雅思阅读真题题源人文112 The Impassioned Fight to Save Dying Languages.docx

雅思阅读真题题源人文112 The Impassioned Fight to Save Dying Languages.docx

《雅思阅读真题题源人文112 The Impassioned Fight to Save Dying Languages.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《雅思阅读真题题源人文112 The Impassioned Fight to Save Dying Languages.docx（13页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

雅思阅读真题题源人文112TheImpassionedFighttoSaveDyingLanguages

TheImpassionedFighttoSaveDyingLanguages

MoreandmorevoicesarespeakinguptokeepthemfrombeingoverwhelmedbyEnglishandglobalpressures. 

ByROBERTLEEHOTZ,TimesScienceWriter

LOSINGCALIFORNIA'SLANGUAGESOf100NativeAmericanlanguagesoncespokeninCalifornia,50havebeenwipedoutcompletely.Anadditional17havenofluentspeakers.Theremainderarespokenbyonlyafewpeople.Anenlargedversionofthemapbelowshowsthesurvivinglanguages,theareasinwhichtheyarespokenandthenumberofnativespeakers.

HILO,HAWAII--Itwasnottheteachersbearingbasketsoffeatherleis,thefanfaresplayedonconchshellsorthebeatingofthesacredsharkskindrumthatmadeHulilauakeaWilson'shighschoolgraduationsomemorable.

Itwasthis:

Forthefirsttimeinacentury,achildoftheislandshadbeeneducatedexclusivelyinhisnativeHawaiianlanguage,immersedfrombirthinaspecialwayofspeakinghismindlikeatropicalfishsteepedinthesaltwatersofitsnativity.

Itwasalanguagebeingreborn.

Morethananacademicriteofpassage,thegraduationlastMayofWilsonandfourotherstudentsattheNawahiokalani'opu'uSchoolontheBigIslandofHawaiisignaledacomingofageforoneoftheworld'smostambitiouseffortstobringanendangeredlanguagebackfromthebrinkofextinction.

Theworldhasbecomeahospicefordyinglanguages,whicharesuccumbingtothepressureofglobalcommerce,telecommunications,tourism,andtheinescapableinfluenceofEnglish.Bythemostreliableestimates,morethanhalfoftheworld's6,500languagesmaybeextinctbytheendofthiscentury.

"Thenumberoflanguagesisplummeting,implodingdownwardinanaltogetherunprecedentedrate,justashumanpopulationisshootingstraightupward,"saidUniversityofAlaskalinguistMichaelKrauss.

Butscatteredacrosstheglobe,manyethnicgroupsarestrugglingtofindtheirownvoice,evenattheriskofmakingtheirdealingswiththebroaderworldtheyinhabitmorefractious.

FromtheHokloandHakkainHongKongtotheEuskarainSpain'sBasquecountry,thousandsofminoritylanguagesareclingingprecariouslytoexistence.Afew,likeHebrewandGaelic,havebeenrejuvenatedaspartofresurgentnationalism.Indeed,soimportantislanguagetopoliticalandpersonalself-determinationthatapeople'srighttospeakitsmindinthelanguageofitschoiceisbecominganinternationalhumanright.

CaliforniaoncehadthedensestconcentrationofindigenouslanguagesinNorthAmerica.Today,almosteveryoneofits50orsosurvivingnativelanguagesisonitsdeathbed.Indeed,thelastfluentspeakerofChumash,afamilyofsixlanguagesonceheardthroughoutSouthernCaliforniaandtheWest,isaprofessionallinguistatUCSantaBarbara.

MorepeopleinCaliforniaspeakMongolianathomethanspeakanyofthestate'smostendangeredindigenouslanguages.

"Notoneofthemisspokenbychildrenathome,"saidUCBerkeleylinguistLeanneHinton.

Noneofthishappenedbyaccident.

AllNativeAmericanlanguages,aswellasHawaiian,wereforacenturythetargetofgovernmentpoliciesdesignedtoeradicatetheminpublicandinprivate,toensurethattheywerenotpassedfromparenttochild.

Until1987,itwasillegaltoteachHawaiianintheislands'publicschoolsexceptasaforeignlanguage.Thelanguagethatonceclaimedthehighestliteracyrateintheworldwasbannedevenfromtheislands'privateschools.

Indeed,theremaybenomorepowerfultestimonytothevisceralimportanceoflanguagethanthegovernment'ssystematiceffortstodestroyalltheindigenouslanguagesintheUnitedStatesandreplacethemwithEnglish.

Nolanguageinmemory,exceptSpanish,hassoughtsoforcefullytocolonizethemind.Ofanestimated300languagesspokenintheterritorialUnitedStateswhenColumbusmadelandfallin1492,only175arestillspoken.Ofthose,only20arebeingpassedontochildren.

In1868,afederalcommissiononIndianaffairsconcluded:

"Inthedifferenceoflanguagetodayliestwo-thirdsofourtrouble....TheirbarbarousdialectshouldbeblottedoutandtheEnglishlanguagesubstituted."Thecommissionreasonedthat"throughsamenessoflanguageisproducedsamenessofsentiment,andthought....Inprocessoftimethedifferencesproducingtroublewouldhavebeengraduallyobliterated."

Notuntil1990didthefederalgovernmentreverseitsofficialhostilitytoindigenouslanguages,whentheNativeAmericanLanguagesActmadeitapolicytopreservenativetongues.

Policiesagainstindigineouslanguageswereonceineffectinmanydevelopednations.OnlythedissolutionoftheSovietUnionin1991endedthatgovernment'seffortstoforceitsethnicminoritiestoadoptRussian.PoliciesinothernationsaimedateliminatingminoritylanguagessuchasCatalaninSpain,KurdishinTurkey,InuktitutinCanadaandLardioinAustralia,tonamejustafew.

Silencingalanguagedoesmuchmorethaneliminateasourceof"differencesproducingtrouble."

Alanguageembodiesacommunityofpeopleandtheirwayofbeing.Itisauniquementalframeworkthatgivesspecialformtouniversalhumanexperiences.Languagesarethemostcomplexproductsofthehumanmind,eachdifferingenormouslyinitssounds,structureandpatternofthought,saidUCLAanthropologistJaredDiamond.

Asaprismthroughwhichperceptionsarereflected,thereisalmostnoendtothevariations.

Insomelanguages,genderplaysarelativelyminorrole,allowingsexuallyneutralformsofpersonalpronouns,andinothersitissooverridingthatmenandwomenmustusecompletelydifferentformsofspeech.Othertonguesinfuseeveryphrasewiththestructureofownership,whileothersmakecooperationakeygrammaticalrule.Someseeonlyacategorywhereanotherseestheindividualsthatconstituteit.

Therearelanguagesinwhichveritiesoftime,cardinaldirections,evenleftandright--asEnglishconceivesthem--arealmostwhollyabsent.

"Ifweeverwanttounderstandhowthehumanmindworks,wereallywanttoknowallthekindsofwaysthathaveevolvedformakingsenseoutofthekaleidoscopeofexperience,"saidlinguistMarianneMithunatUCSantaBarbara.

SuffocatinginSilence

MorethananoceanseparatesKatherineSilvaSaubelontheMorongoReservationatthefootofthearid,wind-sweptSanGorgonioPassnearBanningfromthelanguagerenaissanceunderwayinHawaii.

Thesilencesuffocatingmanylanguagesisalmosttangibleinherdarkened,cinder-blocklivingroom.There,inawornbeigereclinerflankedbyafaxmachine,atreadmillandapersonalcomputer,Saubel,a79-year-oldCahuillaIndianactivistandscholar,marshalsherresistancetotimeandtheinroadsofEnglish.

Saubelisthelastfluentspeakerofhernativetongueonthisreservation.

"Sincemyhusbanddied,"shesaid,"thereisnoonehereIcanconversewith."

For50years,thisbroad-shoulderedgreat-grandmotherhasworkedalmostsingle-handedlytoensurethesurvivalofCahuilla.

HereffortsearnedheraplaceintheNationalWomen'sHallofFameandacertificateofmeritfromthestateIndianMuseuminSacramento.Evenso,herlanguageisslippingaway.

"Iwantedtoteachthechildrenthelanguage,buttheirmotherswantedthemtoknowEnglish.Alotofthemwantthelanguagetaughttothemnow,"Saubelsaid."Maybeitwillrevive."

Ifitdoes,itwillbearecoverybasedalmostsolelyonthememoriesshehaspronouncedanddefinedforacademictaperecorders,thewordsshehasfiledintheonlyknowndictionaryofCahuilla,andthesongsshehashelpedcommittolivingtribalmemory.TribalartifactsandmemorabiliaarehousedinthenearbyMakliMuseumthatshefounded,thefirstinNorthAmericatobeorganizedandmanagedbyNativeAmericans.

BornontheLosCoyotesReservationeastofWarmSprings,Saubeldidnotevenseeawhitepersonuntilshewas4yearsold--"Ithoughthewassick,"sherecalled--andEnglishhadnoplaceinherworlduntilshewas7.

Thenhermother--whospokeneitherEnglishnorSpanish--senthertoapublicschool.

Shewas,sherecalled,theonlyIndiangirlintheclassroom.ShecouldnotspeakEnglish.Noonetriedtoteachhertospeakthelanguage,shesaid.Mostly,shewasignored.

"IwouldspeaktothemintheIndianlanguageandtheywouldanswermeinEnglish.Idon'trememberwhenIbegantounderstandwhatwasbeingsaidtome,"Saubelsaid."Maybeayear."

Evenso,byeighthgradeshehaddiscoveredaloveoflearningthatledhertobecomethefirstIndianwomantograduatefromPalmSpringsHighSchool.ButshealsosawtheotherIndianchildrentakenasideatrecessandwhippediftheyspoketheirlanguageinschool.

Intime,thechildofanIndianmedicinewomanbecameanethno-botanist.

ForlinguistsasfarawayasGermanyandJapan,shebecamebotharesearchsubjectandacollaborator.SheisworkingnowwithUCSanDiegoresearcherstocatalogallthemedicinalplantsidentifiedintriballore.

"Myraceisdying,"shesaid."Iamsavingtheremnantsofmycultureinthesebooks."

"Iamjustavoiceinthewildernessallbymyself,"Saubelsaid."ButIhavemadethesebooksassomethingformygreat-grandchildren.AndIhavegreat-grandchildren."

Initsbroadestoutlines,herlifeisarefrainrepeatedonmanymainlandreservations.

"Basically,everyAmericanIndianlanguageisendangered,"saidDouglasWhalenatYaleUniversity'sHaskinsLaboratory,whoischairmanoftheEndangeredLanguagesFund.

Asamatterofpolicy,NativeAmericanfamiliesoftenwerebrokenuptokeepchildrenfromlearningtospeakliketheirparents.Indianboardingschools,foundedinthelastcenturytoimplementthatpolicy,leftgenerationsofIndianswithnodirectconnectionto