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Contribution to the UNESCO encyclopedia of life support systems (EOLSS) 6.20B.10.3 DOCUMENT N! END"N!E#ED L"N!U"!ES "ND L"N!U"!

E M" NTEN"NCE
Matthias Brenzinger Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Japan Tjeerd de Graaf Slavic Research Center, okkaido University, Japan and Frisian Acade!y, the "etherlands $ey%ords& endangered languages, ethnolinguistics, language documentation, language endangerment, language maintenance, language polic , language re!italization, language shift, mother tongue education Contents 1. "ntroduction 2. #anguage $ndangerment and $ndangered #anguages 2.1 $%tent and T pes of #anguage $ndangerment 2.2 &elected 'ase &tudies of $ndangered #anguages 2.2.1 ()am, a *h sical and 'ultural Genocide in &outh +frica 2.2.2 +inu in ,apan 2.2.3 -i!.h in the /ussian 0ederation 2.2.1 -orth 0risian in German 2.2.2 +mazigh 3Ber4er5 #anguages in -orthern +frica 3. #anguage 6ocumentation 3.1 7h stud $ndangered #anguages 3.2 6ocumenting $ndangered #anguages 3.3 +ssessing #anguage 8italit and $ndangerment 3.1 #anguage Maintenance and /e!italization 1 'oncluding /emar.s +c.no9ledgments Bi4liograph Biographical &.etches Summary &e!eral scholars predict that up to :0; of the 9orld<s languages ma 9ell 4e replaced 4 dominant languages 4 the end of the 21st centur , 9hich 9ould reduce the present num4er of almost =,000 languages to less than =00. This re!ie9 article attempts to descri4e processes that are underl ing this se!ere threat to the majorit of the languages currentl spo.en. >o9e!er, the central focus of discussion 9ill 4e on aspects related to the documentation and maintenance of the 9orld<s linguistic di!ersit .

The main causes of language endangerment are presented here in a 4rief o!er!ie9 of the 9orld<s language situation. &elected studies on endangered languages pro!ide insight into the case?specific aspects of these language shift situations. 0inall , language documentation and maintenance efforts of scholars, international institutions, such as pro!ided 9ithin the frame9or. of @-$&'A, as 9ell as the role of academic cooperation in recent language documentation acti!ities 9ill 4e discussed. The fundamental tas. for linguists is the research on the collection of data from endangered languages. #inguistics ma preser!e language data in documenting languages. >o9e!er, the mem4ers of the speech communities uphold or gi!e up languages. 0or that reason, onl the spea.ers of endangered languages themsel!es can opt for and e%ecute language maintenance or re!italization measures. #inguists and other scholars can assist communities in such attempts, for e%ample 4 ma.ing language resources from archi!es a!aila4le to them, 4 training communit mem4ers to 4ecome language 9or.ers or e!en linguists, and also 4 helping to produce language learning and teaching materials. #inguists and communit mem4ers should together ta.e on the responsi4ilit for documenting the 9ealth of linguistic di!ersit in order to pass on this legac to future generations. '( ntroduction "n his article #ho a! I in this land$ #hat people a! I part of$ , &erge >aruchi, representati!e of one of the minorit peoples in the /ussian -orth gi!es the follo9ing account on his relation to the -enets people and their languageB I e%perienced no shock on realising that I &elonged to the "enets people' (verything )as for!ed during !y childhood* &oth !y father and !y !other spoke "enets' They did so )ithout e!&arrass!ent, even in the presence of strangers' Regretfully, though, the environ!ent in )hich children no) find the!selves for the greater part of their ti!e, at kindergarten, at school, has had an i!pact' They talk )ith their parents only in the !ornings and the evenings' As a conse+uence, so!e children of indigenous intellectuals, not only fro! fa!ilies of !i%ed !arriages &ut even those )hose fathers and !others are &oth "enets, do not kno) their native language' ,y o)n eldest daughter and son understand &ut do not speak "enets, &ecause they have no opportunity to practise it' I a! not trying to use this as a reason to e%cuse !yself' It is our fault and no&ody else-s' "evertheless, there are still children )ho kno) their native languages )ell and speak it fluently' #hen a cry of la!entation is raised that the language, the &asis of the people.s culture, is sinking into o&livion and that &ooks and te%t&ooks should &e pu&lished in native languages, I do not o&/ect to this* I even support it and assist to the &est of !y a&ility' 0ut, after all, our parents did not teach us their native language &y using &ooks, )e learned &y hearing our !others talk to us' It is first and fore!ost the !other )ho passes on the language, and a great deal depends on her &ecause she spends !ore ti!e )ith the children' It !akes !e )onder if it is right to put the &la!e for our children not speaking their native language on other people, for e%a!ple, the Russian people, )ho allegedly i!pose their language on us' First and fore!ost, )e !ust have strong desire to pass on the language' 1ur children ought to speak their native language' 2

This Cuote illustrates 9hat can 4e considered to 4e the situation of minorit languages in the /ussian -orth, 9here, just as in man other parts of the 9orld, the local languages are increasingl dominated and threatened 4 the official state languages, such as /ussian in the case a4o!e. +t the 31st &ession of the @-$&'A General 'onference 3Acto4er 20015, the unanimousl adopted Universal 2eclaration on Cultural 2iversity recognized a relationship 4et9een 4iodi!ersit , cultural di!ersit , and linguistic di!ersit . @-$&'A<s action plan recommends that Mem4er &tates, in conjunction 9ith spea.er communities, underta.e steps to ensureB ? sustaining the linguistic di!ersit of humanit and gi!ing support to e%pression, creation, and dissemination of the greatest possi4le num4er of languagesD ? encouraging linguistic di!ersit at all le!els of education, 9here!er possi4le, and fostering the learning of se!eral languages from the oungest ageD ? incorporating, 9here appropriate, traditional pedagogies into the education process 9ith a !ie9 to preser!ing and ma.ing full use of culturall ?appropriate methods of communication and transmission of .no9ledgeD and 9here permitted 4 spea.er communities, encouraging uni!ersal access to information in the pu4lic domain through the glo4al net9or., including promoting linguistic di!ersit in c 4erspace. )( Lan*ua*e Endan*erment and Endan*ered Lan*ua*es + language is in danger 9hen its spea.ers no longer pass it onto the ne%t generation. Toda , man speech communities of minorit languages are shrin.ing and their languages 9ill ultimatel !anish, if these de!elopments are not re!ersed. 'hildren ma no longer acCuire languages e!en 9hen the are still spo.en 4 man thousands of elderl spea.ers. )(' Types and E+tent of Lan*ua*e Endan*erment #anguage endangerment ma 4e caused primaril 4 e%ternal forces such as militar , economic, religious, cultural, or educational su4jugation. "t ma also 4e caused 4 internal forces, such as a communit <s negati!e attitude to9ards its o9n language or 4 a general decline of group identit . "nternal pressures al9a s deri!e from e%ternal factors. Together, the halt the intergenerational transmission of linguistic and cultural traditions. Man minorit communities associate their disad!antaged social and economic position 9ith their ancestral culture and language. The ha!e come to 4elie!e that their languages are of no use an more and not 9orth retaining. &pea.ers of minorit languages a4andon their languages and cultures in the hope of o!ercoming discrimination, to secure a li!elihood and enhance social mo4ilit for themsel!es and their children. $ndangered languages are not necessaril languages 9ith fe9 spea.ers. $!en though small communities are more !ulnera4le to e%ternal threats, the size of a group not al9a s matters. The !ia4ilit of a language is determined first and foremost 4 the general attitude of its spea.ers to9ards their heritage culture, of 9hich their language ma 4e considered the most important component. "n this respect, the intergenerational transmission of the language, i.e. teaching the children the heritage language, is the most important feature of language !italit .

The &uruaha, for instance, a small "ndian communit that li!es in a remote area of +mazonia in Brazil, consists of appro%imatel 120 mem4ers and all of them E including the children E 9ere monolingual in &uruaha at the time of first contact 9ith linguists. 6espite the small size of the population, the communit holds on to its language and traditional 9a of life in all domains. -atural or other disasters, such as epidemics or !iolent attac.s, ma threaten the ph sical sur!i!al of this small communit . #ea!ing aside such e%ternal threats to the ph sical sur!i!al, the &uruaha culture and language seem to 4e FsafeG. "n contrast, man mem4ers of numericall large speech communities no longer pass their heritage languages onto the oung generation. &uch languages ma still 4e spo.en 4 thousands of elders, 4ut ne!ertheless must o4!iousl 4e considered as 4eing endangered. #anguage endangerment ma arise 9hen communities 9ith different linguistic traditions li!e side 4 side. &uch contacts in!ol!e an e%change of products as 9ell as an e%change of cultural elements. 8er often, the communities do not enjo the same prestige in contact situationsB a dominant !s. an inferior status ma arise for specific reasons, such as numerical, economic, socio?historical or political strengths of each communit . The communities 9ith a lo9er status commonl acCuire proficienc in the language of the dominant group. The ma 4e inclined to relinCuish their culture, including their language and ma decide to adopt the language and culture of the dominant communit . &tatistical data related to language use ma illustrate the e%tent of the pro4lem of language endangerment. +4out :=; of the 9orld<s people spea. a4out 1; of the 9orld<s languagesD and con!ersel , a4out :6; of the 9orld<s languages are spo.en 4 a4out 3; of the 9orld<s people. +ppro%imatel H2; of the almost =,000 languages of the 9orld are spo.en in onl 22 countries. &ome of these countries are home to large num4ers of different languagesB *apua -e9 Guinea 3almost :00 languages5, "ndonesia 3up to =005, -igeria 3more than 2005, "ndia 3almost 1005, 'ameroon 3almost 3005, Me%ico 3almost 2205, Iaire 3more than 2005 and Brazil 3more than 2005. "n these linguisticall highl heterogeneous countries onl fe9 languages ha!e significant num4ers of spea.ers and !er fe9 languages are assigned an official status 9ithin these states. #arge num4ers of these languages are threatened 4 e%tinction. An a glo4al scale, statisticall less rele!ant are the threats to languages in linguisticall more homogeneous parts of the 9orld. "n $urope, for instance, &or4ian is replaced 4 German, and the &aami languages in &9eden and 0inland are threatened 4 the respecti!e state languages, as Breton is in 0rance. The loss of spea.ers in one language is the gain of spea.ers of another language, e%cept for the cases of genocide. #anguages are generall replaced 9hen an entire speech communit shifts to another language. /eplacing languages are !er often official state languages. 0or instance, on the +frican continent, se!eral small communities replaced their heritage languages 4 &9ahili in Tanzania, &omali in &omalia, or +ra4ic in the states of the Maghre4 region. "n other language shift situations, languages of 9ider communication ha!e 4enefited, for e%ample as trade languages or as a conseCuence of ur4anization. +mharic in $thiopia, Bam4ara in Mali, >ausa in -igeria and -iger, and 7olof in &enegal are among those languages that ha!e gained spea.ers at the e%pense of smaller languages. An the +frican continent, languages of !er small speech communities, ho9e!er, are predominantl threatened 4 languages of other minorities. "n &outhern $thiopia, for e%ample, JAngota is replaced 4 Ts<ama..o 3Tsama 5, K9egu 3Koegu5 4 Mursi, &ha4o 4 Majang and >arro 4 Ba so. Thus on the +frican continent the loss of spea.ers in one +frican language is t picall the gain of spea.ers in another +frican language. $nglish and 0rench, the 1

languages of the former colonial po9ers, are not replacing +frican languages, at least not for the time 4eing. "n $urope most languages 4elong to the Indo3(uropean language famil , 9hich represents the 9orld<s largest group of languages 9ith nearl 2 4illion spea.ers. 7ithin the Celtic su4group Breton and &cottish Gaelic are endangered, 9hile "rish Gaelic, despite the official support 9ithin the "rish /epu4lic, is not safe. 7ithin the 4er!anic su4group, the $ast and -orth 0risian dialects in German are endangered as 9ell as man dialects of #o9 &a%on 3-edersa.sisch5 in the -etherlands and German , the Mennonite #o9 German language J*lautdietsch< and Liddish. /heto?/omanic, the Ro!ance language spo.en in &9itzerland is endangered. 7hile 'orsican, Accitan and &ardinian are still 9idel spo.en, influence from the dominant official languages, i.e. 0rench and "talian, respecti!el , is !er strong. "n the 7estern 4ranch of the Slavic languages, Kashu4ian 3*oland5 and &or4ian 3German 5 ha!e onl limited num4ers of oung spea.ers. The Indo3Iranian su4group is represented in !arious countries 4 the /omani languages, 9hich are endangered. 7ithin the Uralic languages, the Saa!i languages are all endangered to !arious degrees. "n the &candina!ian countries maintenance measures are underta.en for "nari &aami and -orthern &aami. The &aami language forms in /ussia, ho9e!er, are almost e%tinct. #anguage endangerment is a 9idespread phenomenon also in the northern part of +sia. The Altaic languages are spo.en o!er a !ast territor that e%tends from Tur.e 3Tur.ish5 across 'entral +sia and &i4eria to the *acific Acean 3La.ut5. 7ithin the Turkic, Tungusic and ,ongolic su4groups, most of the minor languages are endangered. "n the northern regions of La.utia in the /ussian 0ederation, people 9ho li!e in multi?ethnic communities e%perience pressure to a4andon their heritage languages in fa!our of one of the t9o official languages, /ussian and La.ut. +s a result, man representati!es of $!en.i, $!en 3Tungus group5, 'hu.chi and Lu.agir 3*aleo?+siatic group5 no longer spea. their former languages. +ccording to Michael Krauss 31::25, onl 20 of the 1=2 -ati!e +merican languages in the @nited &tates 4elong to the categor of non?endangered languages, i.e. languages that are acCuired 4 children informall at home. The e%tent of language disappearance in the +mericas in pre?documented times has resulted in a large num4er of language isolates and distinct families 9ith relati!el fe9 languages per famil . &ome scholars distinguish more than 100 language families and in addition lea!e a large num4er of indi!idual languages unclassified. The decline of nati!e languages of -orth +merica 9as set off 4 the $uropean conCuests in the 16th and 1=th centuries. #anguages disappeared in large num4ers 4ecause speech communities ph sicall 4ecame the !ictims of 9arfare, ne9 diseases, and forceful resettlement. 6iseases, such as smallpo%, 9ere transmitted 4oth unintentionall and intentionall D the deli4erate transmission of some diseases 9as done 9ith the clear o4jecti!e of genocide. 0orceful resettlement also included sla!er . The authorities set up language policies directed at eliminating heritage cultures and languagesB nati!e children 9ere separated from their families in special 4oarding schools 9here the use of their language 9as for4idden. -e9 !alue s stems 9ere forced upon the children and the 9ere made to den their o9n heritage and identit . This cultural and linguistic depri!ation through formal education, as too. place in man other colonial settings, such as in +frican countries, in /ussia and in -e9 Iealand, formed an essential part of colonial strategies to assimilate colonized peoples. 2

-ati!e +merican languages ha!e generall 4een replaced 4 the languages of the former colonial po9ers, i.e. &panish, *ortuguese, and $nglish or local linguae francae' 'olonial in!aders considered multilingual settings as o4stacles to e!angelization and effecti!e domination. Through this polic , Muechua and TupN GuaranN ha!e gained spea.ers at the e%pense of smaller languages. +fter independence, indigenous languages 4 and large ceased to 4e ta.en into account 9ithin go!ernment policies. "n -orth +merica, at least 300 languages 3estimates range from 300 O 6005 are .no9n to ha!e 4een spo.en 4 the indigenous populations. Man of these languages ha!e 4ecome e%tinct, 9hile man more are seriousl endangered. Thus, *ota9atomi and Anondaga ha!e at most 100 spea.ers, and estimates place the num4ers of spea.ers for languages such as 'a uga, Aneida, and >are at 200?600. &alishan languages, though spo.en in a large area in the north9est *acific, are se!erel endangered. 7a.ashan constitutes a seriousl endangered small famil on 8ancou!er "sland. #anguage maintenance programmes ha!e 4een esta4lished for man of these languages. -ames of ethnic communities and place names are the onl traces left of a large num4er of &outh +merican languages that ha!e disappeared undocumented. "n eastern Brazil and most of +rgentina, as in man other parts of &outh +merica, the nati!e population 9as eliminated and o4!iousl their languages !anished in these genocides. The num4er of indigenous languages spo.en in Brazil at the end of the 12th centur , for e%ample, has 4een estimated at appro%imatel 11=2. $fforts are 4eing made to document the remaining appro%imatel 1H0 languages. "n +ustralia o!er 220 languages 9ere still spo.en 9hen $uropeans arri!ed a4out 200 ears ago. The majorit of these languages has disappeared since then and speech communities of most of the remaining languages count fe9er than 100 mem4ers. Bilingualism is 9idespreadB seldom in other +ustralian languages, 4ut predominatel in $nglish. 7ith the e%ception of !er fe9 cases, the +ustralian languages are on the !erge of e%tinction. The e%treme language di!ersit found in Aceania is illustrated 9ell 4 the o!er H00 languages referred to as 5apuan. The e%tent of language endangerment is not et transparent, since less than 10; of the *apuan languages ha!e 4een documented in an greater detail. "n the +ndaman "slands of "ndia a dozen languages form a distinct language famil . The -orthern and 'entral languages are alread e%tinct, and the three se!erel endangered languages of the Southern Anda!anese group are spo.en 4 4et9een 20?220 spea.ers. The Sino3Ti&etan famil includes 'hinese, ma.ing it the second largest language famil in the 9orld in terms of total num4er of spea.ers. #ess 9ell?.no9n is the fact that the Ti&eto3 0ur!an 4ranch constitutes ? 9ith appro%imatel 320 languages ? :2; of all &ino?Ti4etan languages. +t least 20; of these languages are unclassified 9ithin the 4ranch, and for man not e!en the num4ers of spea.ers are .no9n. Most of these languages are poorl documented and se!erel endangered. $%treme linguistic heterogeneit , together 9ith a geographical spread o!er relati!el inaccessi4le areas of northeastern "ndia, -epal, Bhutan, and M anmar challenges attempts to present on o!er!ie9 of these languages. )() Selected Case Studies of Endan*ered Lan*ua*es 6

+n o!er!ie9 of the e%tent of language endangerment is incomplete. The main reason for this is a lac. of informationB there are territories 9here no language sur!e s ha!e 4een conducted. A4!iousl , the situation of possi4le language endangerment is un.no9n in such regions. 0ollo9ing the general o!er!ie9 selected case studies 9ill highlight some of the .e issues central to language documentation and maintenance, such as the role of education, language policies, archi!es and records of endangered and e%tinct languages, and also the introduction of a 9riting s stem. The first case stud deals 9ith ()am, an e%tinct language onl .no9n through language documents. +s a second e%ample, there is the +inu language, 9ith still a fe9 spea.ers left. + fe9 hundred, mainl older people, spea. the -i!.h language, and for this language documentation and re!italization efforts are 4eing underta.en. T9o of the three 0risian languages are endangered, and language policies !ar considera4l in the -etherlands and German , 9here these languages are spo.en. The last case stud discusses aspects of the +mazigh language situation. &ome of the +mazigh languages ha!e disappeared 9ithout documentation, 9hile others are on the !erge of e%tinction and 9ill most pro4a4l disappear. There is, ho9e!er, hope for some of the +mazigh languages 9ith a larger num4er of spea.ers to sur!i!e, as the recei!e official support in some of the Maghre4 countries. )()(' ,-am. a Case of /hysical and Cultural !enocide in South "frica PKe eB (%arra ((.e is the motto of the state em4lem of the ne9 coat of arms, 9hich 9as launched in post?apartheid &outh +frica in +pril 2000. This sentence from ()am, a &outhern Khoisan language spo.en 4 one of the hunter?gatherer communities of &outhern +frica, commonl referred to as &an, is translated as Fdi!erse people uniteG. There are no spea.ers of ()am left toda . The phrase 9as coined on the 4asis of language documents, collected more than :0 ears ago, and no4od .no9s, if nati!e spea.ers of ()am e!er used these 9ords in such a meaning. -e!ertheless, the documents of the ()am language form an important testimon of the autochthonous peoples of &outhern +frica. 7hat happened to these people, their culture and languageQ + 4rief historical outline in ans9ering this Cuestion follo9s -igel *enn<s reconstruction. The colonial 9ar against the ()am, 9hich finall led to the e%tinction of ()am identit and their language, is one of the cruelest e!ents in +frican histor . The Jtre.4oers< 9ere the first colonialists to push into the interior of &outh +frica and to enter into a ruthless competition for natural resources. These frontier farmers appropriated the 9atering places for their cattle and .illed large num4ers of game 9ith their guns. The &an hunter?gatherer communities responded to this in!asion into their land and to the massi!e destruction of their su4sistence 4asis 9ith guerrilla tactics. &an attac.ed .raals at night, freCuentl .illed the guards and stole the cattle or sheep 7hen possi4le, the dro!e the li!estoc. into hidden places to consume the meat, or the simpl .illed the animals to destro the farmers< properties. "n the 1=20s, the colonists decided to respond to the resistance 9ith the aid of commandos. 0irst, commandos 9ere introduced to su4jugate the Khoe.hoe, pastoral communities spea.ing 'entral Khoisan languages, in the 7estern 'ape. The 6utch intruders too. their land and cattle and made the Khoe.hoe unfree la4orers. "n the earl missions against &an, the commandos, 9hich no9 consisted of Boers, Bastaards, )hosa and Korana, had t9in o4jecti!esB to crush the resistance and to capture 9omen and children for use as la4orers. The official polic at that time allo9ed the Jtre.4oers< to either chase &an out of their areas =

or to force them into unfree la4or. "n 1==1, a General 'ommando 9as set up to destro an &an resistance on a large scale. @suall , the !arious sections of the General 'ommando too. off in surprise attac.s at da9n, against indi!idual .raals of sleeping &an. The numericall small &an communities had no chance to stri.e 4ac. against guns and horse?mounted enemies. The num4er of casualties among mem4ers of the commandos 9as !er small if at all, Khoe.hoe fighting in the first lines 9ere .illed or injured. 8er fe9 Boers 9ere 9ounded or .illed, 9hile thousands of male &an lost their li!es. "nstead of capturing them, the commandos usuall shot male &an, 4ecause the considered them as 4eing of no economic !alue. More than =0 ears after the General 'ommando, commandos in Bushmanland again .illed large num4ers of ()am. The frontier farmers had gi!en up attempts to Jci!ilize< the &an and to change their Jpredator e%istence< into the life of pastoralists. The last remnants of the 'ape &an 9ere hunted to e%tinction 4 the Boer and JBastaard< usurpers of Bushmanland in the 1H=0s. +t that time, in addition to the commandos, also Jhunting parties< 9ent out for the sole reason of .illing &an people. Thus, the 9ar in the 1:th centur changed its o4jecti!es, as the farmers no longer aimed at merel 4rea.ing &an resistance 4ut completel eradicating &an societ . The first 9ords and some phrases of ()am 9ere recorded 4 >inrich #ichtenstein during his tra!els 4et9een 1H03 and 1H06. "n 1H=0, 7ilhelm Blee. and #uc #lo d 4egan to document the ()am language. Their collection of e%tensi!e te%ts re!eals that ()am at that time 9as a 9idel ?spo.en, !ia4le language. Blee. and #lo d 9or.ed in the 'ape To9n prison 9ith ()am, 9ho ser!ed sentences of imprisonment mainl for stoc. theft. "n 1:10?11, 6orothea Blee. !isited remnant groups of ()am, and found some 9ere 4ilingual in ()am and +fri.aans, 9hile most others 9ere alread monolingual in +fri.aans. "n the follo9ing decade, ()am identit and the language disappeared altogether. )()() "inu in 0apan +inu used to li!e in an area 4et9een the northern part of the ,apanese main island >onshu and the southern tip of Kamchat.a. The distri4ution of former +inu settlements on >onshu can 4e reconstructed through present?da place names. "n the 16 th centur , ,apanese started to immigrate to >o..aido and esta4lished a ,apanese region in the southern part of the island 3Matsumae5. +t that time, +inu li!ed in the areas called $zochi, i.e., the rest of >o..aido, Karafuto 3&a.halin5 and 'hishima 3Kurile islands5. 0orced resettlements of the +inu people follo9ed and +inu settlements ha!e disappeared from &a.halin and the Kurile islands. Toda most people 9ho identif themsel!es as +inu li!e on the island of >o..aido. "n the Meiji era 3from 1H6H5, 9ith the go!ernment polic of assimilation, +inu 9ere oppressed and e%ploited 4 the ,apanese intruders. The >o..aido &ettlement Mission 3Kaita.ushi5 9as esta4lished as an administrati!e organization to rule the region, and a large num4er of former samurai and farmers migrated from the ,apanese mainland to >o..aido. Ainu !oshir 3Fthe people<s landG5, the traditional hunting and gathering grounds of the +inu people, 9as declared as ,apanese territor and 9as gi!en to ,apanese immigrants. 7ith the introduction of a ,apanese 9a of life and compulsor , special education for +inu children, the oral transmission of traditional .no9ledge 9as interrupted. +s a conseCuence, the +inu language, together 9ith most aspects of traditional +inu life, disappeared 9ithin a couple of generations. 7hen the >o..aido +4origine *rotection +ct 9as passed in 1H::, +inu 9ere declared Rformer a4originesR and this ga!e rise to further discrimination. "n 1:16, the +inu H

+ssociation of >o..aido 9as esta4lished 9ith the aim to pro!ide 4etter education for +inu and to create social 9elfare facilities for them. "n 1:H1, this +ssociation proposed to the ,apanese go!ernment that the >o..aido +4origine *rotection +ct should 4e replaced 4 a ne9 la9, the so?called Ainu Shinpo 3-e9 +inu #a95. "n the F#a9 on the *romotion of +inu 'ulture and 0acilitation of *opular @nderstanding of +inu TraditionG the go!ernment for the first time recognized the e%istence of a separate ethnic group inside ,apan and calls for respect of its culture and traditions. This mar.s a significant change to pre!ious policies. "n the ear 1:H6, for instance, *rime Minister -a.asone still stated that F,apan is a raciall homogeneous nation and there is no discrimination against ethnic minorities 9ith ,apanese citizenshipG. This ne9 act is intended to help Fto realize a societ in 9hich the ethnic pride of the +inu people is respected and to contri4ute to the de!elopment of di!erse cultures in the countr , 4 the implementation of measures for the promotion of +inu culture, the spread of .no9ledge related to +inu traditions, and the education of the nation, referring to the situation of +inu traditions and culture from 9hich the +inu people find their ethnic prideG. "n 1::=, the >o..aido Go!ernment, the >o..aido 6e!elopment +genc and the Ministr of $ducation of ,apan appro!ed the esta4lishment of the 0oundation for /esearch and *romotion of +inu 'ulture 30/*+'5. Ane the 0oundations tas.s is to further the de!elopment of di!erse national cultures through the preser!ation and promotion of the +inu language and traditional culture, as 9ell as the dissemination of .no9ledge on +inu traditions. 0or the impro!ement of +inu language education, the 0oundation pro!ides training opportunities for +inu language instructors through intensi!e courses on effecti!e instruction methods. The are 4ased on the grammatical characteristics of the +inu language and prepared in cooperation 9ith +inu language researchers. These and other acti!ities of the 0oundation should promote the +inu language and culture. +ccording to a sur!e conducted 4 the >o..aido Go!ernment in 1:::, 23,=6= persons identified themsel!es as +inu. To the present da , man ,apanese citizens fear discrimination for 4eing +inu and for that reason den their origin. 6espite the recent positi!e de!elopments and the enthusiasm of ounger people to learn +inu, the language must 4e regarded as 4eing nearl e%tinct. Most scholars 9or.ing on the +inu language assume that less than ten spea.ers are proficient in that language. )()(1 Ni23h in the #ussian 4ederation -i!.h 3also called Gil a.5 is an isolated language spo.en on the island of &a.halin and in the lo9er reaches of the +mur /i!er in the /ussian 0ar $ast. &ince the middle of the 1: th centur , -i!.h has 4een classified as *aleosi4erian 3or *aleoasiatic5 together 9ith languages such as Ket, Lu.aghir, "telmen, 'hu.chi and Kor a.. The -i!.h language is geneticall not related to geographicall neigh4oring languages such as ,apanese, +inu or an of the Tungusic languages 3@ilta, -anai etc.5. Af the total population of 1,:02 in the original home countr of the -i!.h 32,122 in the +mur region, 2,120 on &a.halin5, the num4er of spea.ers has 4een reported to 4e 1== 32002 census5. Most of these spea.ers are o!er the age of 60 and the are all 4ilingual in -i!.h and /ussian. An special occasions -i!.h is still used among the representati!es of the older generation. The ounger generation 3age 10?605 still has some passi!e :

competence of the language, 9hereas the oungest generation has practicall no .no9ledge. The U"(SC1 Red 0ook on (ndangered Languages descri4es the sociolinguistic situation of -i!.h to 4e Fnearl e%tinctG in the +mur area and Fseriousl endangeredG on &a.halin. -i!.h has t9o major dialect groups, the +mur dialects and the &a.halin dialects. 7ithin each group, there are numerous su4?dialects, some of 9hich ha!e not et 4een descri4ed. The 4est?documented dialects are those spo.en on the lo9er reaches of the +mur /i!er as 9ell as the dialects on the east coast of &a.halin. The first -i!.h?/ussian and /ussian? -i!.h dictionaries are also 4ased on the dialects spo.en in this area, and contain le%ical items of the &a.halin dialects as su4?entries. The 9ell?descri4ed dialects of the &a.halin are those spo.en in and around the !illage of -ogli.i and the dialect of *oronais.. +ccess to spea.ers 9as !er limited 4efore the *erestroi.a period and the first fieldtrip to &a.halin 4 a team of international scholars too. place in 1::0. 0or this reason, most of the a!aila4le linguistic material is pro!ided 4 linguists from /ussia. &ome non?/ussian linguists managed to record data of the &outheastern dialect in &outh &a.halin under the ,apanese regime 31:02?1:125 or from -i!.h refugees 9ho settled in >o..aido 3,apan5 after 77"". Before the in!ention of '6s, the pu4lication of audio material 9as not eas . *orta4le 6+T recorders 9ere not a!aila4le and 4ecause of the lac. of infrastructure it 9as difficult to reach communities in the 0ar $ast. -e!ertheless, the /ussian ethnologist #e! &htern4erg 9as a4le to record the -i!.h almost one hundred ears ago. >is material consists of recordings of songs and shaman performances on phonograph c linders. 'urrentl , this audio material is archi!ed in the sound archi!e of the /ussian +cadem of &ciences 3*ush.ins.ii 6om5 in &t.*eters4urg. "n the 1:20<s, $rumin Kreino!ich recorded -i!.h spea.ers on &a.halin. This material has 4een transferred from &t.*eters4urg to the &a.halin Museum of /egional &tudies in Luzhno?&a.halins.. Ta.eshi >attori produced sound tapes of the *oronais. dialect in 1:30<s and 1:10<s, 9hich no9ada s are archi!ed in the >o..aido Museum of -orthern *eoples in +4ashiri, ,apan. "n the 1:20<s and 1:60<s, /o4ert +usterlitz 9or.ed 9ith spea.ers of the *oronais. dialect. The resulting sound recording and field notes are stored in #ondon. Galina Ataina, the first linguist of -i!.h origin, produced a num4er of cassette tapes during her field9or.. >er material is archi!ed in 0ar $ast Branch of the /ussian +cadem of &cience in 8ladi!osto.. "n addition, there are audio and other materials made 4 numerous indi!iduals and institutions, including 4 the -i!.h people themsel!es 3e.g. the -i!.h author 8ladimir &angi5. @nfortunatel , !er fe9 of these data are at the moment a!aila4le to the students of the -i!.h language. The audio data that 9ere recentl pu4lished on the "nternet 4 >idetoshi &hiraishi are a small contri4ution to compensate for this unfortunate situation 3see httpB((e%t? 9e4.edu.sgu.ac.jp(hidetos(5. "nstitutions and researchers should feel an o4ligation to ma.e all the a4o!e?mentioned materials generall a!aila4le for further scientific studies and for the use 4 communit mem4ers. )()(5 North 4risian in !ermany -orth 0risian is a mem4er of the coastal 7est Germanic su4group together 9ith $nglish, 9hereas >igh German and 6utch 4elong to the continental 7est Germanic su4group. A!er the centuries -orth 0risian has 4een hea!il influenced 4 6anish and #o9 German, at a 10

later stage also 4 >igh German. 0risian languages are spo.en in three areasB 7est 0risian in the pro!ince of 0riesland in the -etherlands, and in German $ast 0risian in a small area 3&aterland5 of #o9er &a%on and -orth 0risian in the -orth9est of &chles9ig?>olstein. 7est 0risian has more than 300,000 spea.ers and is not endangered, 9hereas 4oth $ast 0risian 3less than 2,000 spea.ers5 and -orth 0risian 3less than 10,000 spea.ers5 are endangered. The three 0risian languages also differ strongl regarding the proportion of the num4er of spea.ers related to the total populations of their respecti!e areasB more than half of the population of 6utch 0riesland are spea.ers of 0risian, compared to 1H; in the German &aterland and a onl =; in -orth 0riesland. -orth 0risian has no official status in German . The total population of the district of -orth 0riesland amounts to a4out 122,000. Af these inha4itants, some H?10,000 spea. -orth 0risian 32?=;5 and a4out 60,000 310;5 consider themsel!es to 4e 0risians. The other languages spo.en in the area are >igh and #o9 German, 6anish and ,utish. +t present the dominant language is >igh German. #inguisticall , 7est 0risian appears much more unified and standardized than either $ast or -orth 0risian. These latter are 4oth smaller and sho9 more dialect !ariation, especiall "sland -orth 0risian. 0or 7est 0risian, the regional go!ernment has authorized an official orthograph . -orth 0risian has se!eral dialects and no accepted standard spelling, 9hereas the $ast 0risians ha!e adopted the orthograph of 7est 0risian. "n pu4lic usage and !isi4ilit , 0risian in the -etherlands has a stronger position than 4oth German 0risian languages. "n 6utch 0riesland, 0risian is a compulsor su4ject at primar and junior high school le!elD in German it is merel a marginal su4ject in primar schools. Afficial recognition and support appears to 4e small for -orth 0risian, 9hereas the 6utch go!ernment has authorized the use of 0risian in courts. The pro!incial go!ernment of 0riesland uses the orthograph , and indi!idual municipalities ha!e official policies fa!ouring 0risian 3e.g. for place names5. 0or -orth 0risian there is at least a special council at the &tate ministerial le!el, 9hile $ast 0risian is merel recognized 3side?4 ?side 9ith #o9 German5 as a minorit language 4 the state go!ernment, 9ith no further specific pro!isions. An the islands of & lt, 0Shr and +mrum man parents still use -orth 0risian 9ith their children. "n the rest of the area the shift to #o9 or >igh German is progressing. An 0Shr, +mrum and around /isum?#indholm on the mainland ounger spea.ers still form social 4onds through -orth 0risian, 4ut else9here this ta.es place through >igh German. The oung generation still uses -orth 0risian, though representati!es of the older generation are critical of the FCualit G of their language. The -orth 0risian language consists of nine main dialects, each of 9hich has its o9n more or less standardized orthograph , grammar and !oca4ular . -orth 0risian is used informall in !arious domains of societ , such as in the famil , communit acti!ities, etc. "t is also introduced to some domains on a more formal le!el, e.g. education and the church. There the a4o!e?mentioned di!ersit in dialectal standards creates serious practical pro4lems. The 1::0 constitution of the &tate of &chles9ig?>olstein has made pro!isions for the protection and support of -orth 0risian, 9hereas the German 0ederal /epu4lic has no official polic regarding -orth 0risian. "n 1:HH, a 'ouncil for 0risian +ffairs in &chles9ig? 11

>olstein 9as formed and a special counselor for 4order affairs in charge of -orth 0risian 9as appointed at the go!ernorTs office. "n 1::1 -orth 0risian 9as introduced in t9o .indergartens as a pilot project 9hich 9as to run until 1::6. This has moti!ated similar projects on the islands of & lt and +mrum. +t the primar le!el -orth 0risian is an optional medium of instruction in a fe9 schools and some pupils are taught through -orth 0risian. The 4asic pro4lems, ho9e!er, are a lac. of a firm legal foundation, of 4ilingual teaching methodolog , and of material and curriculum de!elopment. The Mercator $ducation *roject at the 0risian +cadem deals 9ith these pro4lems and pro!ides material for the education of -orth 0risian and other lesser?used languages in $urope 3see the 9e4 site 999.mercator?education.org5. )()(6 "ma7i*h (8erber) Lan*ua*es in Northern "frica #ittle is .no9n a4out pre?historic times in -orthern +frica, 4ut no4od seems to Cuestion that +mazigh are the indigenous inha4itants of the area 4efore the F"slamic 'onCuestG of the +ra4s. The entire northern part of the +frican continent ma 9ell ha!e 4een a !ast contiguous area of an +mazigh dialectal continuum in 9hich neigh4oring !arieties 9ere mutuall intelligi4le. "n the =th and Hth centuries, +ra4ic started to spread along 9ith "slam among former +mazigh3spea.ing communities. The spread of +ra4 too. se!eral hundred ears, and it 9as not the high prestigious +ra4ic !arieties that replaced the ethnic tongues of +mazigh, 4ut rather the colloCuial !arieties. These ha!e de!eloped into the ne9 mother tongues of most of the former +mazigh spea.ers. These mainl oral +ra4ic !arieties ? not &tandard +ra4ic ? remain the main threat to the ancestral languages of the indigenous populations of -orthern +frica, right until toda . 0igures pro!ided for the num4er of +mazigh languages range from Jone< to more than a Tone hundredT and some e!en mention as man as 2,000 local forms. The status of most +mazigh !arieties 9ith regard to their linguistic distance needs further in!estigation and a coherent linguistic atlas of the +mazigh languages is still lac.ing' +mazigh languages are spo.en 4et9een Mauritania at the +tlantic coast and $g pt in the $ast, Tunisia in the -orth and Bur.ina 0aso and -iger in the &outh. The 9esternmost +mazigh language is Ienaga, 9ith onl a fe9 hundred spea.ers in an isolated poc.et in the coastal 4order region of Mauritania and &enegal. The oasis of &i9a in $g pt is the most eastern +mazigh settlement. The language used there, named &i9i is spo.en 4 a4out 10,000 people. >o9e!er, since it 4ecame part of $g pt in 1:20, +ra4ic !oca4ular has entered the language through formal education and militar ser!ice. &panish has replaced the +mazigh language of the Guanche in the 'anar "slands after a final defeat in 11:6. &e!eral other +mazigh languages, such as &ened in Tunisia or Ghomara and &anhaja of &rair in +lgeria ha!e 4ecome e%tinct since then. Ienaga in Mauritania and &a9.na in #i4 a, along 9ith man others, are under serious threat. Ka4 le, TamasheC and Tamazight are among those languages that are spo.en 4 large communities and therefore seem to 4e rather safe, at least for the time 4eing. >o9e!er, to call oneself +mazigh no longer reCuires an +mazigh language competence. The majorit of those 9ho currentl claim +mazigh identit do not spea. +mazigh. This is the most threatening fact for the !italit of the +mazigh languages and a serious indicator of their endangerment, despite the fact, that some +mazigh languages still ha!e large speech communities.

12

The sociopolitical en!ironment for +mazigh speech communities differs considera4l in the -orth +frican &tates. #i4 a<s F#eader of the /e!olutionG, 'olonel Muammar Gaddafi, neglects an distinct +mazigh identit and does not accept an promotion of +mazigh languages in his countr . Their e%istence is 9idel ignored in Tunisia and Mauritania, 4ecause the +mazigh are fe9 in num4er in these t9o countries. The most positi!e prospects for the future, it seems, are e%hi4ited 4 the +mazigh languages spo.en in Morocco, and not onl 4ecause their spea.ers are the most numerous. King Mohammed 8" of Morocco esta4lished FThe /o al "nstitute of the +mazigh 'ultureG 3"/'+M5 9ith the 6ahir of +jdir on Acto4er 1=th, 2001. This /o al "nstitute in /a4at has 4een created to promote +mazigh culture and language. The most challenging tas. assigned to "/'+M 4 the .ing seems to 4e the esta4lishment of a standard +mazigh orthograph . 7ith regard to a 9riting s stem for +mazigh, there are 4asicall t9o opposing positions. The Moroccan go!ernment, li.e the +lgerian "slamic go!ernment, has ad!ocated the use of an +ra4ic?4ased script for +mazigh and the use of the #atin alpha4et to them means the rejection of "slam through 7estern secularism. Most +mazigh, ho9e!er, use and promote the #atin script for their language. "/'+M, i.e. the King of Morocco, came up 9ith a rather une%pected third alternati!e, a Fpoliticall neutralG, in!ented script called -eo?Tifinagh. 'haracters from roc. inscriptions, some of 9hich date 4ac. as far as 2,000 ears, and a fe9 manuscripts formed the 4asis for the de!elopment of this -eo?Tifinagh script. The Moroccan go!ernment decided that each language should 4e 9ritten in its o9n scriptB +ra4ic in +ra4ic script, 0rench, &panish and $nglish in #atin script and +mazigh in -eo?Tifinagh. $ducational materials for primar education ha!e 4een de!eloped and printed in this ne9 script in the last fe9 ears. Autside Morocco, Tifinagh characters, ho9e!er, are used merel as s m4ols in letterheads and logos. 6espite the official support for their language, man +mazigh feel that the -eo?Tifinagh script 9ill ultimatel segregate the +mazigh people and 9ill also ha!e a negati!e effect on the use of the language. This script is considered to 4e cum4ersome in its use 4 most +mazigh and e!en e%perts, 9ho themsel!es de!eloped the script, are not et at ease 9ith this FartificialG 9riting s stem. The step to 9ritten media in most cases is an important factor in the promotion of pre!iousl un9ritten, oral languages. >o9e!er, decisions on 9riting con!entions such as alpha4ets, orthographies and 9riting s stems for languages should al9a s consider the reCuests and needs of the mem4ers of the speech communities. The o4!iousl need to identif 9ith these decisions, in order to use the 9ritten forms of their languages. 1( Lan*ua*e Documentation and Maintenance There is a pressing need to document endangered languages, as man of them 9ill disappear 9ithin the ne%t fe9 decades. These languages ma pla important roles in the future of the speech communities, for e%ample, 9ith regard to human rights issues and Cuestions related to cultural identit and sur!i!al. #anguage loss leads to the irre!oca4le loss of human cultural heritage. Thus, endangerment of languages raises concerns among linguists, as languages are important sources for spea.ers< identit as 9ell as for scientific research. The loss of each language reduces the linguistic di!ersit of the 9orld, regardless of the reasons 9h people a4andon their language and regardless of 9hether the adopt another local language, an official state language or an international language. 13

1(' 9hy Study Endan*ered Lan*ua*es: The .no9ledge acCuired in the stud of indigenous languages is also of prime interest to other disciplines, such as anthropolog , archaeolog , histor and prehistor . 0or regions in 9hich no 9ritten historical accounts e%ist, languages 4ecome a source of eminent importance for the reconstruction of cultural histor . #anguage comparison and reconstruction ma pro!ide insights into certain aspects of the histor and prehistor of a region. 0or e%ample, close linguistic relationships are freCuentl disco!ered 4et9een languages and language families that at present are located at great distances from each other. &uch findings ma help to identif geographical origins of speech communities and ma e!en allo9 a reconstruction of possi4le migration routes. >istorical information can also 4e o4tained 4 anal zing the traces of language contact. &peech communities that li!e side 4 side e%change 9ords of their languages, as 9ell as su4s stems or sentence constructions. &o?called Jareal features< are shared properties in geneticall unrelated languages of a certain geographic region. The spread of such areal features through 4orro9ing !er often ena4les researchers to reconstruct the contact histor . The reconstructed proto?le%icon of a language famil or a language 4ranch pro!ides a uniCue source for historical anthropolog . *roto?!oca4ularies contain not onl information on the 9a of life 4ut also on the 9a of thin.ing of spea.ers in the past. 0or instance, names of plants ma tell us 9hether the spea.ers 9ere nomadic or sedentar . 'om4ined 9ith results from the 3paleo5zoolog and 3paleo54otan of the area, the historical comparati!e method can ma.e in!alua4le contri4utions 9hen it comes to ans9ering Cuestions that are related to the geographic origin of a culture. #anguages spo.en 4 small speech communities !er often pla crucial roles in language classifications and historical reconstruction. The stud of endangered languages can 4e considered against a 4ac.ground related to the general !alue of preser!ing e%isting cultural di!ersit . $!er culture represents an e%periment in the sur!i!al of a uniCue and alternati!e 9a of life, of sol!ing or e!ading pro4lems. #oss of cultural di!ersit is therefore a loss of e%perience and .no9ledge that has pro!en its potential usefulness for man.ind in general. #anguages, 4esides 4eing part of a people<s cultural heritage, constitute a complete and comple% reflection of it. The loss of a language entails the loss of cultural heritage. The documentation of languages is thus also central to ethno4otan , ethnomedicine, and to the stud of ritual and oral traditions. &e!eral aspects ma 4e considered in order to determine the urgenc of the need for language research and documentation. "t should 4e noted that particularl urgent are 3i5 cases 9here language isolates are endangeredD 3ii5 cases 9here an entire su4?famil of languages is under threat of e%tinctionD 3iii5 cases 9here special languages are endangered, including contact !arieties, initiation languages or ritual languages. The urgenc for language maintenance efforts e%pressed 4 the communit , ho9e!er, should 4e gi!en high priorit . The loss of a language isolate means the loss of a language the properties of 9hich cannot 4e reconstructed 4 research into related languages 3as such languages do not e%ist5. #inguistic isolates are also the most li.el to pro!ide ne9 e!idence for sol!ing pro4lems related to language classification. "n addition to this, it is also important to loo. at language 11

!ariation 9ithin languages. The stud of initiation languages, other ritual languages or registers, as 9ell as languages of FcastesG and those of communities that li!e in client?patron relationships ma 9ell 4e of utmost importance. 'ase studies of such language !ariation ma allo9 for a 4etter understanding of language change processes. The potential, 9hich the heritage languages and cultures offer to their speech communities, ho9e!er, is enormous and of eminent importance. 1() Documentin* Endan*ered Lan*ua*es "n most parts of the 9orld, speech communities of endangered languages ha!e no or onl restricted access to formal education. $!en in the other parts !er fe9 mem4ers of ethnolinguistic minorities are trained linguists. 0or that reason, the documentation of endangered languages in!ol!es the spea.ers of such languages together 9ith the documenting linguists. 0urthermore, !arious aspects of the research setting need to 4e ta.en into consideration. 6ifferent t pes and possi4le le!els of language documentation are often determined 4 non?linguistic considerations. These conditions include, among other things, the a!aila4ilit of funding for eCuipment, the logistics of the field9or. situation 3accessi4ilit , securit 5, and the familiarit of field 9or.ers 9ith audio!isual technolog , etc. The num4er of spea.ers and their le!el of competence ma impose se!ere limits on the linguistic 9or.. -anc 6orian has anal zed the language use and competence of Fsemi? spea.ersG in the receding language in language shift situations. J&e!erel endangered< or Jmori4und< languages can no longer 4e full recorded, 4ecause terminal spea.ers or Frust spea.ersG are no longer trul fluent in the language, 9hich had 4een a4andoned 4 all other mem4ers of their communit . F/emem4erersG ma 4e a4le to recall 4its and pieces of a language 9hich 9as spo.en around them during their childhood. A4!iousl , e!en less relia4le language data can 4e collected in such cases, in 9hich a language is no longer spo.en, 4ut onl remem4ered. "n a fe9 cases, historical recordings and descriptions e%ist 9hich allo9 researchers to go 4ac. in time and stud e%tinct or mori4und languages. Man e%tinct languages are onl .no9n through archeological findings, in the form of cuneiform ta4lets etc. The sources !ar in Cualit , contents and size. 0or man -ati!e +merican languages, for e%ample, onl catechisms or religious primers 62octrinas5 e%ist, 9hich date 4ac. to the colonial era. "f these are the onl sources, then the restricted su4ject matter of these 6octrinas, 9hich often ta.e the form of literal translations from &panish or *ortuguese, does not pro!ide sufficient data for an anal sis of the language. "n the spirit of gathering enc clopedic .no9ledge, as 9as one of the characteristics of 1H th centur enlightenment, short 9ord lists of un9ritten languages 9ere compiled all o!er the 9orld during that era. These 9ordlists are often the sole sources of an information a4out the language, and are therefore !er !alua4le, despite the inconsistencies in spelling, the lac. of anal sis of the languageTs sound s stem and, of course, the a4sence of .no9ledge of its grammatical structure. &ome long 9ord lists and grammatical s.etches of !anishing languages, collected 4 tra!elers and interested amateur philologists, e%ist in !arious archi!es, in $urope and else9here. These important sources call for 4eing e!aluated and the language data should 4e made pu4licl a!aila4le 4 putting them onto the 7orld 7ide 7e4. 12

The 7itsen project could ser!e as an e%ample for such a dissemination effort of linguistic data from historic sources. The project in!estigates the minor communities of -ortheast +sia, their histor , natural en!ironment, culture, language and their 9a of life. "t has 4een triggered mainl 4 the 4oo. J-oord en Aost Tartarije< of the +msterdam Ma or -icolaas 7itsen. >e tra!eled to /ussia in the 1=th centur and collected data on the morpholog of the landscape, as 9ell as on the fauna and flora. >is main interest, ho9e!er, 9as in the people of &i4eria and the 0ar $astD along 9ith ethnographic data, he also pu4lished 9ordlists of the !arious &i4erian languages. Anl during the 1:th and 20th centuries, did relia4le and complete grammatical descriptions 4ecome a!aila4le, often com4ined 9ith dictionaries and te%t collections. +t present these descripti!e grammars are the main source of our .no9ledge of endangered and e%tinct languages. Much current 9or. is a direct continuation of the tradition 9hich originated in the 1:th centur , and it produces grammars, dictionaries, as 9ell as more theoretical anal ses. 0ield9or. is considered the essential part in documenting endangered languages. The 20th centur has 4rought the technological inno!ation of sound carriers, complemented 4 !ideo. #anguages can 4e recorded in 4etter Cualit and the communicati!e interactions can 4e captured on film. The possi4ilit of recording interactions has not onl enriched our .no9ledge of grammar, morpholog , le%icon, etc., 4ut it also allo9s for a s stematic description of patterns of interacti!e language use. Materials loc.ed up in sound archi!es, museum collections and li4raries, such as for -i!.h mentioned a4o!e, need to 4e made pu4licl a!aila4le, as the can 4e emplo ed not onl to stud e%tinct languages, 4ut also to possi4l re!i!e them. -e9 technologies can also help preser!e language documents and ma.e old materials accessi4le on ne9 data carriers. &ound archi!es 4ased on different .inds of carriers dating 4ac. to the earl 20th centur e%ist for Cuite a fe9 e%tinct languages. 0or e%ample, recordings of !arious e%peditions among the peoples of &i4eria are archi!ed in the *ush.ins. 6om in &t. *eters4urg. + fe9 ears ago, an international team copied the materials onto modern sound carriers and made selected parts accessi4le on the "nternet. "n this 9a sources 9hich are hidden in archi!es can 4e made a!aila4le for further research 3see 999.speech.n9.ru(phonetics(homepage.html5. "nformation technolog allo9s for com4ining different t pes of information 3te%ts, recordings, !isual material5 into integrated documentation s stems. Ane of the initiati!es 9hich utilizes modern technologies for language documentation is the 6AB$& project 36A.umentation B$drohter &prachen5, carried out at the Ma% *lanc. "nstitute in -ijmegen 3the -etherlands5. This project aims at documenting selected endangered languages according to current scientific standards, 4ut also in a 9a 9hich allo9s the anal sis of the data. The project attempts to define linguistic and technological standards for the documentation of so far unrecorded language that ma also applied 4 other scholars 9or.ing in this field. The 6AB$& project is one of se!eral current 9orld9ide initiati!es that support the documentation of endangered languages and ? in doing so ? help to safeguard an essential part of human cultural heritage. Ather programs are the >ans /ausing $ndangered #anguages *roject at the #ondon &chool of Ariental and +frican &tudies 3&A+&5, the ,apanese project on the $ndangered #anguages of the *acific /im 3$#*/5 and the special programme of the -etherlands Arganization for &cientific /esearch -7A. 16

$sta4lished in 1::2, the 0oundation for $ndangered #anguages 30$#5 supports, ena4les and assists the documentation, protection and promotion of endangered languages. The pream4le of the 0$# summarizes its o4jecti!es as follo9sB 3i5 to raise a9areness concerning endangered languages, 4oth inside and outside the communities 9here the are spo.en, through all channels and mediaD 3ii5 to support the use of endangered languages in all conte%tsB at home, in education, in the media, and in social, cultural and economic lifeD 3iii5 to monitor linguistic policies and practices, and to see. to influence the appropriate authorities 9here necessar D 3i!5 to support the documentation of endangered languages, 4 offering financial assistance, training, or facilities for the pu4lication of resultsD 3!5 to collect and ma.e a!aila4le information of use in the preser!ation of endangered languagesD and 3!i5 to disseminate information on all of the a4o!e acti!ities as 9idel as possi4le. #inguists generall recei!e funds from national science and other foundations for scholarl acti!ities that aim at academic outcomes, such as grammatical descriptions and compilations of language corpora. &uch funding agencies t picall do not support, or e%plicitl e%clude, the 9or. 9hich in!ol!es the speech communities themsel!es, despite the fact that such colla4oration is fundamental to language maintenance efforts. 'ommunit mem4ers themsel!es rarel recei!e funds from such funding institutions for language documentation and maintenance acti!ities. Afelia Iepeda from the @ni!ersit of +rizona identified the lac. of competence in the field of proposal 9riting as one main o4stacle for this se!ere inadeCuac . &he initiated seminars sponsored 4 the -ational &cience 0oundation of the @&+, in 9hich nati!e linguists and language 9or.ers acCuire the s.ills needed for proposal 9riting. This ma ena4le spea.ers of endangered languages not onl to control the research conducted on their languages, 4ut also to carr out the documentation of their languages themsel!es. Man $uropean countries of the 'ouncil of $urope ha!e ratified the $uropean 'harter for /egional or Minorit #anguages. This 'harter has 4een put for9ard not onl to foster a greater unit 4et9een its mem4er states, 4ut also to help $uropean minorities to de!elop and maintain their heritage languages. 7ithin the $uropean @nion 3$@5 se!eral initiati!es ha!e 4een esta4lished in accordance 9ith the principles of this 'harter. The $uropean Bureau for #esser?@sed #anguages 3$B#@#5 is a -on?Go!ernmental Arganization 3-GA5 that promotes languages and language di!ersit in $urope. "n addition to the Mem4er &tate 'ommittees 3M&'s5, the Mercator -et9or. of three research and documentation centers has 4een set up. The Mercator?$ducation center at the 0r s.e +.adem 3#jou9ert(#eeu9arden, the -etherlands5, for e%ample, conducts and pu4lishes studies on !arious Cuestions concerning education for minorit speech communities and in minorit languages. The Mercator centers, together 9ith the $B#@#, support the documentation and de!elopment of endangered $uropean languages, such as the &aami languages, &or4ian and -orth 0risian. 1(1 "ssessin* Lan*ua*e ;itality and Endan*erment "n countries such as -e9 Iealand, German and +lgeria, it is o4!ious 9hich languages ha!e to 4e regarded as 4eing endangered, i.e. the Maori, &or4ian and +mazigh languages, respecti!el . "n other countries, the situation is far more complicated and insights into !arious factors are reCuired in order to reach an understanding of the o!erall sociolinguistic situation of a language 9ith respect to its degree of endangerment. The follo9ing summarizes @-$&'A acti!ities focusing on gathering information on the e%tent of language endangerment and on anal sing the nature of this phenomenon. 1=

"n 1::2 @-$&'A launched a 'learing >ouse for the 6ocumentation of $ndangered #anguages in To. o. &ince then man international meetings ha!e ta.en place, either addressing the pro4lem of language endangerment in general or discussing a geographic approach 3+frica, &outh +merica, the /ussian 0ederation, etc.5. 7ithin the frame9or. of these acti!ities an "nternational $%pert Meeting 9as organized 4 @-$&'A headCuarters in *aris in March 2003. There, an @-$&'A ad hoc $%pert Group on $ndangered #anguages presented a draft report entitled Language Vitality and Endangerment for discussion among the wider audience of linguists, language planners, representati!es of -GATs, as 9ell as mem4ers of endangered language speech communities. 6uring the meeting, a final document 9as produced and among the main outcomes nine core factors 9ere identified 9ith the help of 9hich the language situation of endangered languages can 4e assessedB Degree of endangerment 1 "ntergenerational language transmission 2 +4solute num4ers of spea.ers 3 *roportion of spea.ers 9ithin the total population 1 #oss of e%isting language domains 2 /esponse to ne9 domains and media 6 Material for language education and literac Language attitudes and policies = Go!ernmental and institutional language attitudes and policies, including official language status and use H 'ommunit mem4ers< attitudes to9ards their o9n language Urgency of documentation : +mount and Cualit of documentation 0actors from 315 to 365 are applied to assess a language<s !italit and its state of endangerment. The most crucial single factor among them is 315, 9hich determines the e%tent of language acCuisition among the children 9ithin a communit . "t is o4!ious that a language 9ithout an oung spea.ers is seriousl threatened 4 e%tinction. The d namics of the processes of a gi!en language shift situation is intended to 4e captured 4 315 to 325. The proportion of spea.ers 9ithin a communit 335 re!eals an important aspect of language !italit B is the minorit language still an essential indicator for 4eing regarded a mem4er of the communit or notQ 'an a person 4e a mem4er of the communit 9ithout spea.ing the heritage languageQ The introduction of formal education or ne9 jo4 opportunities for the mem4ers of a minorit group ma result in the loss of domains in 9hich the heritage language has 4een used up to then 3factor 15. + shift in religious affiliation of a communit might also results in the shift to another mother tongue, a language that is associated 9ith the ne9 religion 325. >ausa and 6 ula, for e%ample, spread as first languages in 7est +frica along 9ith "slam. 0actor 365 relates to the stage of de!elopment of a gi!en language 3F+us4auG5. "s there a communit <s orthograph Q >a!e the communit mem4ers agreed on a common standard form for 9riting the languageQ +re teaching and learning materials for the language 1H

a!aila4leQ "s there literature, such as ne9sletters, stories, religious te%ts, etc. pu4lished in that languageQ + factor 3=5 deals 9ith the go!ernment<s policies to9ards that language and 3H5 assesses the spea.ersT attitudes to9ards their ethnic language. 0inall , factor : attempts to e!aluate the urgenc for documentation 4 focusing on the Cuantit and Cualit of alread e%isting and anal sed language data. &peech communities are comple% and patterns of language use 9ithin these communities are difficult to e%plore. The e!aluation of the state of !italit of an language is therefore a challenging tas.. Mem4ers of an ethnolinguistic minorit or e%ternal e!aluators can use the factors introduced a4o!e in order to descri4e a language shift situation and to anal se the .ind and state of endangerment of a language. These factors incorporate a 2 to 0 grading s stem. 7ith factor 1, for instance, grade 2 stands for the use of the language 4 all mem4ers of the communit , 9hereas grade 0 states that there are no longer an spea.ers of this language. "n appl ing all the factors to the language situation, a ta4le of num4ers is o4tained, 9hich characterizes the .ind and state of endangerment for a language. The information in such ta4les can ser!e as a useful instrument not onl for the assessment of the situation of a communit <s language, 4ut also for the formulation of appropriate support measures for language documentation, maintenance, or re!italization. 1(5 Lan*ua*e Maintenance and #e2itali7ation Maintaining language di!ersit reCuires not onl the spea.ers themsel!es, 4ut also the in!ol!ement of linguists, language planners and polic ma.ers. +.ira Lamamoto 3one of the leading scholars and a committed promoter of fostering the use of endangered languages in the @nited &tates5 has Cuite rightl 4een demanding for man ears that Rresearch in endangered language communities must 4e reciprocal and colla4orati!eR. Anl in 9or.ing together 9ith the communities are linguists a4le to contri4ute to the safeguarding of endangered languages. Man mem4ers of minorit communities no longer care for their heritage languages and linguists often find it difficult to accept this fact. -e!ertheless, it is onl at the reCuest of the spea.ers that linguists can assist ethno?linguistic minorities in fostering their threatened languages in meaningful 9a s. +s a first step oral languages need to 4e anal zed and documented. 0or this purpose a practical orthograph is one of the 4asic reCuirements for language documentation and maintenance acti!ities. #inguists ma support communities in the de!elopment of teaching and learning materials, as 9ell as in teacher training. +nd finall , mem4ers of the speech communit might e!en 4e trained to 4ecome researchers and linguists themsel!es. 6iscussions on the future of their ancestral languages are far more complicated, and Cuite di!erse opinions are e%pressed 4 mem4ers of ethno?linguistic communities. Those spea.ing endangered languages often consider their o9n language to 4e 4ac.9ard and not functional either for themsel!es or for future generations. Ather communities, ho9e!er, e%perience threats to their languages as a crisis and commit themsel!es to language re!italization acti!ities. The esta4lish en!ironments, such as .indergartens, in 9hich their languages are spo.en e%clusi!el in order to sta4ilize their mother languages among the oung generation. &till, an increasing num4er of ethno?linguistic minorities 9ant more. Man of their mem4ers demand control o!er the terms and conditions 9hich go!ern research. +lso, the further claim rights on research outcomes, and the 9ish to ha!e a sa on ho9 research results should 4e used and disseminated. 1:

"n the educational sector, Cuite a num4er of linguists are engaged in implementing mother tongue education programmes to safeguard ancestral languages. Mother tongue education has 4ecome more popular in most parts of the 9orld o!er the past 12 ears, and since 1:23 @-$&'A has 4een instrumental in this de!elopment through its polic statements and related acti!ities. #oo.ing at endangered languages, ho9e!er, 9e find that in man +sian and +frican countries, so?called Rmother tongue educationR does not refer to the ancestral languages of ethno?linguistic minorities, 4ut to the use of ? local, pro!incial, and national ? dominant languages as the media of instruction. #ess than 10; of the appro%imatel 2,000 +frican languages are currentl emplo ed as the medium of instruction in the educational sector, 9ithout a single endangered language among them. RMother tongue educationR in man cases further cements the position of languages 9hich spread at the e%pense of endangered languages. +s linguists, 9e are o4liged to support an attempt to use +frican languages in formal education, 4ut 9ith that 9e ma in!oluntaril help to threaten the languages of ethno?linguistic minorities, 9hich are not included among the media emplo ed in Rmother tongue educationR. 0urther discussion on the use of endangered languages in formal education 9ill follo9 4elo9, 9ith e%amples from the /ussian 0ederation and 'alifornia. "n a joint effort researchers from /ussia and the -etherlands anal ze data from audio archi!es and at the same time appl modern field9or. techniCues in stud ing endangered languages such as -i!.h, -enets and Lu.agir. The results are language descriptions, grammars, dictionaries and edited collections of oral and 9ritten literature on and in these languages. "n seminars, the use of these learning and teaching materials 9ithin the modern facilities of information technolog is passed on to local teachers. 0ormal language teaching of former mother tongues is directed to those ounger mem4ers of the communities 9ho ha!e not learned their nati!e language informall at home. &pecial methods for teaching the former mother tongue as a foreign language ha!e to 4e applied. &elected parts of the acoustic data4ases used for these projects are a!aila4le on the "nternet and pro!ide an opportunit for the e%change of information on these languages 9ith institutions from other parts of the 9orld. A!er the last decades se!eral am4itious language re!i!al initiati!es ha!e 4een esta4lished in the @nited &tates. The 0reath of Life 7 Silent "o ,ore 9or.shops at the @ni!ersit of 'alifornia in Ber.ele , for e%ample, use linguistic data4ases to help nati!e communities of 'alifornia to stud and acCuire their ancestral languages. >alf of the appro%imatel 100 languages still spo.en in 'alifornia at the 4eginning of the 1: th centur ha!e disappeared, and most of the other half are on the 4rin. of e%tinction. There is not a single 'alifornia "ndian language that is learned 4 children at home as the primar language. The fe9 elders, 9ho still spea. their heritage languages, hardl use them as the ha!e no4od to tal. to. The a4o!e mentioned 9or.shops assist -ati!e +merican communities in reconstructing their ancestral language from language documents, such as pu4lications, field notes, and audiotapes. 7here elders still spea. the language, the 9or.shops support the participants in their attempts to acCuire and use the former ethnic languages. 5 Concludin* #emar3s *roficienc in nationall and internationall dominant languages 9ill gain importance throughout the 9orld and, for that reason, 9ill continue to spread. This de!elopment does not necessaril reCuire the sacrifice of other languages, i.e. mother tongues of ethno? linguistic minorities, since most societies ha!e al9a s 4een multilingual. >o9e!er, spea.ers 20

might decide to a4andon their lo9 prestige ethnic tongue for the 4enefit of social mo4ilit and career opportunities. "n these situations, ancestral languages can onl sur!i!e in the long run if meaningful roles for them can 4e esta4lished in the li!es of the communit mem4ers. @ltimatel , in order to maintain and perpetuate the 9orld<s language di!ersit , these spea.ers ha!e to find good reasons for .eeping their ancestral language ali!e in natural e!er da communication 9ith their offspring. The 9orld faces ne9 challenges in .eeping its languages ali!e and 9ell. "t is time for the peoples of the 9orld to pool their resources and 4uild on the strengths of their linguistic and cultural di!ersit . This entails pooling the resources at all le!elsB indi!idual language specialists, local spea.er communit , -GAs, and go!ernmental and institutional organizations. +t the local communit le!el and o!er the past se!eral decades, for e%ample, man people ha!e 4een 9or.ing to de!elop language education programmes, usuall 9ith e%tremel limited technical resources. @nli.e teachers of major languages of the 9orld, the lac. not onl formal training in language teaching, no9 often reCuired 4 local go!ernments, 4ut also language curricula and, e!en more cruciall , usa4le 4asic language descriptions. &imilarl , speech communities of endangered languages, linguists, language acti!ists, and polic ma.ers ha!e a long?term tas. to accomplish in order to de!elop effecti!e and !ia4le strategies for sustaining the 9orld<s endangered languages. + -a!ajo elder e%pressed the importance of language maintenance for his communit in the follo9ing 9a B f you don<t breathe. there is no air( f you don<t %al3. there is no earth( f you don<t spea3. there is no %orld(
3*araphrased 4 Lamamoto from a -a!ajo elderTs 9ords, *B&?T8 Millennium &eries Tri&al #isdo! and the ,odern #orld5

"c3no%led*ements 0irst of all, 9e are inde4ted to our host institutions in ,apan for pro!iding e%cellent facilities and research conditions that allo9ed us to 9or. on this article. T9o sources on #anguage $ndangerment ha!e 4een consulted e%tensi!el , and therefore reCuire to 4e speciall mentioned. Ane is Language 8itality and (ndanger!ent pu4lished 4 @-$&'A 320025 and the other is a report entitled (ndangered Languages Research in the "etherlands, produced 4 the +d!isor 'ommittee on $ndangered #anguage /esearch of the -etherlands Arganization for &cientific /esearch -7A 320005. 7e gratefull ac.no9ledge the crucial contri4utions and !alua4le comments 4 se!eral scholars to earlier !ersions of this paperB ,oan +rgenter, #enore Greno4le, 6a!id >ough, 21

'hristopher Mosle , >iroshi -a.aga9a, -icholas Astler, +.ira Lamamoto, >idetoshi &hiraishi and Tasa.u Tsunoda. 8iblio*raphy
+ustin, *eter K. 3ed.5 2002 and 2001 Language 2ocu!entation and 2escription' The >ans /ausing $ndangered #anguages *roject, &A+&, #ondon. 38ols. 1 and 25. U&eries of reports on recent $# projects, presented at the &chool of Ariental and +frican &tudies in the frame9or. of the /ausing $# *rojectV. Brenzinger, Matthias 3ed.5 1::2 Language 2eath' Factual and Theoretical (%plorations )ith Special Reference to (ast Africa' Berlin, -e9 Lor.B Mouton de Gru ter. U'ollection of conference papers and re!ie9 articles on endangered languages 9ith a regional focus on eastern +fricaV. 6e Graaf, Tjeerd 2001 The status of endangered languages in the 4order areas of ,apan and /ussia, in +. +rgenter and /. McKenna Bro9n 3eds.5 1n the ,argins of "ationsB $ndangered languages and linguistic rights. *roceedings of the $ight 'onference of the 0oundation for $ndangered #anguages, Barcelona, 1?3 Acto4er 2001. *p. 123?12:. U+rticle on the situation of the +inu and -i!.h languages in a series of conference proceedings on $# studies, pu4lished 4 the 0oundation for $ndangered #anguagesV. 6orian, -anc '. 3ed.5 1:H: Investigating 1&solescence9 Studies in Language Contraction and 2eath . 'am4ridgeB 'am4ridge @ni!ersit *ress. UThe articles in this 4oo. deal 9ith $# in man parts of the 9orld and the co!er a 9ide range of topicsV. Greno4le, #enore +. and #indsa ,. 7hale 2006 Saving Languages. An Introduction to Language Revitali:ation. 'am4ridgeB 'am4ridge @ni!ersit *ress. U+ general reference guide to language re!italization, not onl for linguists and anthropologists, 4ut also for language acti!ists and communit mem4ersV. >aruchi, &erge 2002 7ho am " in this landQ 7hat people am " part ofQ "nB "7G"+ 6ocument To)ards a "e) ,illenniu!, ten years of the indigenous !ove!ent in Russia' 'openhagen, pp. =2?HH. U'ollection of documents and articles related to $# projects in the /ussian 0ederation, in particular concerning the organization /+"*A- of the -orthern *eoples in /ussiaV. >inton, #eanne 1::1 Flutes of Fire' (ssays on California Indian languages . Ber.ele , 'aliforniaB >e da Boo.s. U+rticles on the re!italization of 'alifornia "ndian languages and on 9or.shops organized 9ith mem4ers of the speech communitiesV. Matsumura, Kazuto 3ed5 1::H Studies in (ndangered Languages. *apers from the international s mposium on endangered languages, To. o, -o!em4er 1H?20, 1::2. To. oB >ituzi & o4o. U*roceedings of the first conference organised 4 the @-$&'A "nternational 'learing >ouse for $ndangered #anguages 9ith !arious contri4utions on language endangermentV. Astler, -icholas 2002 (!pires of the #ord' A Language istory of the #orld' #ondonB >arper'ollins *u4lishers.UThis 4oo. descri4es ho9 during the histor of the 9orld certain languages 4ecame dominant and others 4ecame endangered and e%tinctV. /o4ins, /o4ert M. and $ugenius M. @hlen4ec. 3eds.5 1::1 (ndangered Languages. A%ford(-e9 Lor.B Berg. UAne of the first 4oo.s, 9hich is aimed at a 9orld9ide co!erage of the topic of endangered languagesV.

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8io*raphical S3etches Matthias Brenzinger is a tenured researcher at the Institut fuer Afrikanistik, @ni!ersit of 'ologne, German and currentl 32002(20065 !isiting professor at the /esearch "nstitute for #anguages and 'ultures of +sia and +frica of the To. o @ni!ersit of 0oreign &tudies. >e organized se!eral international conferences focusing on endangered languages and edited t9o !olumes on language endangerment in +frica, i.e. Language 2eath' 0actual and theoretical e%plorations 9ith special reference to $ast +frica. Berlin, -e9 Lor.B Mouton de Gru ter, 1::2 and (ndangered Languages in Africa' KSlnB /Wdiger KSppe, 1::H. 0ield9or. and pu4lications on endangered languages on the +frican continent 9ere conducted among the Laa.u in Ken a, Ma<a in Tanzania, Ba so in $thiopia, Kh9e in -ami4ia, Bots9ana, +ngola and Iam4ia. >e supported communities< language maintenance acti!ities, such as, the de!elopment of a practical orthograph for Kh9e and assisted as a consultant in the implementation of mother tongue education in $thiopia. &ince the mid?1::0s he is in!ol!ed in @-$&'A acti!ities and projects related to endangered language issues, for e%ample together 9ith +.ira Lamamoto as chairperson of the U"(SC1 Ad3hoc (%pert 4roup on (ndangered Language . >e is a mem4er of the standing committee of #1CAL 6#orld Congress of African Linguistics;' e?mailB Matthias.BrenzingerXuni?.oeln.de, BrenzingerXaa.tufs.ac.jp Tjeerd de Graaf, associate professor of phonetics at Groningen @ni!ersit 3the -etherlands5 until 2003, has specialized in the phonetic aspects of $thnolinguistics for the last 12 ears. "n 1::0, he joined a ,apanese e%pedition and conducted his first field9or. 9ith the minorit peoples of &a.halin. &ince then he has contri4uted to !arious research projects on the endangered languages of /ussia. "n co?operation 9ith colleagues in the /ussian 0ederation and ,apan, he focused on the use of sound archi!es for research on minorit languages and cultures. Most of these research projects 9ere funded 4 special grants from the $uropean @nion and the -etherlands Arganization of &cientific /esearch -7A. Tjeerd de Graaf recei!ed a 6octorate >onoris 'ausa for his 9or. from the @ni!ersit of &t.*eters4urg in 1::H. &ince 2002, he has 4een a 4oard mem4er of the 0oundation for $ndangered #anguages 3Great Britain5. >e is a research fello9 at the 0risian +cadem , 9hich co?ordinates research on $uropean minorities, in particular the language, histor and culture of 0risian, one of the lesser used languages of $urope. "n 2003, he spent a semester as !isiting professor at the @ni!ersit of &t.*eters4urg and in 2001 and 2002, he 9as guest researcher at the &la!ic /esearch 'enter of >o..aido @ni!ersit , ,apan. e?mailB tdegraafXfa..na9.nl @/#B 999.mercator?education.org $ndangered #anguages

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