Examples

The Nushu language is a female-specific language that was created over a 400 year tradition so women can connect their feelings without being comprehensible to men. This was an interesting example that was touched on through our class notes, and felt it is worth noting because of how unique this language is. The language was based off a Chinese character system, with codes that were understood by Xinhua Yang, as well as sisters of Yang who were able to communicate fluently. With the passing of the fluent speaker Yang, the language is no longer thriving as it once was.  However, "China has stepped up preservation of the language since the 1990s amid assiduous efforts to better protect the country's traditional culture in an increasingly globalized society" (ChinaDaily). This is important in recovering a language that empowered women and brought them together during a time where their opinions were often suppressed.

Latin is often considered a "dead language" because it no longer serves as the native language to any society, and hasn't for many years. While it lost its purpose and power, Latin is still being studied intensively by historians and linguists, and used in a variety of context such as law or religion. The Latin language became extinct in terms of being fluently spoken regularly within society because of the fall of the Roman Empire, and the shift in other Romance languages such as Italian or French. For instance "the inhabitants abandoned the cities and towns and moved into the countryside. There, the Latin-speaking peoples were isolated from other people groups — including fellow groups of native Latin-speakers" (Adams). It is difficult to preserve a language that is gradually being replaced with a more normalized language.