Language revitalization facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Language revitalization, also known as language revival, is all about trying to save languages that are slowly disappearing. It also includes bringing back languages that no one speaks anymore. People who work on this can be language experts, community groups, or even governments.

There's a small difference between "language revival" and "language revitalization." Language revival means bringing back a language that has no native speakers left. Language revitalization means helping a "dying" language that still has some speakers.

So far, only one language has been fully revived: Hebrew. It created a whole new generation of native speakers, even though there weren't any before.

Languages that need revitalization are those not used much anymore. Sometimes, these efforts even try to bring back languages that are completely extinct. The main goals are usually to get more people to speak and use the language, or to keep it from disappearing forever.

Why do languages need saving? Sometimes, people who speak a language are in danger. Other times, it's about protecting their culture or land. Sadly, over 2,000 languages have already disappeared. Experts say that more than half of the languages spoken today have fewer than 10,000 speakers. Many have fewer than 1,000. If we don't do something, most of these could be gone in the next 100 years.

Saving languages helps keep our world's linguistic diversity alive. Languages are also a huge part of a community's culture and identity. They connect people to their ancestors and their history.

Language revitalization also works closely with language documentation. This is where experts record a language's grammar, words, and unique features. This helps people learn more about the language and often leads to more efforts to save it.

How We Measure Language Danger

It's important to know how much a language is in danger. Here are a couple of ways experts measure it:

Five Levels of Danger

One way to look at it uses five levels:

Healthy/Strong: Everyone, young and old, uses the language in many different places.
Weakening/Sick: Mostly older people speak it. Younger generations don't use it as much.
Moribund/Dying: Only a few adult speakers are left. Children don't learn it as their first language.
Dead: No one speaks it as their native language anymore.
Extinct: No one speaks it, and there are very few or no written records.

UNESCO's Scale

Another way to measure language danger comes from a 2003 paper by UNESCO. Linguists created a scale with six levels for how "alive" a language is. They also looked at nine factors to understand a language's situation.

Here are some of those factors and what the levels mean:

How it's passed down:

* Safe: All generations use it. * Unsafe: Some children use it, or all children use it sometimes. * Definitely Endangered: Few children speak it. Mostly parents and older people use it. * Severely Endangered: Only older generations speak it. Younger people don't. * Critically Endangered: Very few speakers left, mostly great-grandparents. * Extinct: No living speakers.

Number of speakers: How many people speak the language.
Speakers compared to total population:

* Safe: 100% of the population speaks it. * Unsafe: Nearly 100% speak it. * Definitely Endangered: Most of the population speaks it. * Severely Endangered: Less than 50% speak it. * Critically Endangered: Very few speakers. * Extinct: No living speakers.

Where and how it's used:

* Universal use (safe): Used everywhere for everything. * Multilingual (unsafe): Used alongside other languages in most places. * Dwindling (definitely endangered): Mainly used at home. * Limited (severely endangered): Used in only a few places. * Highly Limited (critically endangered): Used in very few places for simple things. * Extinct: Not used anywhere.

How it adapts to new things: How well it's used in new areas like technology or media.
Learning materials: Are there books, lessons, or ways to learn the language?
Government support: Do governments help protect and promote the language?
Community feelings: How do the people who speak the language feel about keeping it alive?
Documentation: How much of the language has been recorded (audio, video, written)?

How Language Revival Works

To save a language, one of the first steps is to figure out how much it has been "lost." This helps people decide the best way to help.

Steps to Bring a Language Back

Linguist Joshua Fishman created an eight-step plan for bringing back or saving languages. It's best to focus on the early steps first before moving to later ones.

Here are the eight steps:

Adults learn the language, acting like apprentices. This is good if most speakers are elderly and isolated.
Create a group of people who actively use the language together. Focus on speaking, not just writing.
In places where many people use the language, encourage its informal use among all ages and families. Set up local places where the language is used and protected.
Once everyone can speak the language, encourage reading and writing it. Do this without relying on the government school system.
If the government allows and there are enough speakers, encourage using the language in public schools.
Once the above steps are strong, encourage using the language at work.
When the language is strong in work, encourage its use in local government and mass media (like TV and radio).
Finally, encourage using the language in higher education and national government.

This plan helps focus efforts where they will be most useful. For example, it's not helpful to push for a language on TV if hardly any families use it at home.

Other experts, like Tasaku Tsunoda, also describe different ways to revitalize languages. Some methods work better depending on how strong the language is. For example, total immersion (where you only speak that language) might not work for a language that's almost gone. But a "master-apprentice" method, where one person teaches another one-on-one, can work for dying languages. Technology, like recordings or media, can help languages at any stage.

A method's effectiveness depends on the language's viability.
Method	Degree of endangerment
	Weakening	Moribund	Dead/extinct
Immersion	effective	ineffective	ineffective
Neighborhood	effective	ineffective	ineffective
Bilingual	effective	ineffective	ineffective
Master-apprentice	effective	effective	ineffective
Total physical response	effective	effective	ineffective
Telephone	effective	effective	ineffective
Radio	effective	effective	effective
Multimedia	effective	effective	effective
Two-way	effective	effective	effective
Formulaic	effective	effective	effective
Artificial pidgin	effective	effective	effective
Place name	effective	effective	effective
Reclamation	effective	effective	effective
Adoption	effective	effective	effective

What Makes Revitalization Successful?

David Crystal, a language expert, says that language revitalization is more likely to work if speakers:

Make their language more respected by the main community.
Become wealthier.
Gain more power in the eyes of the main community.
Have a strong presence in schools.
Can write down the language.
Can use technology.

Sarah Thomason points out that Hebrew and Maori (in New Zealand) were successful because children were raised in environments where they were fully immersed in the language. For Hebrew, this happened in early collective communities called kibbutzim. For Maori, it was through "language nests," which are special preschools.

Revival Linguistics

Ghil'ad Zuckermann suggests a new field called "Revival Linguistics." It's like "Contact Linguistics" but focuses on bringing languages back. It looks at what works and doesn't work in different language revival attempts around the world. It also combines how people learn their first language and how they learn a second language.

There are debates about whether revival should stick strictly to the old language or allow for changes and borrowing from other languages. Some argue that making the language simpler or borrowing words might help it survive. For example, English borrowed a lot from French after the Norman period, which helped it grow.

Others argue that if a language borrows too much, it becomes a new language, not the original one. They worry that languages like "Neo-Hawaiian" or "Urban Irish" are too influenced by English.

Real-Life Examples

The complete revival of a dead language, where it becomes the main language for millions of people, has only happened once: with Hebrew. This language was mainly used for religious texts. But in the 1800s, Jewish people moving to what is now Israel started using it for everyday talk. It became the official language of Israel.

Other literary languages, like Classical Latin or Sanskrit, also saw a strong comeback after a decline. They were used by many people for formal discussions or writing.

Standard Italian is another example. It started as a literary language based on the dialect of 13th-century Florence. For centuries, few people spoke it as their first language. But through conscious efforts, it became the main language for many. This often meant that local Italian dialects became endangered. Similar things happened with High German, standard Czech, and Castilian Spanish.

Africa

The Coptic language in Egypt started to decline when Arabic became more common. In 1976, Pope Shenouda III started the Coptic Language Institute to help bring it back.

Americas

North America

Many Native American tribes are working to revive their languages. There are now apps with words and phrases in languages like Cree, Cherokee, and Navajo.

The Wampanoag language in Massachusetts is being revived using old written records, like a Bible translation. Now, children are speaking it fluently for the first time in over 100 years. Efforts are also being made to revive Chochenyo in California, which had become extinct.

Tlingit

The Tlingit language is critically endangered, with fewer than 100 fluent elders left. From 2013 to 2014, Michele K. Johnson tried to teach Tlingit to two learners in the Yukon. She used textbooks and immersion. In 2020, Lance Twitchell led an online Tlingit class with many students. He is a professor at the University of Alaska Southeast, which offers a minor in Tlingit.

South America

Kichwa is a widely spoken indigenous language in Ecuador, but it is threatened by Spanish. One community, Lagunas, switched to Spanish because of trade. Most Lagunas people now speak only Spanish.

Efforts to revive Kichwa face challenges. Schooling alone isn't enough; children need constant exposure at home. Kendall A. King suggests:

Learning the language at a young age.
Using strong immersion techniques.
Many different ways to reach adults.
Being flexible in planning.
Dealing with different versions of the language.
Understanding that revival takes a long time.
Involving as many people as possible.
Parents speaking the language with their children.
Approaching the problem from all sides.

Asia

Hebrew

The revival of the Hebrew language is the only successful example of bringing a dead language back to life. It was mainly used for Jewish religious texts. But in the 1800s, it became a spoken language again. It is now the national language of Israel.

Sanskrit

The revival of Sanskrit happened in India. In 2011, over 24,000 people said Sanskrit was their mother tongue, a big increase from 2001. Many Sanskrit-speaking villages have been created.

Soyot

The Soyot language in Russia has been rebuilt. A dictionary was published in 2002, and the language is now taught in some elementary schools.

Ainu

The Ainu language of northern Japan is almost gone, but efforts are being made to revive it. In 2006, only a small percentage of Ainu people could speak it. It is now offered at language centers and universities.

Manchu

In China, the Manchu language is very endangered. Some people are trying to bring it back using old dictionaries and by visiting places where a related language, Xibe, is still spoken.

Spanish

In the Philippines, Spanish was once a main language. After 1987, its use declined. However, there has been a slow revival. The government has promoted it, and it's now a required subject in some schools. Many people now speak it as a second language.

Armenian

The Western Armenian dialect has been declared endangered by UNESCO. Many speakers live outside their homeland. Efforts are being made to revive it, especially in Los Angeles, where many Western Armenians live.

Other Asian Languages

The Kodrah Kristang project in Singapore is trying to revive the endangered Kristang creole. In Thailand, there's a project to revitalize the Chong language.

Europe

In Europe, many local languages declined as central governments promoted their own languages in schools. But in recent decades, people have pushed for more multicultural policies.

Irish

The Irish language is a well-known example of revival efforts in Europe. While English is dominant, Irish is still spoken in certain areas called Gaeltachtaí, but it's declining there. Efforts to revive Irish began in the mid-1800s. Today, Irish is a required subject in English-speaking schools. However, many students don't become fluent.

An urban revival movement is growing, based on independent Irish-speaking schools called Gaelscoileanna. These schools teach entirely in Irish. There are now many such schools, especially in Dublin. This has led to more Irish speakers in cities and more Irish-language media, like TV shows.

Scottish Gaelic

Efforts are also being made to revive Scottish Gaelic, which declined after the United Kingdom was formed. While the decline has slowed, more people are learning it as a second language in cities like Glasgow.

Manx

The Manx language lost its last native speaker in 1974. But it never completely disappeared. It's now taught in schools, including a special Manx-speaking primary school. About 1800 people speak it as a second language. Revival efforts include radio shows and online resources. The Manx government also supports these efforts.

Cornish

There have been many attempts to revive the Cornish language. Activities include translating religious texts and promoting Cornish literature.

Breton

There are also efforts to revive the Breton language.

Caló

Caló is a language mixing Spanish grammar with Romani words. It is endangered, so some people are trying to revive it. A Spanish politician, Juan de Dios Ramírez Heredia, promotes "Romanò-Kalò" to combine Caló and Romani roots.

Livonian

The Livonian language in Latvia died out in 2013 with its last native speaker. However, about 210 people in Latvia identify as Livonian and speak the language at a basic level. There are programs to educate Latvians about Livonian culture and language. These include websites, a research institute, and a summer camp for children.

Old Prussian

Some experts are trying to revive a reconstructed form of the extinct Old Prussian language. Dozens of people in Lithuania, Kaliningrad, and Poland use the language. Some children are even learning it as a native language. Books have been translated, and there are online dictionaries and music in the language.

Yola

The Yola language revival movement in Wexford, Ireland, has grown recently. A resource center claims there are around 140 speakers of Yola today.

Current Revitalization Efforts

Language revitalization efforts are happening all over the world. People are using modern technology to connect with indigenous languages and record traditional knowledge.

Mexico

In Mexico, the Mixtec people's language is deeply connected to nature and climate. UNESCO created a glossary of Mixtec terms related to climate. They believe Mixtec traditional knowledge can help with climate change.

Canada

In Canada, the Wapikoni Mobile project travels to indigenous communities. It teaches young people filmmaking, helping them connect with their culture and language through films. These films are shown around the world.

Chile

On Easter Island (Rapa Nui), only 10% of young people learn their mother language. Most use Spanish for tourism. UNESCO and a Chilean organization created a department at a school to teach the Rapa Nui language. A non-profit group also aims to open a school that teaches entirely in Rapa Nui.

Health Benefits of Language Revival

Bringing languages back has been linked to better health for Indigenous communities. It can improve mental health, increase connection to culture and identity, and give a sense of belonging. Indigenous languages are key to forming identity and connecting to ancestors.

Colonization often damaged this connection. Language revitalization can help heal the intergenerational trauma caused by past policies.

One study in the Barngarla Community in South Australia found that language reclamation helps heal emotional scars. It builds connections to community and land, which are important for well-being. Another study in New South Wales on the Warlpiri found that language survival is tied to community survival. Language revival helps overcome feelings of shame and fear, which had led to poor health in the past. It empowers people and builds strong community ties.

Challenges and Debates

Some people, like John McWhorter, argue that language revival programs are rarely very effective. He believes that a language dying doesn't mean a culture dies. Indigenous culture can still thrive even if the original language is gone. He also suggests that language death is a natural part of people moving and sharing space.

Kenan Malik argues that trying to save all languages is "irrational." He thinks language death is natural and often unavoidable. He suggests that fewer languages can improve communication, benefit the economy, and reduce conflict.

Sometimes, people who speak the main language don't care about protecting minority languages. There can even be prejudice against them. Governments might also think that language revitalization programs are too expensive.