Re: Saving endangered langs (was Re: Extrapolating languages)

On Tuesday, December 23, 2003, at 02:02  AM, Joe wrote:

> If they are willing to let their language die, how can they see worth
> in
> it to safeguard from outsiders?  To me, that would appear to be a
> blatant contradiction.  If they are not planning to let their language
> die out, and are offended at its documentation, you should respect
> their
> wishes, though put your case before leaving.  Otherwise, you are merely
> 'stealing' something of no real importance to them.
A similar sentiment is expressed in New Hampshire's state motto "Live
free or die."

> If  you are officially opposed by the community, and by the majority,
> you should probably respect their wishes, either way, but I fail to see
> how anyone, having heard a good argument for language preservation,
> could deny it an opportunity.
The communities I work with are rather pragmatic; while certain
individuals may not like white people around asking all kinds of
questions, they do see the value in the work I'm trying to do. My
biggest obstacle is indifference.

Dirk
--
Dirk Elzinga
Dirk_Elzinga@byu.edu

If the brain were so simple we could understand it, we would be so
simple we couldn't.
- Lyall Watson