When Languages Die: The Extinction of the World's Languages and the Erosion of Human KnowledgeOxford University Press, 1 февр. 2007 г. - Всего страниц: 304 It is commonly agreed by linguists and anthropologists that the majority of languages spoken now around the globe will likely disappear within our lifetime. The phenomenon known as language death has started to accelerate as the world has grown smaller. This extinction of languages, and the knowledge therein, has no parallel in human history. K. David Harrison's book is the first to focus on the essential question, what is lost when a language dies? What forms of knowledge are embedded in a language's structure and vocabulary? And how harmful is it to humanity that such knowledge is lost forever? Harrison spans the globe from Siberia, to North America, to the Himalayas and elsewhere, to look at the human knowledge that is slowly being lost as the languages that express it fade from sight. He uses fascinating anecdotes and portraits of some of these languages' last remaining speakers, in order to demonstrate that this knowledge about ourselves and the world is inherently precious and once gone, will be lost forever. This knowledge is not only our cultural heritage (oral histories, poetry, stories, etc.) but very useful knowledge about plants, animals, the seasons, and other aspects of the natural world--not to mention our understanding of the capacities of the human mind. Harrison's book is a testament not only to the pressing issue of language death, but to the remarkable span of human knowledge and ingenuity. It will fascinate linguists, anthropologists, and general readers. |
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Стр. 10
... hunter-gatherer past—was to live in small bands. This is an ideal situation for language diversity because as each group goes off on its own its speech is free to change rapidly within the group. If one group splits into two, the pace ...
... hunter-gatherer past—was to live in small bands. This is an ideal situation for language diversity because as each group goes off on its own its speech is free to change rapidly within the group. If one group splits into two, the pace ...
Стр. 24
... hunter and reindeer herder, remarked to me in 2001: “Soon I'll go berry picking” (a euphemism for dying). “And when I go,” Marta continued, “I'll take our language with me.”1 Marta's adult children can understand, but not actively speak ...
... hunter and reindeer herder, remarked to me in 2001: “Soon I'll go berry picking” (a euphemism for dying). “And when I go,” Marta continued, “I'll take our language with me.”1 Marta's adult children can understand, but not actively speak ...
Стр. 26
... hunters. The reindeer are now reduced to a single, community-owned herd of 400 head. They fall prey to wolves, suffer diseases from inbreeding, and each year some of their number revert to living in the wild. The youngest (and probably ...
... hunters. The reindeer are now reduced to a single, community-owned herd of 400 head. They fall prey to wolves, suffer diseases from inbreeding, and each year some of their number revert to living in the wild. The youngest (and probably ...
Стр. 28
... hunting, camping in tents year-round. The Todzhu look similar to the Tofa, speak a language that is mutually comprehensible, and share many cultural practices. One crucial difference is that they have not abandoned their ancestral ...
... hunting, camping in tents year-round. The Todzhu look similar to the Tofa, speak a language that is mutually comprehensible, and share many cultural practices. One crucial difference is that they have not abandoned their ancestral ...
Стр. 39
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Содержание
3 | |
23 | |
Traditional Calendars and TimeReckoning | 61 |
4 An Atlas in the Mind | 101 |
5 Silent Storytellers Lost Legends | 141 |
Counting to Twenty on Your Toes | 167 |
7 Worlds within Words | 205 |
Notes | 237 |
Bibliography | 263 |
Index | 285 |
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When Languages Die: The Extinction of the World's Languages and the Erosion ... K David Harrison Ограниченный просмотр - 2008 |
When Languages Die: The Extinction of the World's Languages and the Erosion ... K. David Harrison Ограниченный просмотр - 2008 |
When Languages Die: The Extinction of the World's Languages and the Erosion ... K. David Harrison Недоступно для просмотра - 2007 |
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Ainu ancestral animals behavior birds body body-counting Borôro classifier cognitive complex counting systems cultures cycles ecological encoded endangered languages English example extinction Figure fingers fish Folk taxonomies forest genetic groups guage hand Hanunóo herding hivo human hunting Ifugao indigenous Ingush island Kaluli Karaim Kaurna Kewa knowledge landscape last speakers linguistic living lunar calendar lunar months maps Marovo Marta mathematical means metaphors migration Mlabri Monchak Mongolian month names moon phases mountains Musqueam myth native Nggela Nivkh number sense number system number words objects oral Papua New Guinea patterns Pirahã plants Pomo reindeer reindeer herders rice river Rotokas Russian scientists Siberia sign languages small languages song sound speak species speech spoken story survival Tabasaran talk taxonomies tion Tofa tongue traditional Tuvan nomads Uda River vanish Vanuatu Vasya Ventureño verb village vowels Wayampi world’s languages Yakkha Yanyuwa Yukaghir Yuki