Pages in topic:   [1 2] >
Poll: Do you know an endangered language?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Apr 7, 2017

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you know an endangered language?".

View the poll results »



 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Yes Apr 7, 2017

Can I be the first to say English?

Ho, ho, ho.


 
writeaway
writeaway  Identity Verified
French to English
+ ...
Second Apr 7, 2017

Chris S wrote:

Can I be the first to say English?

Ho, ho, ho.



Too slow to be first. And ho ho ho, not, sadly.


 
JaneD
JaneD  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 11:14
Member (2009)
Swedish to English
+ ...
It's a sore point! Apr 7, 2017

I am actually Manx by birth, but when I was a kid it was an all but dead language. But in the last 20 or so years there have been major efforts to bring it back to life, and there are now even native speakers of the language again. I was just too old to be one of them, and that's very frustrating. I keep thinking I'd like to learn it, just because it's been my family's language for hundreds of years!

 
Jennifer Forbes
Jennifer Forbes  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:14
French to English
+ ...
In memoriam
You both beat me to it ... Apr 7, 2017

writeaway wrote:

Chris S wrote:

Can I be the first to say English?

Ho, ho, ho.



Too slow to be first. And ho ho ho, not, sadly.


I was about to make the same cynical observation.
Jenny, Founder member of the Pedants' Revolt Society


 
Gianluca Marras
Gianluca Marras  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 11:14
English to Italian
yes Apr 7, 2017

I was born in Sardinia, which has its own language, and unfortunately this is slowly disappearing.

 
Elena and David Dickens
Elena and David Dickens
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:14
Member (2016)
English to Italian
+ ...
Italian regional languages Apr 7, 2017

Italian dialects are probably not officially endengered, but are sadly being used less and less, and are disappearing. I don't help: in my family, now that the grandparents are old, we seldom use Lombard, and my 6-year-old son speaks English but doesn't understand a word of Lombard!

 
Natalie Soper
Natalie Soper  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:14
French to English
+ ...
Kind of Apr 7, 2017

I know a bit of Cornish, because we learnt a few phrases in my primary school. I'd be interested in learning more of it!

 
Noura Tawil
Noura Tawil  Identity Verified
Syria
Local time: 13:14
Member (2013)
English to Arabic
I know several ones, but I don't speak them Apr 7, 2017

sorry, couldn't resist

Seriously though, it would be nice to learn Assyrian or Aramaic, some of the very first languages in my country and in history.


 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 10:14
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other Apr 7, 2017

Cape Verdean creole is not exactly an endangered language as it’s the native language of virtually all Cape Verdeans and is used as a second language by the Cape Verdean diaspora, but a decreolization process is undergoing for all the different Cape Verdean Creole variants. My father was born and raised in Cape Verde until his teens and though I still remember a few words I do regret that I’ve never learned it fully.

Ti manham (see you tomorrow)!


 
Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 19:14
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Zombian Apr 7, 2017

We and the Walking Dead are very endangered

BTW, do Latin and Greek count in this poll? I did these up to 'A' level and could have continued my studies at Oxbridge. They're now pretty much dead and forgotten but have had an immense influence on modern-day European languages.

Added last line - nothing to do with zombies

[Edited at
... See more
We and the Walking Dead are very endangered

BTW, do Latin and Greek count in this poll? I did these up to 'A' level and could have continued my studies at Oxbridge. They're now pretty much dead and forgotten but have had an immense influence on modern-day European languages.

Added last line - nothing to do with zombies

[Edited at 2017-04-07 14:18 GMT]
Collapse


 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
Ukrainian Apr 7, 2017

Living in the capital of Ukraine, I can hear Ukrainian only near some kindergartens, a few schools, even less uni's, some dedicated events, and official speeches (including the radio). Most citizens prefer speaking Russian, and scholars still can explain neither the origin of 'Ukraine', nor how or when it became 'Ukrainian'.

As for really endangered languages, I did learn a 'dead' Latin and know ABOUT some others dying ones.
Perhaps, I'm too pragmatic, but if something is disa
... See more
Living in the capital of Ukraine, I can hear Ukrainian only near some kindergartens, a few schools, even less uni's, some dedicated events, and official speeches (including the radio). Most citizens prefer speaking Russian, and scholars still can explain neither the origin of 'Ukraine', nor how or when it became 'Ukrainian'.

As for really endangered languages, I did learn a 'dead' Latin and know ABOUT some others dying ones.
Perhaps, I'm too pragmatic, but if something is disappearing, then it's not needed/required any longer, and it is naturally ok. Certainly, if there're some promising works to decipher and learn, then it may be interesting, but rather many people are sick even of living languages)
Collapse


 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 11:14
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
A few Apr 7, 2017

(Still) Learning Tsėhésenėstsestȯtse (Cheyenne), Lakota (Sioux), Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), Tsalagi (Cherokee), Salish and know a little Swahili.

[Edited at 2017-04-07 12:40 GMT]


 
Ward Whittaker
Ward Whittaker  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 07:14
Portuguese to English
Do you know an endangered language? Apr 8, 2017

I know several endangered languages. What you really mean is: Do I know how to speak an endangered language?. And the answer would be no.

 
Clarisa Moraña
Clarisa Moraña  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 05:14
Member (2002)
English to Spanish
+ ...
And quite a lot of language variants Apr 8, 2017

Gianluca Marras wrote:

I was born in Sardinia, which has its own language, and unfortunately this is slowly disappearing.



When I was in Sardinia I was told that almost every town has a different Sardinian variant, thus academics could not agree in which was the most "accurate" one, and that language teachers from one town might not be able to teach in another town as they might have a different way of speaking.
BTW, I have a nice Sardinian cookbook, written both in Italian and Sardinian, and I can understand almost both languages (I speak a litte of Italian, and I'm a Spanish-speaking.


 
Pages in topic:   [1 2] >


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Jared Tabor[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Poll: Do you know an endangered language?






Wordfast Pro
Translation Memory Software for Any Platform

Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users! Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value

Buy now! »
Anycount & Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000

Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.

More info »