The paths and links of language and memory

[scarlettina]

This morning in his link salad, jaylake included a link to a National Geographic piece about language loss, a magnificent photo essay/slide show showing people who speak vanishing languages, including words from those languages. Most of the languages shown are Native American, though they are certainly not the only languages we are losing in the world. I'

Comments

[e_bourne]

This reminded me of what I learned doing research on The Septuagint. It was written because there was a fear that so many Jews were losing Hebrew as generations now lived in Greek lands, that they were unable to read the Torah, and that their identity as Jews would be lost, thus a translation was needed. It was the birth of the synagogue -- a place where Jews who couldn't get to the Temple could gather in groups and worship and develop their community. The history of how synagogues developed across North Africa and Asia is pretty wonderful. They simply didn't exist until before somewhere around 300 BCE, then began popping up. At first they were controversial, but were eventually deemed a necessity due to the diaspora.

So many Jews then spoke a mix of Greek and Hebrew, or just Greek, it was a real break with prior tradition.

I could go on (you know me) because this is such a rich and fascinating piece of history every where. And your post brought it to mind.

[criada]

Thank you for writing about such a beautiful experience. A while back, I had a rather exasperating conversation with my dad, explaining why endangered languages (and for that matter, any secondary language) were worth saving. Basic stuff like how language, identity and culture were entwined, and why the disintegrating effects of assimilation and colonialism on them were bad. He's not malicious, like my English-Only uncle, he's just ignorant.

[mcjulie]

This reminds me of how happy I was when, in Wales in 1995, Welsh seemed to be the first language of the young people we encountered.

[varina8]

Language matters. When I started learning Slovenian last year, there were so many memories I could access just through the sound of the words. Yet it also made me aware of how my lack of language cut me off from the heritage of my father and his family.

Thank you for posting about Tumbalalaika. I remember hearing it sung as a kid. Good memories.

[mabfan]

You got me humming Tumbalalaika.

[gnomi]

Me too!

[scarlettina]

It's been in my head all morning long.