Indigenous Language Preservation

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Indigenous Language Preservation

Introduction

The increased rate of globalization all over the world has come with a lot of positive effects

as well as negative ones in equal measures. Due to the continued movement and settlement of

people in areas far away from their motherlands, they have picked up new languages and, in

the process, forgotten their indigenous languages and culture (McCarty & Sheilah 116).

Canada is one of the countries that has been dramatically affected by the continued extinction

of several of its indigenous languages at the expense of other languages such as English.

Languages such as Seneca, Cayuga as well as Oneida are barely spoken in present-day

Canada. As a matter of fact, the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger project

describes how endangered most of the languages in Canada are by using the worlds

"critically," "severely" or "definitely." At the same time, others are defined as unsafe or

vulnerable. Ideally, this shows the extent to which many languages are at the brink of extinct.

Notably, the real essence and definition of any culture are embedded in the unique

language the people speak, and for that matter, the extinction of indigenous languages in

Canada is a huge threat the existence of its diverse cultures (Jacob, James, Sheng & Maureen

11). As such, reliant on a number of arguments, the preservation of indigenous languages in

Canada is more than a necessary thing to do.

The Importance of Indigenous Language Preservation

As already mentioned, culture is typically founded on language, and without it, the definition

of any culture is nonexistent. For different societies, it is through language that they have

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been able to pass on knowledge from one generation to another. In the same way, it is

indigenous languages that family connections and histories, protocols, dances, songs, as well

as stories are embedded (Kay-Raining Bird 10). For that matter, their extinction as well

implies the fading of such essential aspects of culture. One story can be told by different

cultures in different ways according to the various aspects that they follow. As such, it would

not hold as much meaning if told in any other language even if the people of that culture can

hear, understand and speak it (Galley 7). Furthermore, the customary laws of different

cultures and societies in Canada are held by the languages they speak. The majority of these

laws were eroded by the Indian Act policies (Government of Canada 18). Many of these

policies made people lose their mother tongue as they promoted the speaking of both English

and French. As such, the near-to extinction of such languages led to the loss of the inherent

connection of people to their historical and cultural past.

Defining Identity

All through time, the indigenous people have not only been talking but also observing their

environment and culture as their own identity that is indispensable from them. Ideally, it is

essential to note that all the knowledge and the practices are entrenched in an invaluable

source of information pertaining to the history of animals, plants, climate, and the natural

environment called language as a body of knowledge that is irretrievable. Indigenous

traditional knowledge is used by resource planners, governments, medical experts and

scientists and in case of the extinction of different languages, all these important bodies of the

society are negatively affected (McCarty & Sheilah 119). In addition, the identity of people is

embedded in their culture whose most important definitive characteristic and identifier is the

language. For that matter, if the people of Canada are to retain their unique identity, it is very

crucial that their indigenous languages are preserved.

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Furthermore, it is important to note that different countries such as the United

Kingdom and France have been able to influence the world in different dimensions because

they have protected their indigenous languages in addition to promoting them. As a matter of

fact, these languages are largely spoken by people in Canada who are not aware and

conversant with their own indigenous languages (Jacob et al. 11). One would arguably assert

that these have significantly contributed to the gradual and progressive erosion of indigenous

languages in Canada. These countries have gained substantial influence on other countries

inclusive of Canada for the mere fact that many natives speak these languages (Galley 9). As

such, the preservation coupled with the promotion of Canada’s indigenous languages would

as well bring back national pride and give the country and its people an upper hand in such

matter of influence that the United Kingdom and France have for long exploited for their own

benefit.

The Key to Unity

Ostensibly, it is becoming more and more evident that with the world becoming more

globalized, more intermarriages are taking place and people are losing out of the inherent

connections that are as a result of different people identifying with a given culture. Ideally, it

is for this reason that the committing of different crimes inclusive of robbery, murder as well

as corruption in different institutions is on the rise (Meissner 269). People no longer feel the

connection that is usually built by the sense of belonging to the same culture. It is important

to note that language is an indisputable block in building culture and connections. As such, if

people cannot speak the same language or in case the dialect in which they communicate is

not the indigenous language, the most reliable models through which they can live in

harmony with each other and the earth are nonexistent. For that matter, in order to bring up

the connections and relationships in people that are welded by culture, it is important that

indigenous languages, as a defining force of culture are preserved.

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Conservation of Natural Resources

Undeniably, it is near to impossible to separate the three aspects of cultural, linguistic and

biological diversity from each other as they are all mutually reinforcing. For that matter,

when an indigenous language in Canada goes into extinction and is entirely lost by the

generation, they as well lose the traditional knowledge on the different ways in which they

can maintain the biological diversity of the world (Haque & Donna, 39). Ideally, this is the

reason why it is becoming increasingly hard to address issues such as environmental

degradation and climate changes in the country. Entailed in different cultural practices and

languages are ways to preserve the environment, and the climate and concrete cultural

practices support the passing of norms from generation to another. However, with the

extinction of indigenous languages, many of these practices have as well gone to the dogs

(Meissner 14). As a result, such practices as conserving natural resources no longer mean

anything to the current generation, which predominantly focuses on using them to generate

income.

Preservation of Humanity

The extinction of indigenous languages in Canada implies the loss of knowledge, culture as

well as the worldview of the people that speak those languages. Ideally, this implies that

humanity is all lost as well. In Canada, as well as the other parts of the world at large, people

live in direct contact with their habitat, the native environment. Nonetheless, with the

extinction of the indigenous languages that they speak, they as well lose the rest of their

native cultural forms of expression in poetry, visual arts and music, their religious and

philosophical beliefs, their wisdom concerning the relationship between local plants and

illnesses, and their knowledge of the environment (Kay-Raining Bird 15). Ideally, it is

important to note that these have for long enriched not only the speakers of the language but

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also those that have crossed paths with them, and in a nutshell, one would say that with such

extinctions, the real essence of humanity is as well lost.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, due to the increased rate of globalization all around the world, Canada in

particular as well as very many other countries have found themselves in a place where their

indigenous languages have gradually been eroded to extinction. Languages such as Seneca,

Cayuga as well as Oneida, among others have been described as "critically," "severely" or

"definitely" endangered. Without a doubt, this puts the country and its identity at a huge

threat. It is high time the authorities in Canada stood up and instituted measures to preserve

their indigenous languages as these are a media through which knowledge is passed on from

one generation to another, are a definition of the country's and its people' identity, are a key to

national unity, help in the conservation of natural resources and are a preservation of

humanity.

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Works Cited

Galley, Valerie. Indigenous Languages Recognition, Preservation and Revitalization: A

Report on the National Dialogue Session on Indigenous Languages. First Peoples'

Cultural Council, 2016.

Government of Canada. "Indian Act." Justice Laws Website - Site Web De La Législation

(Justice), 8 Apr. 2019, laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/i-5/.

Haque, Eve, and Donna Patrick. "Indigenous languages and the racial hierarchization of

language policy in Canada." Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural

Development 36.1 (2015): 27-41.

Jacob, W. James, Sheng Yao Cheng, and Maureen K. Porter, eds. Indigenous education:

Language, culture and identity. Springer, 2015.

Kay-Raining Bird, Elizabeth. "Health, Education, Language, Dialect, and Culture in First

Nations, Inuit, and Mtis Communities in Canada: An Overview." Canadian Journal

of Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology 35.2 (2011).

McCarty, Teresa L., and Sheilah E. Nicholas. "Reclaiming Indigenous languages: A

reconsideration of the roles and responsibilities of schools." Review of Research in

Education38.1 (2014): 106-136.

Meissner, Shelbi Nahwilet. "The moral fabric of linguicide: un-weaving trauma narratives

and dependency relationships in Indigenous language reclamation." Journal of Global

Ethics14.2 (2018): 266-276.

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