In what ways does the loss of indigenous languages signify a loss of knowledge and cultural diversity?

 

Languages carry in-depth cultural knowledge and perceptions. In this time where indigenous languages are in the process of extinction, there is 99 percent chance for the loss of knowledge and cultural diversity. As various rare languages die out, so do the inimitable findings their orators have conserved across generations in their oral histories. Alaska has a “linguistic crisis,” as reported by Alaskan Governor Bill Walker. A report cautioned earlier this year that all of the state’s 20 Native American languages might succumb by the end of this century. American policies, particularly in the six decades between the 1870s and 1930s, repressed Native American languages and way of life. It was only after days of activism by indigenous masters that the Native American Languages Act was conceded in 1990, which led to the safeguarding of indigenous languages. However, many Native American languages have been on the brink of extinction for the past years. So, what does the loss of these languages mean in terms of our understanding of the world? Entrenched in indigenous languages, in particular, is information about ecosystems, conservation methods, plant life, animal behavior and numerous other characteristics of the natural world out there. In Hawaiian traditions and belief systems, for instance, the tree snails were associated with “the realm of the gods.” Hawaiian royalty respected them, which sheltered them from overharvesting. The Bishop Museum in Honolulu bears a shell necklace, or lei, of Queen Lili‘uokalani, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. It is made from tree snail shells, which implies the high rank of female royalty. Wearing a shell was presumed to give spiritual control and a method to comprehend ancestral information. Many of these snails are now vanished and those remaining are endangered with extinction. Scientists are working with Hawaiian language experts to learn about the belief systems that once helped protect them and their habitats. These are the ways indigenous languages are significant and in this situation without them maybe the species will vanish into thin air. Words in indigenous languages can have cultural connotations that can be missing during translation. Apprehending the elusive differences can often change one’s viewpoint about how indigenous people believed about the natural world. Language loss can be considered as risky as the extinction of a plant or an animal. Once a language is gone, the traditional knowledge it brings also gets expunged from society. The loss of indigenous languages is not Alaska’s disquiet alone. It distresses all of us. To lose these indigenous languages means losing huge human capital and rich cultural diversity. Indigenous languages carry years of evidence which owes a lot to some historical discoveries made so loss of these languages signifies loss of historical knowledge. When a language perishes so does the relation to the cultural and historical past. Without that vital connection to their linguistic and cultural history, people lose their feeling of identity and belonging. Scientists are discovering more and more evidence for events that occurred thousands of years ago which have been archived and conserved in indigenous anecdotes, re-told and remarkably preserved over hundreds of generations. Some indigenous languages demonstrate that human speech is not limited to the spoken word. Indigenous languages extinction triggers the loss of unique medicinal knowledge. Indigenous people have amassed an urbane knowledge about plants and their amenities—including information that gives out major health aids -that is concealed in their languages. Atlas when all these beneficials are provided from indigenous languages, without them there is a 200 percent chance for all the knowledge and cultural diversity gained will be lost.