Languages constantly compete with one another,
and the fight often can be fatal, according to researchers at Cornell
University.
Prof. Daniel Abrams of Cornell initiated a study on how languages can be
saved, or stabilized, by education and proactive policy-making.
French
signs in Quebec
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The study used a mathematical model to analyse the endangerment of
languages in 42 regions around the world. According to their findings,
competition drives language survival in the same way as animal survival.
"Ten or 20 years ago, French in Quebec was dropping pretty quickly
compared to today," Abrams said.
More than 20 years ago, Quebec adopted the Charter of the French
Language. It made French the common language of work, education,
communication, and commerce in Quebec.
Abrams says 90 per cent of languages are expected to disappear within the
current generation, but language decline can be prevented through education
and proactive government policy as happened in Quebec.
"Languages are vicious this way, and where there are two, one tends to
wipe out the other," said Prof. Steven Strogatz, co-author of the study.
One of the important factors in language competition is perceived status.
English, French and Spanish are all considered high-status languages that
have wiped out languages such as Alsatian and threaten others such as
Scottish Gaelic and Inuktitut.
The researchers think other cultures should follow the Quebec model of
language preservation.
"If you don't take some sort of active measures, one language will go
extinct," said Strogatz.
The study appears in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.
