Our catch phrase is on its way.
Dear Fellow Earthlings,
Why am I so motivated to help Falkland Islanders to keep their dialect, for Japanese to fight off the impulse to use mispronounced English words to replace Japanese words, and to save the Seneca language? It is because the destruction of a culture through the loss of its language is actually a preventable tragedy! The disappearance of a language is not inevitable! Now that we have access to high technology, there is no reason why even small groups of speakers cannot maintain their languages – and with those languages, vital elements of their cultures. Through high technology, television and radio and internet transmissions can send out the words to people anywhere on Earth! My heart goes out to the last living native speaker of the Yagan language of southern Chile. Only today did I find out her name, but since it is in Spanish, I shall refrain from saying it here! After all, social pressures to learn Spanish are most probably the main reason why Yagan is on its way to oblivion. Losing generations of cultural treasures contained within the syntax, words, phrases, idioms, and sounds of any language anywhere is depriving ALL HUMANS of the beauty and worth of that language and the culture that it represents. Throughout the world, local languages are disappearing at an alarming rate. Spanish is taking over on Easter Island, where the Rapa Nui language spoken by the original Easter Islanders is being ravaged -- just as the Japanese badger is being ravaged by the North American raccoon. Unlike people, languages do not have to die! This is why I will do my best to see that Spanish continues – but so, too, do Falkland Islands English, Seneca, Japanese, Rapa Nui, and other languages, large and small!! As for Yagan, may it rest in peace!
Steve Walker, Earthsaver and Jingles Creator
© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.