Why Google Maori is important
Potaua
online spaces for our rangatahi, so that they can actively engage with
the Reo and with one another!
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Welsh sites secure languages future
Jun 21 2007
by Robin Turner, Western Mail
THE internet has been hailed as the possible saviour of the Welsh
language by one of the world's leading linguists.
While experts forecast nearly half of the 6,500 languages currently
spoken around the world face extinction by the turn of the century,
Professor David Crystal says devotees of Welsh should not worry too
much.
He says that along with relatively small languages like Breton and
Navajo, Welsh has become "cool" for youngsters thanks to websites and
chat rooms.
He said, "The internet offers endangered languages a chance to have a
public voice in a way that would not have been possible before."
Although born in Northern Ireland, Professor Crystal, author of the
Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Language, grew up in Holyhead and has been
a longstanding champion of the Welsh language.
He said, "It doesn't matter how much activism you engage in on behalf
of a language if you don't attract the teenagers, the parents of the
next generation of children.
"And what turns teenagers on more than the internet these days? If you
can get a language out there, the youngsters are much more likely to
think it's cool.
"There are dozens of internet entries in endangered languages, from
native American Cherokee to the Austronesian language Tetum, spoken by
less than a million people in East Timor, to the Maori language of New
Zealand.
"Chat rooms exist for Welsh speakers where young people look for the
best pubs in town, or hunt for potential dates."
Professor Crystal said there are 50 to 60 languages in the world which
have one last speaker, and around 2,000 have never been written.
"If these languages die, they are gone forever. This is a huge
intellectual loss to humanity. The internet is very important in this
respect," he said.
Money is required for internet access, however, which can be a problem
for African and indigenous South American languages where governments
favour Spanish, French and English.
Professor Crystal added, "There are about 6,500 languages spoken
around the world at the moment and roughly half are endangered.
"If you compare it with the green situation, the plants and animals
are disappearing but the worst estimate is for 3% to 5% to disappear.
This figure rises to 50% for languages."
The respected author, who is honorary Professor of Linguistics at the
University of Wales, Bangor, predicts a language will die every two
weeks on average over the next decade.
In the US, a total of 69 of the country's 311 languages are nearly
extinct, including some forms of Apache and Pawnee. More are
endangered.
While some argue global communication will get easier the fewer
languages there are, Professor Crystal says the loss of a language
equals the loss of people's identity.
He said,"The intellectual health of the planet needs that kind of
diversity to be creative. If we all spoke the same language, and
therefore thought in the same way, there would be blandness."
Unesco has a list of hundreds of languages it regards as endangered. A
language with just 100 or so speakers may not be considered endangered
if it is thriving - but many endangered languages have few young
speakers and others face political oppression. The organisation has
published a "red list" of those which could soon be extinct. But
Professor Crystal says Welsh, which after years of decline is starting
to see the number of speakers increase, is a beacon of hope.
And he says the internet and chat rooms are playing a major part in
the revival.
He said, "It is now dead easy to get your language in front of the
rest of the world.
"There are now more than 100 chat rooms in the Welsh language alone."
Some of the world's 'smaller' languages
Mohawk Spoken on the Canada/USA border, it has around 3,000 speakers
distributed among the tribe's Bear, Wolf and Turtle clans and is part
of the native American Iroquoian family of languages.
How to say hello: Kwe
Wymysorys A Central German language spoken by around 70 people in the
town of Wilamowice between Silesia and Poland. It emerged from 12th
century Middle High German and was spoken by German, Dutch and
Scottish settlers in the town.
Hello: Sgioekumt
Hawaiian Along with English, Hawaiian is the official language of the
state of Hawaii. It is an Austronesian language taking its name from
the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago.
Hello: Aloha
Breton Spoken by between 500,000 and one million people in Brittany,
it was the language of the elite until the 12th century when it became
confined to West Brittany. Like Welsh, it has survived attempts to
stamp it out.
Hello: Salud dit
Welsh Descended from Brythonic it has an estimated 600,000 speakers in
Wales, 25,000 in Argentina, 2,000 in the USA and 3,000 in Canada plus
many in England.
Hello: Helo/bore da/prynhawn da/shwmae
hone
Is anyone working on creating chat rooms for rangatahi who are
literate in Māori?
lib...@gmail.com
Although I have not been there myself don't Aotearoa cafe (
http://www.aocafe.com/portal.php )and Maori.org both have chat rooms
on their websites? Actually it seems maori.org are currently working
on theirs.
Although these are not specifically about keeping Te Reo alive, they
have large communities, and do support the speaking of Te Reo.
Wonder how many are teenagers? How would you get Teenagers interested?
> > Hello: Helo/bore da/prynhawn da/shwmae- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Nikolasa
Ae, getting rangatahi on board is essential, Bebo has some great sites
and as ReoGeneration.com has sussed is a great way to connect with
rangatahi and keep informed (as is MySpace).
So I guess going to where rangatahi are already (as above) is one
step, asking them directly is another and involving them is a third.
Any other ideas e hoa ma?