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  • Language death by David Crystal
  • Zdenek Salzmann
Language death. By David Crystal. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Pp. x, 198.

At present, well over 1,500 species of animals and plants are threatened or endangered, and more than 700 recovery plans to prevent or at least reduce the rate of extinction have been approved and are being implemented. This book is concerned with the threat of extinction faced by many members of the human language ‘species’: It is estimated that over the next century (between 2001 and 2100), two languages are likely to die each month, with only about 600 of the 6,000 to 7,000 languages of the world ‘safe’ from the threat of extinction.

David Crystal is a well-known authority on language, and the rapid endangerment or death of many minority languages he discusses is alarming. The book is divided into five chapters. In Ch. 1, ‘What is language death?’ (1–26), C explains why it is difficult to arrive at a fairly accurate number of languages still spoken and provides the reader with some interesting statistics—e.g. 96% of the world’s languages are spoken by only 4% of the world’s population. To put it another way, approximately 1,500 languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers. But the danger of extinction is due not only to low numbers of speakers. Just as important is the overall context in which the speakers of a language find themselves. Accordingly, a classification of languages as to their endangerment has a number of degrees (the following is a composite of three classifications): safe, viable, viable but small, potentially endangered, endangered, seriously endangered, moribund, and extinct.

‘Why should we care?’ is the title of Ch. 2 (27–67). In it C first refutes those who hold that a reduction in the number of languages would benefit humankind. Then he answers the question in the chapter title: because languages (1) express ethnic identity, (2) are repositories of history, (3) contribute to the sum of human knowledge, (4) are interesting in themselves, and (5) contribute to diversity. C’s points are supported by convincing examples.

Before something can be done to help languages survive, we must understand the reasons for their ever-increasing endangerment, and these reasons are discussed in Ch. 3, ‘Why do languages die?’ (68–90). It is to C’s credit that he not only sounds the alarm but also offers practical advice on how to slow the rapid demise of many languages. His advice is the subject of Chs. 4 and 5, ‘Where do we begin?’ (91–126) and ‘What can be done?’ (127–66). Where does one begin? Of top priority is information gathering—the number of speakers of a given language, the political and cultural context in which they live, their attitudes toward the viability of their language, the attitudes of the members of the larger society which surrounds them, the degree of speaker fluency, and others. But in addition to the need for gathering such data, there are other desiderata: fostering positive community attitudes, promoting the authenticity of the whole community, and acknowledging language as an important part of culture.

And what can be done? Here, C attaches special significance to six factors that usually figure in language revitalization. An endangered language will progress if its speakers (1) increase their prestige within the dominant community, (2) increase their [End Page 854] wealth relative to the dominant community, (3) increase their legitimate power in the eyes of the dominant community, (4) have a strong presence in the educational system, (5) can write their language, and (6) can make use of electronic technology. Finally, C deals in some detail with the roles of linguists and revitalization teams.

The book provides an appendix listing useful organizations; references (170–81); an index of dialects, languages, language families, and ethnic groups referred to; and indexes of authors and subjects. We should be grateful to C for having written this book. It will be of interest not only to linguists and anthropologists but to laypeople who are concerned about issues of cultural identity in an increasingly interdependent world.

Zdenek Salzmann
Northern Arizona University

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