Life at the I-House
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Global Hour:
Dear students and scholars,
Global Hour is a weekly program of informal discussion that covers a wide range of topics. It is committed to facilitating the exchange of views and perspectives within a relaxed setting, while engaging important issues that highlight global and human conditions.
Title: Languages: Hard to say “Good-Bye”?
DATE: Thursday, November 20th from 6:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M.
VENUE: International House
This will be the last Global Hour for the Fall 2008 term.
This week in Global Hour we will consider the loss of languages. Some researchers indicate that of the 7000 languages spoken today 50% to 90% of those could be extinct by the end of this century.
Some Points and Questions to Ponder:
1. What is lost when a language is no longer spoken? a. How do you define a lost/extinct language? b. Can a language be revived once extinct?
2. What is gained by having a few languages widely spoken?
3. Is language evolution different from language extinction?
a. Try reading some Chaucer or the King James translation of the Bible before you answer this. 4. How does language relate to culture? a. Does language preserve culture or change it?
5. Given the trend of globalization do you believe the world is headed to one functional language? a. Can local dialects survive? 6. Should efforts be made to preserve as many languages as possible? a. How can this be done?
Got an Hour? Join Global Hour!
Global Hour is a weekly program of informal discussion that covers a wide range of topics. It is committed to facilitating the exchange of views and perspectives within a relaxed setting, while engaging important issues that highlight global and human conditions.
Title: Languages: Hard to say “Good-Bye”?
DATE: Thursday, November 20th from 6:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M.
VENUE: International House
This will be the last Global Hour for the Fall 2008 term.
This week in Global Hour we will consider the loss of languages. Some researchers indicate that of the 7000 languages spoken today 50% to 90% of those could be extinct by the end of this century.
Some Points and Questions to Ponder:
1. What is lost when a language is no longer spoken? a. How do you define a lost/extinct language? b. Can a language be revived once extinct?
2. What is gained by having a few languages widely spoken?
3. Is language evolution different from language extinction?
a. Try reading some Chaucer or the King James translation of the Bible before you answer this. 4. How does language relate to culture? a. Does language preserve culture or change it?
5. Given the trend of globalization do you believe the world is headed to one functional language? a. Can local dialects survive? 6. Should efforts be made to preserve as many languages as possible? a. How can this be done?
Got an Hour? Join Global Hour!
Labels: Global Hour
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