I
believe that language is the core of any culture. To survive, a culture
or nation needs to keep their language alive, growing, and always
changing to keep their identity from dying. I learned that in the past,
Hawaiians went through a rough patch where they could not speak their
native language. They were advised not to and to learn English cause
that’s what the westerners thought had to be done; to make the Hawaiians
more “civilized.” I got reminded of that also when I looked at the poem
in the reading by Clarke about his Hualapai language, when he said
“Don’t speak you language, it’s no good. Don’t wear your traditional
clothes, it’s no good. Cut your hair, it’s no good.” It just made me
kinda sad knowing that there are some people actually pushing other
people to stop speaking their native language and do it their way
instead. Because if a community of people stop speaking their language
and stop doing their cultural traditions as passed down through
generations, that people’s identity can perish also. I hope that this
doesn’t happen anymore and that traditional and native languages all
over the world would be revitalized and strengthened through the native
people.
References:
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jar/SIL/Clarke.pdf
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