Language shift: the language cemetery
Language Alpha
went to see the language therapist because he is losing his identity and he
doesn’t know where he belongs any more. Where does his language soul come from?
The language
therapist language analyzes him by hypnotizing him in order to reveal his
origins. Language Alpha talks about his ancestors’ past in hypnosis.
‘I see a
mediaeval Empire with people who are talking a strange language, called
Bulgarian and I can understand it completely. It’s a Turkic language. Normally
I speak neither Bulgarian nor any Turkic languages. After that I see another
picture. It’s a country in the Balkans. Their language is also called
Bulgarian, but I can’t understand it. Or more precisely, I understand only few
elements of the language. It’s a Slavic language, no longer Turkic. After that
centuries passed. I can see myself desperately seeking the Bulgarian language, my real origins, my
real soul, but no hope. My real identity is the Bulgarian language and it has
disappeared.’
Language Alpha
wakes up, but he is very upset. What has happened to him? Has his language soul
change? Or has he become a different language? Or more tragically, has his
language soul died?
A language shift
has occurred. It’s a is a social phenomenon. It’s different from language
change as it’s not a structural change, but a replacement of the old language
with a new one. Usually it occurs when a community doesn’t see any reason to
maintain their ethnic language. It happens mainly in mixed-language or
bilingual areas. The reasons can be immigration or preferring the language of
the higher status. A rapid language shift happens when a minority has an urge
to learn the language of the society where learning the language is required
for success. When the speakers of one language become bilingual in another
language, and gradually shift allegiance to the second language, it is called
assimilation. When the speakers stop using their mother tongue, language death
occurs.
The therapist
calms Alpha: ‘The language is never
destroyed, only transformed. Your language soul is still alive deep inside
you.’
Do you think languages die or only transform?