How to save a language from extinction | Daniel Bögre Udell

Translator: Lucía Campillo Rey Reviewer: Xusto Rodriguez

Languages don't just die naturally.

As linguas non morren de forma natural.

People abandon mother tongues, because they're forced to.

As linguas maternas abandónanse por algún tipo de presión.

Often, the pressure is political.

Moitas veces, a presión é política.

In 1892,

En 1892, un xeneral do exército dos EEUU, Richard Henry Pratt

the US Army general Richard Henry Pratt

argued that killing indigenous cultures

dixo que matar as culturas indíxenas

era a única alternativa a matar as persoas indíxenas.

was the only alternative to killing indigenous people.

"Kill the Indian," he said, "but save the man."

Dixo: "Maten o indio, pero salven o home".

And until 1978, the government did just that,

E, ata 1978, iso foi o que fixo o Goberno.

removing indigenous children from their families

Apartaron os nenos indíxenas das súas familias

and forcing them into boarding schools where they were given English names

para levalos a internados onde lles asignaban nomes ingleses

and punished for speaking their languages.

e os castigaban por falar a súa lingua.

Assimilation was a complement to genocide.

A asimilación era un complemento do xenocidio.

Seven thousand languages are alive today,

Hoxe existen 7.000 linguas no mundo

but few are recognized by their own governments

pero poucas son recoñecidas polos seus gobernos

or supported online.

ou están presentes en Internet.

So for people from the vast majority of cultures,

Para moitas persoas da maior parte das culturas

globalization remains profoundly alienating.

a globalización segue a ser profundamente alienante.

It means giving up your language for someone else's.

Supón abandonar a túa lingua en beneficio da doutra persoa.

And if nothing changes,

E se nada cambia

as many as 3,000 languages could disappear in 80 years.

poderían desaparecer ata 3.000 linguas en 80 anos.

Pero as cousas están cambiando.

But things are changing.

Around the world,

Arredor do mundo, os pobos están revitalizando linguas ancestrais

people are reviving ancestral languages

and rebuilding their cultures.

e reconstruíndo as súas culturas.

As far as we know,

Polo que sabemos, a reivindicación de idiomas

language reclamation began in the 1800s when, at a time of rising antisemitism,

comezou no século XIX, cando, co auxe do antisemitismo

Jewish communities looked to their ancestral language, Hebrew,

as comunidades xudías usaron a súa lingua ancestral, o hebreo

as a means of cultural revival.

como método de recuperación cultural.

And though it had been dormant for over 1,000 years,

A pesar de non usarse durante máis de 1.000 anos

it was well preserved in books of Jewish religion and philosophy.

o hebreo estaba ben conservado en libros relixiosos e filosóficos.

So Jewish activists studied and taught it to their children,

Os activistas xudeus estudárono e ensináronllelo ós seus fillos

raising the first native speakers in nearly 100 generations.

educando os primeiros falantes nativos en 100 xeracións.

Today, it's the mother tongue of five million Jews.

Hoxe, é a lingua materna de 5 millóns de xudeus.

And at least for me,

E, polo menos para min

an assimilated English-speaking member of the Jewish diaspora,

como membro asimilado e falante de inglés da diáspora xudía

a pillar of cultural sovereignty.

é un piar de soberanía cultural.

Two thousand years later,

Dous mil anos despois

we're still here.

seguimos aquí.

Now, until recently,

Ata hai pouco, a recuperación do hebreo era unha anomalía.

Hebrew's reawakening was an anomaly.

Few languages are as well preserved as ours was,

Hai poucas linguas tan ben conservadas

and the creation of Israel,

e a creación de Israel, o primeiro estado xudeu en 1.000 anos

the first Jewish state in over 1,000 years,

provided a space for Hebrew's daily use.

proporcionou un espazo para o uso diario do hebreo.

Noutras palabras, a maioría das culturas non tiveron esa oportunidade.

In other words, most cultures just weren't given a chance.

(Video) Good evening, I'm Elizabeth

(Vídeo) Bos días, son Elizabeth e vivo en Cornualles.

and I live in Cornwall.

That was Cornish,

Isto é córnico, a lingua ancestral de Cornualles

the ancestral language of Cornwall,

which today is technically a county in southern England.

que hoxe é tecnicamente un condado do sur de Inglaterra.

In the 1900s, Cornish activists fought for their culture.

No século XX, os activistas córnicos loitaron pola súa cultura.

The language had been dormant for over 100 years,

A lingua non se usara en máis de 100 anos

but they used old books and plays to teach it to their children.

pero usaron libros e obras antigas para ensinarllo ós nenos.

However, this new generation of Cornish speakers

Pero estes novos falantes estaban espallados por Cornualles

was scattered across Cornwall

and unable to use the language freely.

e non podían usar a lingua libremente.

By the 1990s, Cornish had reawakened,

Nos 90, o córnico espertara

but it wasn't thriving.

pero non prosperaba.

Then, in the early 2000s, Cornish speakers found one another online

A comezos do s. XXI, os falantes de córnico coñecéronse en liña

and leveraged digital spaces to speak on a daily basis.

e aproveitaron os espazos dixitais para falar a diario.

From there, they organized weekly or monthly events

A partir de aí, organizaron eventos periódicos

where they could gather and speak in public.

para reunírense e falaren en público.

Today, some schools teach Cornish.

Hoxe, algunhas escolas ensinan córnico.

There are Cornish language signs,

Hai sinais e anuncios de xeado en córnico

ice-cream commercials,

Wikipedia, and even memes.

artigos na Wikipedia e memes.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And with their language once again intact,

Coa lingua intacta outra vez, o pobo córnico asegurou

the people of Cornwall have secured recognition

o recoñecemento como nación celta, xunto a Irlanda, Escocia e Gales.

as a Celtic nation alongside Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

They stared down centuries of forced assimilation

Enfrontáronse a séculos de asimilación forzada

and said, "We're not a county in England.

e dixeron: "Non somos un condado de Inglaterra.

We're a people in our own right.

Somos un pobo por dereito propio.

And we're still here."

E seguimos aquí".

And they're not the only ones.

E non son os únicos.

The Tunica-Biloxi tribe of Louisiana is reviving their ancestral language.

A tribo tunica-biloxi de Luisiana está rescatando a súa lingua ancestral.

(Video) My name is Teyanna.

(Vídeo) Chámome Teyana. Os meus amigos chámanme "Tormenta queda".

My friends, they call me "Quiet Storm."

It started in the 1980s,

Empezou nos anos 80. Donna Pierite e a súa familia

when Donna Pierite and her family

started taking trips to Baton Rouge and New Orleans

comezaron a viaxar a Baton Rouge e Nova Orleáns

to photocopy old dictionaries stored away in university archives.

para fotocopiar dicionarios antigos gardados en arquivos universitarios.

The goal was to study Tunica

O obxectivo era estudar o tunica

and teach it to the children and share it with the community.

e ensinárllelo ós nenos e compartilo coa comunidade.

Today, they're leading a Tunica renaissance.

Hoxe están conseguindo un rexurdimento do tunica.

Since 2014, there are nearly 100 speakers in language immersion classes,

Desde 2014, hai case 100 falantes en clases de inmersión lingüística

and according to a 2017 census,

e, segundo un censo de 2017

32 new fluent speakers,

32 novas persoas falan a lingua con fluidez.

some of whom, like Donna's daughter Elisabeth,

Algúns deles, como Elisabeth, a filla de Donna

are teaching Tunica to their children.

ensínanlles tunica ós seus fillos.

These new speakers are creating content,

Estes novos falantes crean contido, vídeos en Facebook e memes, tamén.

Facebook videos and also memes.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

(Laughter)

(Risas)

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And the more they publish,

E canto máis publican,

the more they inspire other Tunica people to get involved.

máis inspiran a outros tunica a implicarse.

Recently, a tribal member living in Texas wrote Elisabeth on Facebook,

Recentemente, un membro da tribo de Texas

preguntoulle a Elisabeth en Facebook como se dicía "Benditas estas terras".

asking how to say "bless these lands."

It was for a yard sign,

Era para un cartel no seu xardín que mostrase ós seus veciños

so she could show her neighbors that her culture is alive

que a súa cultura estaba viva e prosperando.

and thriving today.

Now, Hebrew, Cornish and Tunica

O hebreo, o córnico e o tunica son só tres exemplos

are just three examples from a groundswell of language activism on every continent.

dunha vaga de activismo lingüístico presente en tódolos continentes.

And whether they're Jèrriais speakers from the Channel Isles,

Xa sexan falantes de jèrriais das Illas do Canal

or Kenyan sign language speakers from Nairobi,

ou falantes de lingua de signos kenyana de Nairobi

all communities working to preserve or reclaim a language

tódalas comunidades que traballan

por preservar ou recuperar unha lingua teñen unha cousa en común:

have one thing in common: media,

medios de comunicación para compartir e ensinar a lingua.

so their language can be shared and taught.

And as the internet grows,

E co crecemento de internet

expanding media access and creation,

que posibilita maior acceso a medios e maior creación

preserving and reclaiming ancestral languages

a preservación e a recuperación de linguas ancestrais

is now more possible than ever.

é máis viable que nunca.

So what are your ancestral languages?

Cales son as vosas linguas ancestrais?

Mine are Hebrew, Yiddish, Hungarian and Scottish Gaelic,

As miñas son o hebreo, o yiddish, o húngaro e o gaélico escocés

even though I was raised in English.

aínda que me criei en inglés.

And luckily for me, each of these languages is available online.

E, afortunadamente para min, estas linguas están dispoñibles en liña.

Hebrew in particular -- it came installed on my iPhone,

O hebreo especialmente: viña instalado no meu iPhone

it's supported by Google Translate,

está incluído en Google Translate e incluso ten autocorrector.

it even has autocorrect.

And while your language may not be as widely supported,

E aínda que a vosa lingua non teña un apoio tan amplo

I encourage you to investigate,

anímovos a investigar, porque é probable que alguén nalgún sitio

because chances are, someone, somewhere, has started getting it online.

empezara a subilo á rede.

Reclaiming your language and embracing your culture

Reclamar a túa lingua e aceptar a túa cultura

is a powerful way to be yourself in the age of globalization,

é un xeito poderoso de ser ti mesmo na era da globalización.

because as I recently learned to say in Hebrew,

Porque, como hai pouco aprendín a dicir en hebreo

"'nḥnw 'dyyn k'n" --

"'nḥnw 'dyyn k'n" --

we're still here.

"Seguimos aquí".

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)