Post date: May 5, 2014 9:48:07 PM
This week, I researched about basic information about majority and minority of languages. There are 80% of people in the world who use English and English is one of the global languages. The number of people who use English in Asia is as many as that of in the United States of America, Britain and Canada. However, there are about 6000 languages spoken in the world. Sadly, 25 mother tongues are lost in the world a year. Some people say that loosing languages means doing most of the knowledge and culture. Others say that if a language is one that people do not participate in, it is not a language anymore.
It is difficult to answer the questions such as “Do we have to preserve minority of languages?” or “Is it bad to use only English in the world?”. Many people often say that preserving minority or diversity is important without thinking about reasons. I am interested in the reasons why people try to protect minority or diversity.
Next week, I will research about the simple history of English and Thai and compare with them. Different points and similar points will give me some hints about different levels of spreading languages.
Moreover, it will be also useful for understanding languages to know about culture such as religion, racial characteristics and so on. Therefore research about those things may be necessary for understanding and analyzing more deeply.
(236 words & 25 minutes)
Sources: title / author / publihsher or organization / date of publication / date of access /
1= Across cultures, English in the world / Seth Mydans / The New York Times / April 19, 2007 / April 25, 2013
2=Not the Queen's English / No Name / Newsweek and The Daily Beast / March 6, 2005 / April 25 2013 /
3=Are dying languages worth saving? / No name / BBC News / September 15,2010 / April 25 2013 /
4=Are indigenous languages dead? / No name / BBC News / January 6, 2006 / April 25 2013 /