Extinction Distinctions are commonly drawn between an endangered language (one with few or no children learning the language) and an extinct language (one in which the last native speaker has died).   A Language Dies Every Two Weeks Linguist David Crystal has estimated that one language [is] dying out somewhere in the world, on average, every two weeks (By Hook or by Crook: A Journey in Search of English, 2008). Language Death Every 14 days a language dies. By 2100, more than half of the more than 7,000 languages spoken on Earthmany of them not yet recordedmay disappear, taking with them a wealth of knowledge about history, culture, the natural environment, and the human brain. (National Geographic Society, Enduring Voices Project)I am always sorry when any language is lost, because languages are the pedigree of nations. (Samuel Johnson, quoted by James Boswell in The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, 1785)Language death occurs in unstable bilingual or multilingual speech communities as a result of language shift from a regressive minority language to a dominant majority language. (Wolfgang Dressler, Language Death. 1988)Aboriginal Australia holds some of the worlds most endangered languages including Amurdag, which was believed to be extinct until a few years ago when linguists came across speaker Charlie Mangulda living in the Northern Territory.(Holly Bentley, Mind Your Language. The Guardian, Aug. 13, 2010) The Effects of a Dominant Language A language is said to be dead when no one speaks it any more. It may continue to have existence in recorded form, of coursetraditionally in writing, more recently as part of a sound or video archive (and it does in a sense live on in this way)but unless it has fluent speakers one would not talk of it as a living language. . . .The effects of a dominant language vary markedly in different parts of the world, as do attitudes towards it. In Australia, the presence of English has, directly or indirectly, caused great linguistic devastation, with 90% of languages moribund. But English is not the language which is dominant throughout Latin America: if languages are dying there, it is not through any fault of English. Moreover, the presence of a dominant language does not automatically result in a 90% extinction rate. Russian has long been dominant in the countries of the former USSR, but there the total destruction of local languages has been estimated to be only (sic) 50%.(David Crystal, Language Death. Cambridge University Press, 2002) Aesthetic Loss The main loss when a language dies is not cultural but aesthetic. The click sounds in certain African languages are magnificent to hear. In many Amazonian languages, when you say something you have to specify, with a suffix, where you got the information. The Ket language of Siberia is so awesomely irregular as to seem a work of art.But let’s remember that this aesthetic delight is mainly savored by the outside observer, often a professional savorer like myself. Professional linguists or anthropologists are part of a distinct human minority. . . .At the end of the day, language death is, ironically, a symptom of people coming together. Globalization means hitherto isolated peoples migrating and sharing space. For them to do so and still maintain distinct languages across generations happens only amidst unusually tenacious self-isolationsuch as that of the Amishor brutal segregation. (Jews did not speak Yiddish in order to revel in their diversity but because they lived in an a partheid society.)(John McWhorter, The Cosmopolitan Tongue: The Universality of English. World Affairs Journal, Fall 2009) Steps to Preserve a Language [T]he best non-linguists can do, in North-America, towards preserving languages, dialects, vocabularies and the like is, among other possible actions, (French linguist Claude Hagà ¨ge, author of On the Death and Life of Languages, in Q and A: The Death of Languages. The New York Times, Dec. 16, 2009) Participating in associations which, in the US and Canada, work to obtain from local and national governments a recognition of the importance of Indian languages (prosecuted and led to quasi-extinction during the XIXth century) and cultures, such as those of the Algonquian, Athabaskan, Haida, Na-Dene, Nootkan, Penutian, Salishan, Tlingit communities, to name just a few;Participating in funding the creation of schools and the appointment and payment of competent teachers;Participating in the training of linguists and ethnologists belonging to Indian tribes, in order to foster the publication of grammars and dictionaries, which should also be financially helped;Acting in order to introduce the knowledge of Indian cultures as one of the important topics in American and Canadian TV and radio programs. An Endangered Language in Tabasco The language of Ayapaneco has been spoken in the land now known as Mexico for centuries. It has survived the Spanish conquest, seen off wars, revolutions, famines and floods. But now, like so many other indigenous languages, its at risk of extinction.There are just two people left who can speak it fluentlybut they refuse to talk to each other. Manuel Segovia, 75, and Isidro Velazquez, 69, live 500 metres apart in the village of Ayapa in the tropical lowlands of the southern state of Tabasco. It is not clear whether there is a long-buried argument behind their mutual avoidance, but people who know them say they have never really enjoyed each others company.They dont have a lot in common, says Daniel Suslak, a linguistic anthropologist from Indiana University, who is involved with a project to produce a dictionary of Ayapaneco. Segovia, he says, can be a little prickly and Velazquez, who is more stoic, rarely likes to leave his home.The dictionary is part of a race against time to revi talize the language before it is definitively too late. When I was a boy everybody spoke it, Segovia told the Guardian by phone. Its disappeared little by little, and now I suppose it might die with me. (Jo Tuckman, Language at Risk of Dying OutLast Two Speakers Arent Talking. The Guardian, April 13, 2011) Those linguists racing to save dying languagesurging villagers to raise their children in the small and threatened language rather than the bigger national languageface criticism that they are unintentionally helping keep people impoverished by encouraging them to stay in a small-language ghetto. (Robert Lane Greene, You Are What You Speak. Delacorte, 2011)

The House of the Scorpion Essays

The House of the Scorpion Essays The House of the Scorpion Essay The House of the Scorpion Essay The house of the scorpion The term extraordinary can apply to many things. The definition of extraordinary is an object that is â€Å"very unusual and deserving attention†. The House of the Scorpion deserves to be called extraordinary because it spins a masterful literary web that will not set you free until you finish the last page with a satisfied sigh. Because of the moralistic issues she cunningly weaves into the book, the excellent literary language, and her cautionary take on the future, Farmer will never disappoint her readers as she spins her dispute between right and wrong. There is a thin line between good and evil. Farmer delves into morally wrong issues, and brings our twisted inventions to the light. She poses questions of right and wrong of topics discussed today. Is it ethical to clone human beings? Is a human suffering, even though they are not aware of it? Farmer brings our worst fears into view and dissects them one by one. Even though we clearly see some things as bad and others as good Farmer gives a second opinion on these issues and makes us rethink our answers. Her take on right and wrong is exemplified by El Patron and Matt. One is clearly right, and the other wrong. But the reader cannot but feel that El Patron was to be sympathized with, such as when he pitifully repeats the tale of his dead brothers and sisters. Matt on the other hand at some times was to be despised at, such when he forced Maria to kiss him. Readers will be kept to the edge of their seat as she presents questions and answers and while at the same time causing ourselves to delve deeply into our hearts and find what we believe in. Readers will not be able to put down this book because of the thoughtful questions it provokes. Another one of the reasons why readers are recommended this book is Farmer’s literary style. While the plot is the bare bones of the story, the meat is what really makes the book worth reading. Her characters are the veins that give the book life as they flow richly from the pages. You can hear Celia and Maria laughing with Matt while Tam Lin indulgently watches on. You can practically feel the love between them as Tam Lin befriends the lonely despised clone, as Maria bypasses prejudices to love him, as Celia bravely defies El Patron by poisoning Matt’s heart. She cleverly describes her tale of a futuristic landscape in sweeping imagery, so real you can join in Matt’s horror when he finds out what eejits really are. Farmer has effectively enthralled readers because of the life she breathes into the book, transforming a set of simple bones into an extraordinary literary tale by infusing it with flesh, blood and a heart. The heart is what keeps people reading, and convinces people to read them; it is the heart that pumps the blood through the veins and lends animation to the bones. Farmer captures the workings of a heart and imbues it into her book making it a worthwhile read. Farmer keeps a firm grip on reality while presenting a real and shocking view on our world a hundred years into the future. She looks at arguments that plague our world now and imagine what will happen hundreds of years later. Some authors may see science fiction as a way out of reality, because literally anything can happen in the future. Farmer, however, gives plausible views of what could happen to us in our civilization if things continue as they do now. What she foresees is economic disaster, whales dying and whole oceans choked with pollution. She sees a life where everybody is running away from their life because reality is too harsh to face. She sees countries crippled because of drugs, mindless slaves working in the poppy fields. She sees everybody unable to face the truth because sometimes the truth is too hard to bear. She has given us an entirely possible future, where everyone we know can be an eejit, every child we know could be starving because nothing is equal. This book will give readers a new view on what our world could become. Farmer presents cautionary tale of what could happen if it is too late to open our eyes and enslave millions of people to a miserable existence. Nancy Farmer’s work in The House of the Scorpion has entertained millions of readers because of the questions she cunningly weaves into the plot, the beautiful literary imagery, and the setting, which takes place a hundred years into the future. Her futuristic setting lends a sense of horror to the book as everything is dead or struggling to live. She has captured readers with her excellent plot which she fleshes out with believable characters. She has given the book a heart and thus it will capture generations of people because of the qualities she has written it with.

Capital punishment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Capital punishment - Research Paper Example At present capital punishment is abolished in maximum countries but there are some countries like USA, India and China where it is still practiced though in the rarest of the rare cases. The idea behind capital punishment crops from the medieval concept which means to repay back in blood for the blood taken. Their thinking behind favoring capital punishment is that it reduced state expenses by putting the person to death immediately, sending a strong message to the society against the crime and thus allows a retribution of the crime. The argument can thus be stated that As capital punishment or death penalty is a debatable issue, there are many scholarly reviews that focused on both the aspects of this situation. The paper would focus on those scholarly resources where death penalty has been favored over its abolishment. In the article â€Å"Should we reintroduce the death penalty?† capital punishment has been shown to be favored by the people of Australia. In the article it was seen that people of Australia reacted in favor of capital punishment over a particularly brutal murder of a nurse named Anita Cobby in 1986 (Should we reintroduce the death penalty?, 1990, p.6). The article was divided into two groups of persons. The group against it said that it was the most barbaric and medieval form of torture inflicted on the person. It could increase violence. The group favoring it said that death penalty helped to reduce the threat to the social order as in the absence of such an extreme measure, solidarity of the society could be hampered. They also argued that imprisonment cannot guarantee that upon release the person would not commit the same crime again. They also stated that keeping a criminal in prison would simple add up to the cost of the state economy (Should we reintroduce the death pe nalty?, 1990, p.6). So it would be judicious

Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Diversity - Essay Example It should be noted that the ideas of people from one culture may be different from that of people from another culture. For example, it is not necessary that a Chinese employee and an Indian employee use same procedures while performing a difficult task. The methods employed by them may have advantages and disadvantages. The blending of these different ideas may result in a new idea. Such new ideas will help the development of new technologies, products and services, and thereby an organization can improve its competitive power in the market. It is difficult for modern organizations to use single cultural workforce and still able to develop properly, since the business are operating globally at the moment. For example, it is impossible for an American company operating in India to use only Americans at its workplace in India. It should be noted that Indians know Indian market better than the Americans. Therefore, the services of locals are inevitable while a company operates globally. To conclude, diversity at workplaces would help an organization to improve creativity among workforces and thereby develop new products and services. The development of new products and services would help the organization to increase its competitive power in the global

Country Music Essay Example for Free

Country Music Essay Country music is one form of music that has both an extensive history and also has a prominent place in the public consciousness right now. It is one of the most interesting types of music because of the fact that many people completely misunderstand where it came from and its roots. Though much of the history country music can be traced to many southern venues, it has since grown to be a much more â€Å"national† type of phenomenon, with influence stretching from Bakersfield, California to the Atlantic coast of the United States. Performers now come from all over the world to take part in the country music phenomenon and in recent years the, country music has gained a much more mainstream following than it had in the past. By both celebrating its roots and being willing to branch out to reach new listeners, country music as a whole has positioned itself for much greater success in the future, as well. In order to truly understand the origins of country music, one has to look as far back as the turn of the twentieth century. Though country did not truly get its start until later, the groundwork for the industry was being laid by musicians who probably did not even know what country music was. Old jazz musicians and church gospel singers provided the original motivation for what would become the country music movement. Singers would later draw influences from those old styles in order to develop the characteristic country sound that is so popular and prevalent in today’s music world. Country officially got its start in 1921 in Bristol, Tennessee. Before that time, people had been singing songs in order to pass down stories and to fill the idle time, but there had never been an organized country music industry. According to Roughstock’s History of Country Music, â€Å"Although musicians had been recording fiddle tunes (known as Old Time Music at that time) in the southern Appalachians for several years, It wasnt until August 1, 1927 in Bristol, Tennessee, that Country Music really began. There, on that day, Ralph Peer signed Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family to recording contracts for Victor Records† (Roughstock). Those two popular acts laid the framework for country to come, and they are both remembered for their innovation and their ability to connect with singers of that time. Over the course of time, country music has seen many different movements that have all helped to shape the sound that is prevalent today. The Bluegrass movement, headed up by the famous Bill Monroe of Kentucky was a type of music where people relied heavily on the banjo, the acoustic guitar, and the mandolin. Before Monroe starting experimenting with these instruments, people had never thought to use the guitar as a lead instrument before. This Bluegrass sound would prove to be a characterizing sound and it has influenced many of today’s most popular singers, including women like Allison Krause. According to Jeri Rowe of The News and Record, the Bill Monroe movement is something that almost all of the famous musicians have felt over the course of time. According to Rowe, â€Å"Ask anyone familiar with bluegrass music and theyll probably have a Bill Monroe moment† (Rowe, 1996). Other movements have become popular in country music, including the innovations that came along with the Bakersfield sound. Though country music had long had its roots in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia, young people out in California changed the way that people thought about the country music industry by expanding the sound to include something of an â€Å"Outlaw† movement (Encyclopedia of Country Music). Among those people who led this popular movement were Merle Haggard, who became a spokesperson for the common man during his time. His songs like â€Å"Long Haired Country Boy† and â€Å"Okie from Muskogee† made him famous. Another famed musician that was a part of the progressive country movement, as it came to be called, was Willie Nelson. Nelson is known as a popular singer and songwriter today and he has worked alongside dozens of extremely popular musicians during his career. He sang songs like â€Å"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain† and â€Å"Mommas, Don’t Let your Babies Grow up to be Cowboys† that were able to really connect to fans on a very personal level. One of the unique things about the country music industry is that all of these different movements have helped to create the sound that characterizes country music today. Starting with the Outlaw movement, the Bluegrass movement, and things like the Nashville sound, people have begun to combine all of these different elements to create a very real sound of today. The Nashville sound is something that came about, as one might guess, in the heart of country music located in Nashville. This came about when Roy Acuff made the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville a popular thing. It started out as just one of the many barn shows that played country music across the powerful radio airwaves. Over time, the Grand Ole Opry became much more than that. It came to characterize the Nashville sound, which was a new sound that included things like the old steel guitar and drums in the background. The Nashville sound changed the way people felt about country music, as musicians like Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs brought their unique methods to Nashville and gained popularity. All in all, the Nashville sound represented a brand new vision for country music, where people could experiment with different things on the highest level at the Grand Ole Opry. The Opry gave legitimacy to these acts and people began to quickly respond to the new techniques and new sounds that they were hearing up on the stage (Hemphill). Today, the country music world has moved even more into the mainstream than it was in the past. It is safe to say that widespread radio is what helped country music take off and now people are enjoying it in different ways. When things like TNN and CMT came about, country music was put on television for the world to see. Though this made some people in the country music world mad because the networks opted for the new styles and neglected some of the older heroes of country music, it helped the industry at large. People could not watch country music as much as they wanted and they could begin to put faces with the voices that they had heard on the radio. The innovation of music on television really helped the country music industry as much as it helped all of the other music industries. More records are sold today than ever before, as people like George Strait have sold hundreds of millions of records. Strait owns the record for most number one hits for a singer, while the South Carolina-based group Alabama owns the record for most number one hits for a group. Other acts that have become popular today are people like Garth Brooks, who helped change the way country music was looked at in a sense of live performances. Brooks turned the country music world into something of a rock show and made the shows more appealing to younger people. In the past, country music had been looked at as something that was a little bit boring when seen in concert. People went to see country music shows because they liked the sound of the music, not because they wanted to be entertained. This all changed when Brooks came about in the late 1980s. He added things like lights and great technology to his shows. The sound was impressive and finally the country music world was able to compete with the rock world at least on some level. This was a very important change for country music and predictably, more and more artists starting picking up where Brooks left off. It is fair to say that the country music world has not been completely embraced by the media at large, but the media has at least picked up on the national importance of some of the acts. In the past, the country music world might have been pushed off to the side with the rock and roll world taking center stage a little bit more. People are now coming to realize that rock and country are much more inter-connected than they might have originally imagined and that country music deserves to be recognized for its huge following. With country music selling at high rates in record stores and television channels getting great ratings, there is no choice in the national media but to pick up on the new and changing times, even if they do not totally believe everything that is being said. There is some perception out there that country music is a music based in the south and for southern people, though evidence has been provided to the contrary. One media controversy worth remembering happened with the popular group The Dixie Chicks, who were ostracized by the media and the mainstream country music world for their comments about President George W. Bush. Their political talk earned them a place on the proverbial country music blacklist. A Gazette Newspaper article speaks to the fact that the controversy may have been overblown by some media outlets, as country music singers are certainly not the first musicians to speak out in a political way. In fact, music has always been an avenue for this type of free speech. That article says, â€Å"Even entertainers have a right to say whatever they want to about U. S. foreign policy and politics and in fact, many have been doing so for decades, getting rich and famous while thumbing their noses at the nation that makes them so† (Gazette). One of the concerns of many country musicians today is that the media is willing to give time to the current stars, but no one will recognize the people who laid the framework for the country music movement. One People Magazine article quotes popular country music star Alan Jackson talking about living legend George Jones and how no one is willing to recognize him. The article writes, â€Å"Jackson spokeswoman Kay West said Alan was inspired by a visit to Jones earlier this year in the hospital after Jones was involved in a near-fatal car wreck. Alan said that had George Jones died there, there would have been a 10-minute tribute to him on the show, West said. But he lived, and they wouldnt give him three minutes† (People). All in all, country music seems to be growing at a faster rate than it ever has. Helped along by more coverage in the media and the fact that more and more types of musicians are currently getting involved in country music, the industry has taken off at a higher degree than most might have imagined in the past. Though the roots of country music are strong and many people seek to preserve and celebrate those roots, there is no denying that the industry in branching out in a desire to incorporate new fans and new acts alike going into the future. With that in mind, the future of the industry is strong and as stable as it can possibly be. Works Cited Hemphill, Paul. The Nashville Sound. 30 September 2005. Everthemore Press. Kingsbury, Paul. The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Oxford: 2004. People Magazine. Country Music Controversy. 2008. http://www. people. com/people/article/0,,616549,00. html Roughstock’s History of Country Music. The Beginnings. http://www. roughstock. com/history/begin. html Rowe, Jeri. The News and Record. 12 September 1996. BILL MONROES INFLUENCE FELT BY MUSICIANS IN THE TRIAD; AREA BLUEGRASS FANS REMEMBER BILL MONROE, THE FATHER OF BLUEGRASS MUSIC. The Gazette. 7 May 2003. Whistling Dixie Freedom of speech not at issue in country music controversy.

Aggression: Biological, Psychological and Cultural Explanations Essay

Aggression: Biological, Psychological and Cultural Explanations Most people will agree that aggression can become dangerous and that it is a serious problem. The source of different acts of aggression is trying to be understood from medical, psychological and cultural perspectives. Some scientists try to treat the abnormal aggressive behavior with medication, while others go deeper and try to find out why they have abnormal behavior. Some answers are biological, like genes and hormones, other answers are psychological, like rejection as a cause of aggression, and still others are cultural, blaming aggression on violence in the media. Some men who are aggressive are being treated by scientists who are using SPECT, Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography, to identify regions of the brain that are causing the problems with aggression. (1) SPECT creates a color picture of the blood flow and activity in the brain and variation in color reveals abnormalities and damaged regions. (1) Unusual increased or decreased activity that are key in causing aggression are often found in three areas of the brains. (1) Aggressive thoughts reside in the left temporal lobe; the anterior cingulate gyrus controls repeated thoughts and amount of attention given to something; and the prefrontal cortex controls impulse. (1) Usually aggressive men have too much or too little activity in the left temporal lobe, too much activity in the anterior cingulate gyrus and too little activity in the prefrontal cortex so that they cannot control themselves. (1) By identifying which region or regions are abnormal scientists can prescribe the bes t drug treatment for that specific person. Drugs help balance the activity in their brains, but why are they im... ...s. (12) Rejection was found to be a direct cause of aggression. So, both the presence of weapons and the feeling of being rejected aid in increased, abnormal aggressive behavior. We have begun to look at different explanations of the why's and how's of aggression. Different biological, social and psychological reasons are presented and are equally supported and rejected. One thing that can be determined by acknowledging the different possible causes of aggression is that there is not one thing that causes aggression, because everyone acts differently to different problems. Not everyone who is rejected acts out aggressively, so maybe some of the people who do act aggressively have other problems that are biological in nature. Aggression is a bio-psycho-social issue that is being addressed, and needs to be addressed in the future, from all different perspectives.

Winning the Lottery

Victor M. Rivera Christina ENG 1250, EOL53 26 January 2013 Winning the lottery Winning the lottery is the wish and desire of every person in the world. In Fact, it can either make life miserable or wonderful, full of joy. It can cause a change of personality in steadily. But, when individuals that lived a normal poor or middle class life overnight become worth more than they could ever imagine. At that point, it creates life risk, family issues, or even depression. Overall there’s a good and bad side to winning the lottery. Like getting rid of debt, or taking care of your family future.Considering the luck of winning the lottery, there are a few cause and effect to that tremendous change of life which will affect each and everyone in your path of lifestyle forever. Wishing to be a lottery winner sound great but when the actual moment arrives, it will transform each and every person in a different way for life. â€Å"Why is winning the lottery great? † First of all, it c an help you pay all debt and help establish a better future for loved ones. But, also can create more debt if you don’t know how to manage your money right. It can help your children future as well by providing better education and a secure ticket to college.In fact, it can be opposite children decided not attending further education or waste the life saving on other unimportant things. There’s even time it can be a life risk. Everyone in the world will know the winner of the lottery ticket. It would also create an uncomfortable environment. Everything will change from being a calm easy going day to having daily reporters at your door steps, having agencies calling to provide there services, or even at same time people will start calling for a part of the money like family members, friends, and other source asking for help.Establishing safety and security procedures would have to be the first step to any millionaire winner overnight. Deborah L. Jacobs, Forbes staff sta tes, â€Å"As it happens, winning the lottery isn’t always the happy ending to a life story anyway†(par. 4). According to numerous winners it can help or destroy your family. More money is more problems. Which in the future can change your kind, sweet heart to a mean, cold-hearted person brought upon of the numerous attention and pressure from family, friends, and other sources. It will or can lead to depression. Depression can lead to spending, drinking, or even bigger terrible things.Everything is going to be difficult in a way with money or without money. Winning the lottery is everyone’s dream but it can really become a nightmare. By, simply playing $5, $10, or $15 at your local gas station. It can make an incredible change to your life style and future. Without knowing if the changes will be for better or worse. Sadly to say money doesn’t always bring happiness like some people would think and can cause distress, rather than joy. Disappoint my come f rom having that amount of money in your life. Eventually not matter what you do and say life is going to be like being on a spot light your whole entire life.Your biggest responsibility will be to secure, protect, and guarantee the safety of yourself and nearby family. Well, every choice in life has a cause and effect. So, sometimes it takes more thinking to obtain a better answer or just analysis the situation you can probably determine the outcome. Winning the lottery can give you a lot but, also can take from you the most valuable and priceless possession you ever had before. Work Cited Jacobs, Deborah L. â€Å"Winning the Lottery Isn't Alway a Happy Ending. † N. p. , 28 Nov. 2012. Web. .