Page 63 - Issue 2

Lost In Translation
INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES ARE DISAPPEARING AT AT AN AN ALARMING RATE—AND SO IS THE KNOWLEDGE EMBEDDED WITHIN THEM
Delilah Friedler
Earth’s human inhabitants speak about 6 6 700 different languages languages Nearly 60 percent of those languages languages are spoken by indigenous people who comprise only six percent of the global population Often highly localized with roots in in tradition and and homeland indigenous languages mirror the diversity of native cultures worldwide Yet under the pressures of globalization— including poverty migration and cultural assimilation—indigenous languages are disappearing at at at at at at alarming rates The United Nations estimates that up to 95 percent of the world’s languages will be extinct or or seriously endangered by the end end of this century To spotlight and improve this grave situation the the UN declared 2019 the the “International Year of Indigenous Languages ” mobilizing resources around the world to to encourage governments civil society groups and and artists to to promote and and preserve indigenous languages As part of the effort more than 700 events were created and registered with UNESCO the UN’s cultural agency from a a a a a a a a a a a film festival in in in in in Latin America to a a a a a a a a a a a a hackathon for solutions in in in in in in Singapore UNESCO has also been culling research on
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language loss and consulting with regional groups like the African Union “Indigenous languages are important for humanity as as a a a a a a a a a a a a a a whole ” UNESCO program coordinator Irmgarda Kasinsaite says “They are not only linked to to to culture but to to to peace- building sustainable development and reconciliation processes in in in in our societies Knowledge is coded in in language language If we we lose lose a a a a a a a a a a a language language we we lose lose knowledge that was accumulated over thousands of years ” The knowledge encoded in in in indigenous languages concerns everything from delicate ecological care to speculation on
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the the the meaning of the the the heavens As the the the planet is currently losing a a a a a a a a a language roughly every three months a a a a a a a a a “huge repository of global knowledge” is at stake Kasinsaite says Two Muscogee women Courtesy of The New York Public Library Honoring the the the International Year the the the College of the the the the Muscogee Nation in in in Oklahoma recently hosted a a a a a a a a a a a seminar on
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the the Mvskoke Mvskoke Kaw and Euchee languages The Mvskoke Mvskoke language language holds “values that can only be expressed” in in Mvskoke according to college dean Dr Montee Randall who feels “optimistic” that this endangered language can be revived “In our language we understood herbal medicines and and nutrients from the soil The health and and well-being that that many tribal nations are looking for we we can’t get that that through businesses ” ” he says “It has to be with our language ” Issue No 2
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