ararat-tempest wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2024 9:57 am
"the more languages I know, the better and more deeply I understand the world, the more meaningful my life is."
——said by myself
John Little wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2024 10:02 am
Or, alternatively, the less languages there are, the better we can understand each other......just saying...
And you are both right.
Language extinction is a natural process that has been happening ever since the first word came out of the lips of a human being. It's true that globalization has sped things up, but it's also true that now there's more awareness than ever about minority languages.
As I said, I believe a language never truly disappears if it's is well documented. As a student of ancient languages myself, I can tell you that they are far from "dead". Whenever I read something in Latin or Ancient Greek for instance, I'm transported to another time and place, where I can almost hear the voices of those who spoke them long ago. They are like whispers from the past, telling us stories of love, loss, war, and peace.
So yes, languages are useful tools for modern communication. I mean, if I hadn't learned English, this conversation would never have taken place. But languages are much more than just tools. They are bridges stretched across time, connecting us to the past, present, and future. They are rivers of knowledge that flow through the centuries, nourishing our understanding of ourselves and the world we live in.