The Internet offers endangered languages a chance to have a public voice in a way that would not have been possible before.
David CrystalRead
The death of a language. The word has the same kind of reluctant resonance as it has when we talk about the death of a person. And indeed, that's how it should be. For that's how it is. A language dies only when the last person who speaks it dies.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The death of a language parallels the death of an individual, signifying the loss of unique cultural identity.
David Crystal emphasizes the profound impact of a dying language, suggesting that its extinction occurs concurrently with the demise of its last speaker. This poignant analogy reflects not just the linguistic loss, but the erasure of culture, history, and shared experiences tied to that language, thereby highlighting the importance of preserving languages as vital aspects of human heritage.
Themes
LanguageDeathCultureIdentityPreservation
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about cultural preservation, one might say, 'As David Crystal poignantly noted, the death of a language parallels the death of a person, reminding us of our duty to protect linguistic diversity.'
More from David Crystal
All quotes →The main effect of the Internet on language has been to increase the expressive richness of language, providing the language with a new set of communicative dimensions that haven't existed in the past.
David CrystalRead
Bilingualism lets you have your cake and eat it. The new language opens the doors to the best jobs in society; the old language allows you to keep your sense of 'who you are.' It preserves your identity. With two languages, you have the best of both worlds.
David CrystalRead
Language has no independent existence apart from the people who use it. It is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end of understanding who you are and what society is like.
David CrystalRead
Enshrined in a language is the whole of a community's history and a large part of its cultural identity. The world is a mosaic of visions. To lose even one piece of this mosaic is a loss for all of us.
David CrystalRead
Every usage, no matter how bizarre or nonstandard, fascinates me, as it tells me something about the way language is evolving.
David CrystalRead
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