Languages seem to be converging to a smaller number, as languages like
English seem to eat up regional ones. The three languages used the most by first
language speakers today are Mandarin Chinese, English, and Spanish. English is
being used more and more as the main language for business, science, and popular
culture. Evidence suggests that the dominant languages are squeezing out the local
tongues of various regions in the world. Linguists estimate that of the approximately
6,500 languages worldwide, about half are endangered or on the brink of extinction.
According to some linguists, the estimated rate of language extinction is one lost in
the world every two weeks. If this sounds like the world is losing a species, in a way
it is.
When a language is lost, meaning no living person can teach another, a world
perspective is lost. Some foreign language expressions simply cannot be translated.
Colloquial phrases are pleasant to the ear, not only because they are familiar, but
also because they reflect a unique aspect of a culture. Aboriginal languages in
Canada and other countries such as Australia have words that reflect a way of life
that is connected closely to the Earth. There are fifty different words that mean
“snow” in one Canadian native language, and in the Eastern Arrernte language of
Central Australia, the word nyimpe translates to “the smell of rain.”
Languages are much like living creatures that become endangered when
numbers dwindle. Local natural disasters, war, and famine are some of the reasons
languages slip through the cracks of history. The language that bore the different
daughter languages for the Eskimo and Inuit was almost wiped out after World War
II. The mother language, Proto-Eskimo Aleut, was under siege when the Aleut
people were forced to leave their land. Fortunately, some Proto-Eskimo Aleut, which
originated 6,000 to 8,000 years ago, is still spoken. Languages also become
endangered when they are not passed on to children or when a metropolitan
language dominates over others.
【題組】76. Which of the following statement is NOT true about the passage?
(A) English is being used more and more as the main language for business, science, and popular culture.
(B) Mandarin Chinese, English, and Spanish are the dominant languages.
(C) Approximately 3,250 languages worldwide are on the brink of extinction.
(D) The estimated rate of language extinction is two lost in a week.
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