Are we
moving from a world of 5,000 languages to a world with just one? WBEZ
Chicago Public Radio's international news program Worldview, hosted
by Jerome McDonnell, discusses this and other questions during a series
of programs devoted to endangered languages.
Wednesday,
December 26, 2001 @ 1 pm CT Moving Towards a World Language? Audio
What will the decline of language diversity mean for speakers of disappearing
tongues and for native English speakers? Host Jerome McDonnell speaks
with Jerrold Sadock, a professor of Linguistics at the University of Chicago. Language planning: Icelandic Language Preservation
EffortsAudio
Icelandic, a Nordic language with 300,000 speakers, is the only official
language of Iceland. Icelanders start learning English in 5th grade --
as well as some Danish (as they used to be a Danish colony). However,
Icelanders have long believed they can keep their language pure and protect
it from the influx of foreign words. The government has embraced language
planning, and the Icelandic
Language Institute is the Ministry of Education’s official vehicle
for regulating the language and creating new words to describe new technology
and imports. Ari Pall Kristinsson, director of the Icelandic Language
Institute, discusses his organization's efforts with Jerome McDonnell.
Thursday, December
27, 2001 @ 1 pm CT Political
Endangerment: Language and Minority Group AspirationsAudio
Hugh Brody, anthropologist and filmmaker, discusses living with the San
of the Southern Kalahari and hunter-gatherer groups in the Arctic and
Subarctic. He also guest edited an edition of the Index
on Censorship devoted to indigenous peoples called "Tribes :
Battle for Land and Langauge." Language in Danger: BerberAudio
In Morocco and other North African countries, Berbers struggle to preserve
their language and culture in the face of the gradual but pervasive process
of Arabization. Marvin Mikesell is a professor of geography at the University
of Chicago who spent a number of years living with Berbers. He speaks
about the future of Berber and how names have historically been repressed
for political reasons.
In
this 1992 map, the Kurdish region is in a lighter color. Click
on the map for a larger version of the image.
This map is is from University of Texas at Austin. The original file
was sized to fit this page.
Friday, December
28, 2001
@ 1 pm CTAudio Language in Danger:
Kurdish
Like the Berbers, the Kurds are a state-less people spreading across state
borders and speaking numerous dialects. Michael Chyet teaches Kurdish
and formerly worked with Voice of America to broadcast in Kurdish.
He discusses the political challenges facing Kurdish and what Kurds need
to do for their languages to survive longer than 20 years. The Washington Kurdish
Institute has additional information on Kurdish language and culture. Basques in Nevada?Preserving
Diaspora Language and CultureAudio
Basque, or Euskara, is unique in that it does not belong to a known family
of languages. Its origin is the subject of much academic speculation,
but no definitive theory. Basque is enjoying something of a comeback in
many Basque areas where children can now go to bilingual or Basque only
schools. Of course, once students leave school, they still face a dominant
culture that requires fluency in Spanish or French and may associate Basque
with extreme Basque nationalism. Basque speakers outside the Iberian penninsula
are trying to preserve their heritage in the face of a different set of
challenges. A Basque diaspora has reached far and wide-into Latin America
and even the American West. Joseba Zulaika, Director of the Center
for Basque Studies at the University of Nevada at Reno discusses these
communities' efforts to reconnect with a global Basque community.
Additional Language Issues, as reported by Radio
Netherlands
Politics Threaten Northern Ireland
Dialect Laura Haydon,
Radio Netherlands Listen
to this report
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Wednesday,
December 26, 2001 @ 1 pm CT 
