VOA标准英语2012--Technology Rescues Dying Languages

Technology Rescues Dying Languages

In our interconnected world, global languages like English, Spanish and Chinese are increasingly dominant¹.

But there are some 7,000 other languages spoken around the world and linguists² say up to half of them are at risk of disappearing by the end of the century. That works out to one language going extinct every two weeks. 

Now, some defenders³ are turning to technology in hopes of reversing that trend.

'Moribund⁴' language

Members of the Siletz tribe on the Oregon coast take pride in a language they say "is as old as time itself." But today, you can count the number of fluent speakers on one hand. 

Bud Lane is one of them. "We had linguists that had come in and done assessments⁵ of our people and our language and they labeled it - I'll never forget this term - 'moribund,' meaning it was headed for the ash heap of history."

The Siletz tribal⁶ council was determined⁷ not to let that happen. Realizing he would need outside help to revive the Siletz language, Lane turned to several National Geographic⁸ Fellows, who helped him record 14,000 words and phrases in his native tongue.

Talking dictionary

The word translations are now available online, along with lesson plans, as part of a "talking dictionary." 

The site is hosted by Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, where linguistics⁹ professor David Harrison has also posted talking dictionaries for seven other highly-endangered languages from around the world. 

"This is what I like to call the flip¹⁰ side of globalization, or the positive value of globalization," Harrison says. "We hear a lot about how globalization exerts negative pressures on small cultures to assimilate."

However, according to Harrison, language activists¹¹ can now go on the offensive with modern digital tools such as iPhone apps, YouTube videos and Facebook pages devoted¹² to disappearing tongues.

Translating Windows

Harrison and a colleague in Oregon have mapped hotspots for endangered aboriginal¹³ languages. One is the Pacific Northwest. Others include the upper Amazon basin, Siberia and northern Australia. 

In Canada's far north, the Inuit people are struggling to preserve their native language. Part of their strategy is to get Microsoft's help in translating its ubiquitous Windows operating system and Office software into Inuktitut. 

The programming group had to invent new words to cover all the terms in some Windows and Word document menus, but project leader Gavin Nesbitt says it was worth the effort.

"So many people will spend their entire day sitting in front of a computer," Nesbitt says. "If you're sitting in front of your computer in English all day, that just reinforces English. If you're now using Inuktitut, it is reinforcing [that] this is your language."

That’s why Microsoft has also worked with language activists in New Zealand, Spain and Wales to translate its software into Maori, Basque, Catalan and Welsh, respectively.

Back in Oregon, Siletz language teacher Bud Lane cautions that technology alone cannot save endangered languages.

"Nothing takes the place of speakers speaking to other speakers and to people who are learning, he says. "But this bridges a gap that was just sorely needed in our community and in our tribe."

Lane points to one sign the tide is turning for his people: tribal youth are now texting each other in Siletz.

1 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

2 linguists   

n.通晓数国语言的人( linguist的名词复数 )；语言学家

参考例句：

• The linguists went to study tribal languages in the field. 语言学家们去实地研究部落语言了。 来自辞典例句
• The linguists' main interest has been to analyze and describe languages. 语言学家的主要兴趣一直在于分析并描述语言。 来自辞典例句

3 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 moribund   

adj.即将结束的，垂死的

参考例句：

• The moribund Post Office Advisory Board was replaced.这个不起作用的邮局顾问委员会已被替换。
• Imperialism is monopolistic,parasitic and moribund capitalism.帝国主义是垄断的、寄生的、垂死的资本主义。

5 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

6 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

7 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

8 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

9 linguistics   

n.语言学

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• Linguistics is a scientific study of the property of language.语言学是指对语言的性质所作的系统研究。

10 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

11 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

13 aboriginal   

adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的

参考例句：

• They managed to wipe out the entire aboriginal population.他们终于把那些土著人全部消灭了。
• The lndians are the aboriginal Americans.印第安人是美国的土著人。