Why We Must Save Dying Tongues为什么必须挽救濒危语言

Over the past century alone， around 400 languages—about one every three months—have gone extinct， and most linguists estimate that 50% of the world’s remaining languages will be gone by the end of this century （some put that figure as high as 90%， however）.

仅仅在过去的一个世纪里，就有约400种语言灭绝，也就是大约每三个月就有一种语言彻底消失。大多数语言学家预测，到本世纪末，全球现存的语言中，有半数将不复存在（也有语言学家认为这一比例可能高达90%）。

Endangered tongues

濒危语言

UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger lists 576 as critically endangered， with thousands more categorised as endangered or threatened. The highest numbers occur in the Americas. If measured in proportion to population， however， then Australia holds the world record for endangered languages. When Europeans first arrived there， 300 aboriginal languages were spoken around the country. Since then， 100 or so have gone extinct， and linguists regard 95% of the remaining ones as being on their last legs1.

联合国教科文组织的“世界濒危语言地图”将576种语言列为“极度濒危”，另有数千种语言被归为“濒危”或“面临威胁”。从濒危语言的数量来看，美洲位居首位。不过，如果从人口比例的角度衡量，那么澳大利亚的语言濒危情况才是“世界之最”。欧洲人初抵澳大利亚时，那里上上下下有300种土著语言。自那时起，已有约100种语言灭绝，而且语言学家估计，剩余语言种类的95%也濒临灭绝。

But does it matter whether a seemingly obscure language spoken by a few people in one isolated corner of the world goes out of existence？

但是，如果一门语言看上去晦涩难懂，只在某个与世隔绝的角落里有寥寥可数的使用者，那么它是否走向灭亡真的重要吗？

Some people argue that language loss， like species loss， is simply a fact of life2 on an ever-evolving planet. But counter arguments are abundant. “We spend huge amounts of money protecting species and biodiversity， so why should it be that the one thing that makes us singularly human shouldn’t be similarly nourished and protected？” says Mark Turin， an anthropologist and linguist at Yale University.

有些人认为，语言消亡如同物种灭绝，不过是个无法避免的事实罢了，毕竟地球在不停演化。对此观点，反对的声音很多。耶鲁大学的人类学家兼语言学家马克·图林质疑道：“我们在保护物种和生物多样性方面投入了大量资金，那么为我们人类赋予特性的语言为何不应得到同样的滋养和保护呢？”

What’s more， languages are conduits of human heritage. Writing is a relatively recent development in our history （written systems currently exist for only about one-third of the world’s languages）， so language itself is often the only way to convey a community’s songs， stories and poems. “How many other traditions are out there in the world that we’ll never know about because no one recorded them before the language disappeared？” says Peter Austin， a professor of field linguistics at the University of London.

此外，语言还是传承人类传统的渠道。由于书面文字在人类历史中出现得相对较晚（全球现存的语言中，仅有约三分之一拥有书写系统），因此语言本身往往是传播某个族群特有歌谣、故事和诗歌的唯一途径。伦敦大学的田野语言学教授彼得·奥斯汀发问：“这世上还有多少传统因为在其所用语言消失之前无人进行记录而永远不为人知？”

Languages also convey unique cultures. Cherokee3， for example， has no word for goodbye， only “I will see you again”. Likewise， no phrase exists for “I’m sorry”. On the other hand， it has special expressions all its own. One word—oo-kah-huh-sdee—represents the mouth-watering， cheek-pinching delight experienced when seeing an adorable baby or a kitten. Without the language， the culture itself might teeter， or even disappear.

语言还承载着独特的文化。例如，切罗基语中没有“再见”一词，只有“我还会见到你”的说法；也没有表示“我很抱歉”的词组。不过，切罗基语自有其特殊的表达，如oo-kah-huh-sdee一词专门用于形容看到可爱的宝宝或猫咪时，那种欲罢不能地想轻捏其脸颊的愉悦感受。若失去这门语言，其中的文化可能也会摇摇欲坠，甚至不复存在。

Wealth of wisdom

智慧的财富

Another argument mirrors that of biodiversity conservation. Just as ecosystems provide a wealth of services for humanity—some known， others un-acknowledged or yet to be discovered—languages， too， are ripe with possibility. They contain an accumulated body of knowledge， including about geog-raphy， zoology， mathematics， navigation， astronomy， pharmacology， botany， meteorology and more. In the case of Cherokee， that language was born of thousands of years spent inhabiting the southern Appalachia Mountains. Cherokee words exist for every last berry， stem， frond and toadstool in the region， and those names also convey what kind of properties that object might have—whether it’s edible， poisonous or has some medicinal value. “No culture has a monopoly on human genius， and we never know where the next brilliant idea may come from，” says David Harrison， chair of the linguistics department at Swarthmore College， and co-founder of the non-profit Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages. “We lose ancient knowledge if we lose languages.”

还有一种观点与保护生物多样性的理念十分相似。生态系统给予人类诸多禆益，其中有些已为人知，有些则未受重视或仍待发现。同样，语言也蕴藏着无限可能。语言包含大量累积下来的知识体系，涉及地理学、动物学、数学、航海学、天文学、药理学、植物学、气象学等诸多领域。以切罗基语为例，这门语言源自阿巴拉契亚山脉南部居民数千年的生活实践。当地的每一种浆果、根茎、叶子、毒菌都有专门的切罗基语名称，而这些名称还表示出了它们可能具有的特性，如是否可食用、是否有毒、是否具备药用价值。“没有哪种文化能够独占人类的智慧，我们永远不知道下一个奇思妙想可能来自哪里。”斯沃斯莫尔学院语言学系主任、非营利性组织“濒危语言振兴协会”的联合创始人戴维·哈里森说，“一旦失去语言，我们就失去了古老的知识。”

Finally， languages are ways of interpreting the world， and no two are the same. As such， they can provide insight into neurology， psychology and the linguistic capacities of our species. “Different languages provide distinct pathways of thought and frameworks for thinking and solving problems，” Harrison says. Returning to Cherokee， unlike English it is verb rather than noun-based， and those verbs can be conjugated in a multitude of ways based on who they are acting upon. It’s a much more precise way of dealing with the world than English. “There’s a misconception that these languages are simple just because many are unwritten，” Turin says. “But most have incredibly complex grammatical systems that far exceed that of English.”