ISSUE13 [REBORN FROM THE ASHES] TASK ONE by rushtosummer

rushtosummerUID: 2735551

ISSUE13
Many of the world's lesser-known languages are being lost as fewer and fewer people speak them. The governments of countries in which these languages are spoken should act to prevent such languages from becoming extinct.


Outline of my essay:
·
Draw readers’ attention about the endangered language, and state my opinion that government should prevent the language from extinction.
·
Give the reasons why government should prevent:
1.
The importance of keeping language diversity (focus on its specific meaning for a people, a group and individual):
(1) National or ethnical identity; keep the cohesion of a certain people;
(2) Media of each culture, only with the distinct language can we preserve its culture;
(3) Different languages offer us more choices for our interests and exploration; since the extinction is a process of no return, we are not sure whether those extinct languages have any uses in the future.
2. The outcome of language extinction: loss of ethnicity; unable to interpret historical relics and documents (make the work of historians and archaeologist extremely difficult);
3. The government should prevent the language from extinction. By doing this, the government also can gain a lot: boost the cultural industries; create more jobs and attracts more foreign tourists; cheer up the morale of citizens.
4. In conclusion, government should prevent the language from extinction.


When we enjoy the convenience and efficiency brought by globalization, there are also some problems coming along with it, for example, language extinction. Nowadays, more and more languages are in the danger of disappearance; it has also been predicted that 90% of languages will die away in 41 years. Meanwhile, the use of Internet will ultimately increase this rate. So it’s urgent that governments in which endangered languages are spoken should take step to prevent such languages from becoming extinct. There are several reasons for doing so:

First, keeping language diversity is very important from the following aspects. (1) Languages are humankind’s principle tools for interacting and for expressing ideas, emotions, knowledge, memories and values. Every people has its unique language, either oral or written, which is the essential symbol for a people, a group or an individual. By speaking a particular language, individuals can identify themselves as belonging to certain group or ethnic. This sense of belonging helps to improve the cohesion of a certain ethnic and increase national pride of each person. So no matter how few persons speak one language, we should respect it and preserve it since it represents an ethnic. (2) Languages are also primary vehicles of culture expressions and intangible culture heritage. They contain our culture and in turn our culture shapes them. For example, old languages reflect our ancestors’ living condition and customs; while contemporary language shows the spirit and pursuit of modern people. In other words, language is a part of culture. If we lose a particular language, we lose a certain culture in some sense. So only with the distinct language can we really preserve its culture. (3) Different languages offer us more choices for our interests and exploration. We can use certain language to study one of the civilizations in the past; we can use certain language to take field surveys on customs of a minor ethnical group. Many people use language which is a useful tool to develop their interests in particular areas, or even some language learners choose to learn some lesser-known languages which they like. Since the extinction is a process of no return, we are not sure whether those extinct languages have any uses in the future. Accordingly, preventing those endangered languages from becoming extinction is a wise and necessary choice.

Secondly, let’s think about the outcome of this continuous loss of languages. The extinction of each language results in the irrecoverable loss of unique cultural, historical, and ecological knowledge. Each language is a unique expression of human experience in this world. Thus, the knowledge of any single language may be the key answering the fundamental question of the future. Every time the language dies, we have less evidence to understanding the patterns of structure and function of human language, human prehistory and the maintenance of the world’s diverse ecosystem. This will make historians, archaeologists and anthropologists feel extremely difficult to interpret the historical relics and documents. Above all, the speakers of this language may experience the loss of their language as the loss of their original ethnic and cultural identity.

From all the reasons above, governments in which the endangered languages are spoken should act to prevent those languages from dying away. In doing this, we can not only avoid the bad outcomes of losing minor languages which I have mentioned above, but also the governments can gain a lot in several fields. For example, the government can boost its cultural industries by propagating minor languages in the country; more jobs may be created by adding education course on these languages; and more foreign tourists might be attracted by distinct language learning trend. What’s the most important thing is that by preserving the endangered language, government can cheer up the morale of citizens and improve the national cohesion.

So, considering the significance of every language, especially those are going to disappear, to each individual, to every nation, to every culture and global diversity, the governments in which endangered languages are spoken should take immediate actions to prevent those languages from becoming extinct.

rushtosummerUID: 2735551

虽然发的比较晚，希望看到的同仁给我点点意见~~也希望可以结对子互改作文哈~~谢谢啦：）