James Brooke reported in the New York Times that of the some 300 American Indian languages that were spoken when Europeans arrived in what is now the United States and Canada, about 211 remain in use. Despite five centuries of population decline, assimilation and linguistic oppression, Brooke wrote, most of North America s Indian languages have survived to the end of the twentieth century. In recent years things have become desperate, for with the impact of television and radio and increased mobility among Indians, North America s native languages are suffering their sharpest free fall in recorded history. Of the 175 native tongues still spoken in the United States, just 20 are still being passed on to young children.
Language death is of course nothing new.
The languages of the Hittites, Jebusites, Perizzites, and Amorites are not recognized by the United Nations, and Pictish, an ancient Scottish tongue, is beyond the comprehension even of specialists. What is relatively new is the widespread sentiment that the loss of languages is regrettable. As one woman told a United States Senate committee hearing on the plight of indigenous languages in North America, I view the speaking of our language as a human right, given to us by the Creator. He chose what group and what individuals should be in those groups to speak those languages. Indians interested in reviving traditional ways say they cannot pray to their ancestors in English, Brooke noted, and cited the observation of a University of California scholar that some Indians are starting to reinvent their languages so they can pray at ceremonies and funerals.