LINGUIST List 13.1615

Thu Jun 6 2002

Media: Endangered Languages, Time Magazine

Editor for this issue: Karen Milligan <karenlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Suzette Haden Elgin, Time Magazine: endangered languages

June 6, 2002


The June 10, 2002 issue of _Time_, p. 22, has a half page titled "Tongues
That Go Out of Style," written by Harriet Barovick. It shows a map of the
world, with notes about endangered languages worldwide. For North America
it mentions "Pennsylvania German," "most Native American languages," and
Gullah; the choices for Europe are Faeroese, Sardinian, and Yiddish. The
fact that for Asia the chosen example is Nushu, identified as "perhaps the
world's only language just for women," does not inspire confidence; Nushu
is not a language, but a writing system.

Suzette Haden Elgin