How Do You Save A Language?

In Canada and around the world, many of the world's oldest languages - those spoken by indigenous peoples - are disappearing. With English becoming the global language of business, science, media and the internet, fewer and fewer Aboriginal languages can sustain the critical number of fluent speakers able to ensure that a language can be passed on.


Languages can be reclaimed; peoples as diverse as the Maori and the Irish have successfully introduced comprehensive, long-term programs that seem to be turning the tide in the fight to preserve their language. And many groups in Canada are learning from and building on their experience, from the Inuit Language Protection Act in Nunavut to the Anishinaabek, Mushkegowuk, Onkwehonwe Language Commission of Ontario.

So what ARE the factors that can save a language? Studies suggest that all successful language retention strategies share the following:

1. Clear recognition on the part of the community that the language is under threat, and agreement that urgent action is required;
2. A group of people with a strong vision and determination to make a difference within a short period of time. These language leaders can be at the local, regional or national level;Immersion language teaching environments;
3. A plan that sets out and co-ordinates a number of different strategies that, together, can protect and promote a language;  
4. Strong education programs for young people to develop their language skills to the fullest;  
5. A base of fluent speakers who are trained and work as educators;  
6. Documentation of the language in the form of dictionaries, written texts and audio or video recordings so that language learners have examples of how it is used at a high level;  
7. Communities that use the language in a variety of settings as an integral part of daily life; 
8. A strong link between the language and the identity of the people who are trying to protect it;  
9. Broad exposure to the language through a variety of media, including literature, music and broadcasting;

 Perhaps the most important factor - and the hardest to achieve - is the willingness to commit to a process that may take a generation to bear fruit.  As Maori Educator Bentham Ohia said: "You have to plant the seeds of the trees that may never shade you, but will shade your grandchildren."