Reading Log n33

Date:September 19th, 2007
Title:Languages die, but not their last words
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/science/19language.html?ei=5087%0A&em=&en=3c8759a4899f95db&ex=1190347200&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1190228257-lZtM2OiYNasCbX+xqkQPfw

Vocabulary

1-strained:affected or produced by effort; not natural or spontaneous; forced: strained hospitality.
2-basin:a hollow or depression in the earth's surface, wholly or partly surrounded by higher land: river basin.
3-moribund:on the verge of extinction or termination.
4-exceed:to go beyond in quantity, degree, rate, etc.: to exceed the speed limit.
5-mammal:any vertebrate of the class Mammalia, having the body more or less covered with hair, nourishing the young with milk from the mammary glands, and, with the exception of the egg-laying monotremes, giving birth to live young.

Summary

A vast mayority of the languages spoken in the world are in danger of extinction, especially Indigenous languages. This happens because of the domination of other languages, such as English, spanish or portuguese, and the few remaining people who still speak these languages. However, there are researchers who are interested in making a record of these endangered languages.

Personal Reaction

Very interesting article about the endangered languages. To be honest, I was surprised to know that there are so many languages and that half of them are likely to disappear. I think that the work the researchers are doing to preserve them is very important , eventhough these languages won´t be used anymore. I think that the extinction of a language is natural process, and it happens due to the disappearence of the civilization that used it and the dominance of other languages worlwide.