#Endangered Language

[nibmoss]

did you hear there’s a new short film that is GAY?? LESBIAN, even???

AND it’s filmed in a minority language?? a CELTIC language, one might say??

AND that it’s available for FREE, with SUBTITLES in both irish AND english??

“FAN” (2024) dir. cúnla ní bhraonáin morris

watch here 🫶

[polyglot-thought]

Critically Endangered Language Introduction:

Ainu Language

アイヌ・イタㇰ

Photos provided by AMNH

Some information about the Ainu language:

It’s critically endangered, meaning there are very few native speakers left, who are also elderly, and young people are not picking up the language. Ainu doesn’t have its own original writing system, so Latin script and a modified version of Katakana are used. For this post I will be using both Latin and Katakana script. You can read more about the Ainu language and people on Wikipedia, here and here.

Example Words & Phrases ↓

Provided by Wikitravel at this link

Irankarapte

イランカラㇷ゚テ

Hello/Nice to meet you

E=iwanke ya?

エイワンケ　ヤ？

How are you?

Ku=iwanke, iyairaykere

クイワンケ、イライライケレ

Fine, thank you

E=re hemanta ya?

エレ　ヘマンテ　ヤ？

What is your name?

K=ani anakne ______ ku=ne

カニ　アナㇰネ　_____　クネ

My name is ______ .

E

エ

Yes

Somo

ソモ

No

Amerika-itak

アメリカイタㇰ

English Language (literally: “America Language”)

Kunne

クンネ

Black

Retar

レタㇻ

White

Katuwa

カツ゚ワ

Grey

toy-haru

トィハル

(fresh) vegetables

nikaop

ニカオㇷ゚

(fresh) fruit

Please correct me if I made a mistake

[uchinaguchishutoku]

わかはる　っちゅんちゃーぬ　くゎい HIGA Summit 2023 Part 4♪若者のための会「HIGA Summit 2023」Part 4♩

うちなーぐちぐゆみ6月21日（うらんだぐゆみ2023年8月7日）Part 1❤️

Part 2❤️

Part 3❤️

はい！めーなち　にっかまでぃ　ぬーがら　あいびーしが、ちゅーん　ひてぃみてぃから　ちばいびーんどー😆

くとぅばとぅ　ジェンダーに　ちーてぃ、大学ぬ　しんしーが　発表し　くぃみそーちゃん。

マジョリティぬ　くとぅば　びかー　はなし　ないるっちょー、くとぅばー　コミニケーションツールり　いやびーんり。　

やいびーしが、くんねーる　かんげーびかー　あいびらん。くんねーる　かんげーよー　けーらんでー　ないびらんり。

くとぅばー　イデオロギーやんり。コミュニケーションツールびかー　あらん。コミュニティとぅか　うぬしま（社会）ちゅくいし　やいびーんり。

ゆぬ　くとぅば　やてぃん、ゐなぐが　ちかいる　くとぅば、　ゐきがが　ちかいる　くとぅばに　ゆてぃ　かわいん。ジェンダーとぅ　かかわいぬ　あんり。

—

はい！毎日遅くまでイベントがあるのですが、今日も朝早くから頑張りますよー😆

言語とジェンダーについて、大学教授が発表してくださいました。

マジョリティ言語を話す人は、言語はコミュニケーションツールだ、と言うそうです。

ですが、言語というのはこれだけではありません。このような考えを変えなければならないそうです。

言語はイデオロギーである。コミュニケーションツールだけではない。コミュニティや社会を形成するものである。

同じ言語を使用する者同士でも、女性が使う言語、男性が使う言語によって変わる。ジェンダーと関わりがある。

参加者ぬなーかぬ　LGBTQIA+ぬ　言語活動家ぬ　っちゅんちゃーが　発表　しみそーちゃん。

どぅーぬ　しまとぅか　くにとーてぃ、ちゃぬ　くとぅば継承　活動　ひちょーが　とぅか、なまぬ　どぅーぬ　しまぬ　状況や　ちゃー　なとーがとぅか、ありくり　あたがい　はなし　ひちょーたん。

いっぺー　ひらとーる　どぅしん　ぅんじとーたくとぅ、いっぺー　びんちょー　ないびたん。

—

参加者のなかで、LGBTQIA+の言語活動家が発表くださいました。

自国やコミュニティで、どんな継承活動をしているか、現状はどうなっているかなど、経験を話してくれました。

あんさーに、ちげー、どぅーさーに　どぅーぬ　むんがたい　かきゆーするぐとぅ　ヱクササイズ　さびたん。

かびんけー　かち、HIGAぬ　っちゅんけー　宿題とぅさーに　提出さんでーないびらんたん💦

—

次は、自分の言語にまつわるストーリーが書けるようになるエクササイズをしました。

書き起こして、HIGAに提出しないといけないという宿題でした💦

🍗あさばん　さびたん。　くまとーてぃん、　んなさーに　かみーがなーち、ありくり　くとぅばにちーてぃ　ゆんたく　さびたん。

くま　あさばのー　学校給食ふーじーやーり　うむとーびーたん。

あんしーねー、学校給食すがとーる　くゎいしゃから　こーとーんるる　くとぅ　やいびーたん😆　あんすか　まーさいぎさはーねーびらんしが、あじぇー　まぁ　まーはいびーたん。。。

—

🍗ランチタイムです。皆で食べながら、言語についてあれこれおしゃべりしました。

ここのランチは、学校給食みたいだなーと思っていました、、、

ら、学校給食を作っている会社から購入し��いることがわかりました😆あまり美味しくみえないですが、味は良かったです。。。

🪿🌳しぜん　こうゑぬんけー　バスから　いちゃびたん。

バスコー　エコとぅか　自然まむいる　たみなかい　ありくり　ちばとーびーんり。やくとぅる、バスクぬ　いろー　緑　やいびーんり。

—

🪿🌳自然公園にバスに乗って行きましたよー。

バスク地方は、自然保護のためにエコを頑張っているそうです。だから、バスクカラーは緑だそうな。

💃バスクぬ　フォークダンスぬ　ちーく　さびたん。

うれー　うちなーとーてー　もーあしび　やいびーがやー😍

—

💃バスクのフォークダンスレッスンがありました。

歌って踊って、沖縄では「もーあしび」になりますかね😍

🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺

あきさみよー！　ひっちー　ぬでぃ、きむ　やまさんがやー。。。

―

あきさみよー！ずっと飲んでばっかりで、肝臓壊さないかな。。。

[my-smial]

Hello hello. I have come with random The Sunshine Court language headcanons for Jean Moreau, because I cannot stop thinking about him.

Neil picks up on Jean's discomfort with speaking French at higher than a whisper and eventually decides to use Nicky's desensitization tactics about it. He ropes in Kevin, and the two of them will not stop yelling at him in French until Jean stops flinching whenever he hears it.

Neil lived in Montreal for 8 months; when he wants to get under Jean's skin, he switches to a strong Québécois accent and Jean acts like his ears are getting burned off.

Jeremy and a little Cat and Laila start learning French, mostly "picked up a tourist phrasebook at the library" level. It's 2008, they don't even have Duolingo. It's years and years before Jean deigns to actually speak French to him, but Jeremy eventually figures out that if he pronounces a phrase badly enough, Jean will correct him out of shear pain. Jean probably picks up that Jeremy knows more than he's letting on when he makes a comment in one of Jean and Kevin's conversations.

The most unlikely, but I find it fun: Jean's family is old money enough that they actually still speak the local Provençal language of southeast France. Jean mostly speaks standard French, but his parents ensured that he can carry a conversation in Provençal out of some twisted disdain for Paris as a power center. Evidence: this is also the kind of person who would name their child Jean-Yves, lmao, a name that was most popular in the 1960s.

Matching with 4, growing up speaking French, Provençal, and English in a massive port city means that Jean can get through a few phrases in most western Mediterranean languages. In addition, being raised as the theoretical heir to a smuggling empire meant he had to learn enough languages to "not get ripped off," as his father would say. He says he speaks 3 languages, because he's fluent in 3 (and it's common to consider Provençal just a backwards dialect, not a full language). But he can also understand random bits of Italian, Spanish, and Algerian Arabic. Some he learned formally, some he picked up from other kids while playing little league exy.

When he gets comfortable on the Trojan's court, he starts yelling back sometimes when little multilingual groups form and chatter, and every time he demonstrates a new language the Trojans lose their shit. Jean has his typical disdain for their excitement; his childhood exy court sounded exactly like this and he doesn't get why they're so impressed.

They keep pulling the "sorry, he doesn't speak English" trick to get annoying fans and reporters off their back for a long time after it should have stopped working. He's given full interviews, come on. Use your brain.

[amanufacturedheaven]

Rare Language Learning: Polari

If you have ever used the words:

- Naff

- Butch

- Camp

You have unknowingly been speaking the sociolect known as Polari, the language of queer people primarily used in the 30s to the 70s. Polari is now an endangered language, as labelled by the University of Cambridge

Something of note: Many resources out there imply (or state) that Polari was a language invented and used solely by white cis gay men, which is decidedly untrue. Many words of Polari come from drag culture, lesbians, and the Romani people and their language. The use of ‘the language of British gay men’ may be a more palatable title to the general public, but it is not to me. I did my best to curate a variety of resources, but unfortunately much of queer history has been lost many more decades than I’ve been alive, if you have any other resources for studying Polari I would love to read them, message me or leave a link in the replies.

Articles

Learn Polari, the Secret Language of the Gays ⚢ Out Magazine

Polari: The code language gay men used to survive ⚢ BBC

Polari and the Hidden History of Gay Seafarers ⚢ National Museums Liverpool

The Story of Polari, Britain’s Secret Gay Language ⚢ Fabulosa!

Polari People ⚢ Fabulosa!

Polari: a language born from prejudice ⚢ Englishpanish

The secretive gay language that gave LGBTQ people a voice ⚢ GAYTIMES

A brief history of Polari: the curious after-life of the dead language for gay men ⚢ The Conversation

Study Material

The Polari Bible ⚢ Internet Archive

Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang ⚢ Internet Archive

Sociolinguistics / Polari ⚢ StudySmarter

FlashCards ⚢ Quizlet

New Polari Translator ⚢ LingoJam

Polari: A sociohistorical study of the life and decline of a secret language. ⚢ Dissertation, University of Manchester

Polari: a language born from prejudice ⚢ Englishpanish

Simon Bowkett: a short blog in Polari for LGBT+ History Month ⚢ Civil Service LGBT+ Network

[annabelle--cane]

watching youtube videos about english history without letting the algorithm try to funnel me into alt right content like I'm playing fascist whack-a-mole

[linguisticdiscovery]

The unequal proportion between the number of languages and how many speakers those languages have

The median number of speakers for a human language is only about 5,000 people.

From the incredibly good book, When languages die: The extinction of the world’s languages and the erosion of human knowledge.

[quinthetoucan]

y'all please check out my friend alex's book!! its a free online resource for learning māori, the endangered indigenous language of new zealand, and we hope that it can help spread this beautiful language to even more people!

(plus this book is a blast hehe)

[polyglot-thought]

Cherokee Language Meme 😊

[molkolsdal]

Badeshi: Only three people speak this 'extinct' language

By Zafar Syed, February 2018

Would you like to learn a few words of a language only three people in the world speak?

Badeshi used to be spoken widely in a remote snow-clad valley, deep in the mountains of northern Pakistan.

But it is now considered extinct.

Ethnologue, which lists all of the world's languages, says it has had no known speakers for three or more generations.

But in the Bishigram Valley, we found three old men who can still speak in Badeshi (you can hear them in the video at the link).

"A generation ago, Badeshi was spoken in the entire village", says Rahim Gul. He doesn't know how old he is, but looks over 70.

"But then we brought women from other villages [for marriage] who spoke Torwali language. Their children spoke in their mother tongue, so our language started dying out."

Torwali is the dominant language in the area, which is itself under pressure from Pashto, but has pushed Badeshi to the brink in this valley.

"Now our children and their children speak Torwali," said Said Gul, Rahim Gul's first cousin. "So who should we speak our own language with?"

Said Gul also doesn't know his own age. When he said he was 40, somebody corrected him. "It's more like 80!" Said Gul quickly shot back, "No, may be 50, but not 80!"

There are no job opportunities in the area, so these men have spent a lot of time in touristy Swat District, where they have picked up the Pashto language, and that is mainly how they communicate.

Because of a lack of opportunities to use Badeshi, over the decades even these three men have started forgetting the language.

While they were talking in Badeshi, Rahim Gul and Said Gul regularly forgot a word or two, and could only remember after prodding from the others.

Rahim Gul has a son, who has five children of his own, but all of them speak Torwali.

"My mother was a Torwali speaker, so my parents didn't speak any Badeshi in the house. I didn't get a chance to pick it up in childhood. I know a few words, but don't know the language. All my children speak Torwali.

"I do regret it, but now that I'm 32 there is no chance I can learn Badeshi. I'm very sad at the prospect that this language will die out with my father."

Sagar Zaman is a linguist affiliated with the Forum for Language Initiative, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to the promotion and preservation of endangered languages of Pakistan.

"I travelled to this valley three times, but the inhabitants were reluctant to speak this language in front of me," he says.

"Other linguists and I were able to collect a hundred or so words which suggested that this language belongs to Indo-Aryan sub family of languages."

Zaman Sagar says Torwali and Pashto speakers look down upon Badeshi, so there is a stigma attached to speaking it.

Perhaps it's too late to save Badeshi, but at the very least, you can learn a few words to keep the memory of the language alive:

Meen naao Rahim Gul thi - My name is Rahim Gul

Meen Badeshi jibe aasa - I speak Badeshi

Theen haal khale thi? - How do you do?

May grot khekti - I have eaten

Ishu kaale heem kam ikthi - There is not much snowfall this year

[dsm-wannabe-linguist]

Me in my teens discovering that French is not the only language spoken in France

[useless-catalanfacts]

Yesterday, the linguist and activist Carme Junyent died. It saddens me deeply to write this post, because she was someone who I really admire.

She was a linguist who led the Grup d'Estudis de Llengües Amenaçades (GELA, Research Group on Endangered Languages) in University of Barcelona and author of many books and articles about language diversity and the defense of minoritized and/or indigenous languages here and around the world, and a firm defensor of immigrants' language rights and cultural diversity. She was also very active in defense of the language rights of her own community, Catalan speakers, against linguistic imperialism from Spanish and French.

Even in her last moments, she wrote an article about the right to die speaking one's mother language (Catalan in our case) if you are in your own country, instead of the usual case of forcing the patients who are part of the local marginalized and/or indigenous language community (even those in the very last moment of their lives) to speak in the dominant state language (Spanish, in our case). She sent it to the newspaper Vilaweb, where she often collaborated, to be published right after her death:

She has died of cancer at 68 years old. In her last months, most doctors who treated her in Catalonia's public healthcare system did not speak or did not want to speak Catalan, only Spanish. But she took the decision to keep firm and not change her language, so she could die in her mother tongue.

[mekanikaltrifle]

tbh the survival of small languages and dialects of all stripes is deeply important to all our cultures-- and I don't mean this in a weirdo blood-and-soil nationalist way-- because it helps to keep different ways of thinking and seeing alive. Often, languages come with their own perceptions on time and colour and days and night, anything they could possibly have. Major languages too, but the smaller ones are always at risk of being lost to time... and with them go the context, the meanings and the different perspective that its individual speakers could have had.

For instance, in Scots, there's a fundamental minor difference to time and how it relates to the individual compared to standard English. In Scots you can often hear folks saying phrases like 'that's me away' (or awa' in very broad Scots, pronounced a bit like awah), when you're looking to leave a place. Taken literally in English that would be incorrect, as you are not in fact physically leaving, and it's not like you're watching your own body wander off out the door. However, in this case the 'what is about to be', and the 'what is right now' are functionally the same thing. Time becomes a little malleable in the Scots way of looking at it.

Of course this is hardly the only example and I am sure people can add their own examples of similar but... it's interesting to think about, isn't it? How your language approaches both the physical and the abstract, and how its constructed your brain to think. Because language physically shapes your brain, and knowing more is always good for the old grey matter.

[q-soc-official]

Daily Irish Lesson 14

To say 'I love you' in Irish we say 'Tá mé chun tú a mharú'

Pronunciation: taw may kun too ah vah-roo