Lost languages

[VinayaSpeaks]

How do you feel about the languages that are already lost? Do you think these languages must be recovered so that we can learn about various civilization, or do you think we should move on and do nothing about the languages that are lost?

[darkchild]

I think these languages should be recovered; it's not like there are new languages to replace them.

I always believe in preserving a culture; cuisine, dressing, ceremonies, festivals and languages so that they can go on for many generations to come.

[AureliaeLacrimae]

I too believe that languages are important. They are the reflection of someone's psyche and worldview. This is why a lot of cultures have similar and yet different idioms - they look at the world in a slightly different way, even if they are on the same continent. 

Old languages are a true marvel. It is a shame that we cannot preserve them. Latin has had luck because it is full of grammar rules and everything is strictly determined. Besides, there were many grammarians and linguists in general who had written about Latin, which helps us greatly in reconstructing it. Not to mention that it has been the lingua franca of the science for ages. In Croatia, it has been used for liturgical purposes until the 19th century. My grandma still remembers her grandma used to recite "Pater Noster" and "Ave Maria." They didn't really understand what was being said, but they were still able to remember these prayers.

There are, of course, languages which have not been as fortunate. I can't even imagine what Proto-Indo-European could sound like, for example. None of us can tell for certain. That's why it's important to try to preserve language so they don't get lost. Because if they do, getting them back will be a true challenge.

[prettylittleliar]

I don't view the preservation or recovery of extinct languages as anything of great importance to be entirely honest. If I try to picture recovering an old language, it makes me think of discovering dinosaur bones or fossils. I think I could look on an extinct language with interest, pleased that there were experts in the world who had archived it and presented it to me, but I wouldn't go to any great lengths to learn the old language or study it any further (much as I don't with dinosaur bones and fossils). They are a thing of wonder and intrigue, but I don't think it's important enough to me to want to do something about it.

[Beautyfulbree]

I think they should recover lost languages. It would beautiful to know the lost words of our ancestors. There are many languages on the verge of being my lost. In my area the Native American cultures are fighting hard to teach their heir's their native tongue. I've never came across a language that wasn't interesting to hear, and the lost ones would be no different. 

[Kev Brown]

I think it depends on the civilisation the languages are linked to. If there is a significant body of literature or writings that are of importance today then an understanding of the language should be maintained. If not I think it's fair to let languages that have died out naturally to remain in the past.

[lushlala]

I think I would have to also know why they died out in the first place. I know languages grow and evolve over the years, but I think it's truly tragic when you hear of languages completely dying out. I see it happening before my very eyes, in my own culture, my own country. More and more kids go to private schools, where the main medium of instruction is English. Consequently, more and more of the younger people speak English a lot better than their own language. What's even more worrying is the fact that they're displaying a reluctance to learn, let alone speak it! If my language showed glaring signs of dying I'd be gutted. But I wouldn't know where to start in order to preserve it. I reckon trying to revive a language that's faded out would be a mammoth task, and would probably require a lot of resources, including a huge amount of money.

[SoManyLanguages]

I really think an effort should be made to recover some of these languages. So much of my own culture has been lost because other languages have taken over or people just stopped speaking it. If there's nothing to recover, though, there's nothing to recover. I think more effort should be put into preserving already dying out languages.There's a certain point where you have to realize that there's nothing to be done about what's been lost. In short, I believe efforts should be put into recovering old languages, but more effort should be put into preserving our current ones.

[Lingua Franca]

It's very important to document the language, I don't on the other hand think it's a good idea to force people to speak it unless the people really want too. There are still some historic scripts that have been found that no one can decipher. If they had kept a "Rosetta Stone"  in the past we could learn from past knowledge. 

[lingualbabe]

Yes, yes and yes! I think lost languages should be revived simply because they're a testament of the culture and history of the people at their time. It always pains me that certain dialects die out just because we didn't pursue the time to preserve it. I wish more and more parents teach their children to be multi-lingual. If they have an older dialect, teach it along with the national language and the universal language. It's a great way to preserve history, their history, their heritage and their culture. And the more we let these languages die, the more we're allowing history to be lost as well. 

As others have said, these languages might also have certain implications. Ancient writings and books might have used this language. Maybe we can find certain writings on the walls of caves or pyramids using this language. And without preserving it, we'll never know their meanings. If I have all the time in the world, I would love to learn about ancient languages. It's one dream of mine, to learn at least one ancient language.