Extinct Language Research Articles

Towards a Pedagogy of Ancient Egyptian Language and Hieroglyphs

This paper discusses the challenges of teaching the Middle Egyptian language and Egyptian hieroglyphs to adult anglophone learners outside university settings. These challenges include the lack of L1 speakers; the large volume of signs in the script; the difficulty in reconstructing pronunciation due to the paucity of written vowels; and the lack of accessible learning tools such as readers and textbooks for the intermediate stage. As spoken proficiency in this extinct language is not a feasible goal, it is argued here that teaching should revolve around achieving reading competence. The paper advocates for a pedagogical approach that centres on using vocabulary, including variant spellings, as the fundamental building blocks of learning. This entails reading words, sentences and paragraphs of increasing complexity, which over time aids memorisation of vocabulary and builds confidence. Grammar and syntax can be gradually introduced and contextualised by reading practice sentences. It is also argued here that producing digitised versions of ancient Egyptian texts using hieroglyphic font software such as JSesh allows for the creation of practice texts in a standardised and legible format. This, in turn, makes it possible to use pedagogical aids such as adding spaces between words and adding signs omitted by the ancient scribes. Finally, it is argued that learning vocabulary and grammar is enhanced by discussions of the wider semantic and cultural meaning(s) of the ancient text in question.

Dialectology Landscape: Duano Sea Tribe Communication at Jambi Province

Duano language in Sabak and Tungkal is included into the extinct language category. One way to avoid language extinction is through language revitalization or language documentation. The purpose of this research is to ascertain and explain the proto language and the kinship of Duano tribe in Sabak and Tungkal through dialectology. Then, language documentation is carried out to look at all related aspects from cognate to morpheme positioning. The writers used Proto Malayic from Adelaar (1992) as IPD instrument, The data sources are Duano language from Sabak and Tungkal regencies spoken by 10 respondents. This is a qualitative study. The data were collected through interview, note-taking, recording, and documentation. Then, they were analyzed comparatively. This research found 920 zero data, 510 lexical differences data, 1210 cognate, and 570 phonological differences data. This showed that almost 50% of the data has zero difference, which means they have the same vocabulary. Then, phonological difference is 7.01% indicating that the two languages are different Speech. Meanwhile, lexical difference is 35.29% implying that the two are different subdialects, The relationship between the two regions is very close., the number of vocabularies that belong to vocabulary shift was higher than the vocabulary maintenance. This means that language extinction is very high, especially in the Tungkal area.

Linguistic Diversity at Risk: Description of Endangered Languages in Papua

Language and linguistic diversity in Papua are on the edge of extinction. Merely few languages have been documented and hundreds of them are still hitherto underdescribed or undescribed. The paper provides a brief description regarding the situation and condition of endangered languages in Papua by using a descriptive qualitative. The data was outlined in the shortlisted information based on Fishman’s EGIDS involving dormant languages, nearly extinct languages, and moribund languages. As a result. 42 languages in Papua are generally categorized as critically endangered. Moreover, rapid vitality decline is driven by several issues such as cultural assimilation, economic pressures, breakdown of language transmission, and the dominance of superior languages. Describing and documenting those endangered languages is crucial for preserving their unique linguistic features, cultural heritage, and traditional knowledge. Without immediate and comprehensive documentation, the richness of linguistic diversity in Papua stands to be irretrievably gone.

(Re)Constructing the Nation in Sunlight on a Broken Column: Hossain's Perspective on the Partition of the Subcontinent

Gellner (1983) defines a nation as a myth whereas nationalism is an ideology through which people (re)invent traditions and culture to construct a nation. Nationalism revives extinct languages and reimagines extinct customs. To strengthen their nation's discourse, South Asian female writers have contributed significantly to the invention of traditions and the reconstruction of their lost culture. By addressing her nation's history and culture in her work, Hosain has also bolstered her national discourse. It is commonly known that history is typically presented through the eyes of men. Even though women have contributed substantially to the national process, their opinions are not included in history books. Since men write history, history favors men by making them the main heroes. This study aims to provide a female viewpoint on the history of the partition of the subcontinent. Thus, the researcher has selected Attia Hossain's novel, Sunlight on a Broken Column, to view her perspective on the nation and the partition of India. The concept of a nation is complex to comprehend. Different theorists have different definitions of the nation. Renan (1883), Hobsbawm and Ranger (1983), and Anderson's (1991) theories related to the nation have been used to construct a theoretical framework for this research. This study investigates factors contributing to the construction of a nation and nation-state by referencing the partition of the sub-continent and the formation of two nation-states, Pakistan and India.

Unveiling Messapic Funerary Discourse

Messapic, an ancient language from the 6th to the 2nd century BC in Southern Italy, remains a linguistically enigmatic and poorly understood entity, has been traditionally classified as an extinct language. Current scholarship predominantly views Messapic epigraphy as primarily consisting of personal names, anthroponyms, and theonyms. However, attempts to linguistically classify and interpret it within the broader framework of Greek, Latin, or other ancient languages have yielded limited insights. This article investigates Messapic epigraphy as a potential descendant of Proto-Albanian and reveals intriguing parallels with classical Albanian. The chosen exemplars challenge the prevailing assumption that Messapic is an extinct language, presenting it in a new light and underscoring its enduring linguistic and cultural legacy. This is notably exemplified through a distinctive funerary discourse that serves as a hallmark of the Messapic language.

Linguistic Genocide of Minority and Mother Tongue Languages: Unravelling International Implications on Indian Laws Through a Critical Discourse

Language is an inherent and intrinsic form of human communication, and India is renowned for its extensive range of languages. Nevertheless, the languages that are spoken in India, which play a crucial role in fostering this diverse cultural landscape, have encountered obstacles stemming from the forces of globalisation and domestic prejudice over an extended period of time. This paper underscores the concerning phenomenon of language attrition throughout history, wherein numerous languages have become extinct, resulting in fragmented remnants of cultural heritage. The majority of extinct languages were of Indigenous origin, suggesting a discernible racial bias in their eradication. Many linguists see the current situation as linguistic genocide, the intentional destruction of languages to achieve cultural unity. This study assesses the laws and policies pertaining to minority languages in India and examines their compatibility with international standards. This paper examines the difficulties associated with the implementation of language preservation legislation and explores the potential consequences of linguistic genocide on cultural identity, social cohesion and human rights within the context of India.

Exploring an extinct society through the lens of Habitus-Field theory and the Tocharian text corpus

The paper applies Habitus-Field theory, Multiple Correspondence Analysis, and close reading to study an extinct, ancient civilization through the lense of a likewise extinct language: Tocharian. To do so, we analyze a large corpus of 5276 text fragments written from the 5th to the 10th century C.E. stemming from 25 different regions in the Tarim basin and Taklamakan desert. We include not only text contents but also archaeological features such as find spots and the materiality of the text fragments. Our analysis reveals a distinction between political, spiritual, and economic elites by referencing moral principles stemming from Buddhism. Furthermore, distinctions in terms of gift-giving, being able to control the Caravan trade, and shaping the view on the moral order of society by the act of writing itself were found.

SÖZDE KARCA GLOSSALAR İSKİT KÖKENLİ Mİ? BİR YENİDEN İNCELEME

Carian is an extinct language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family, which is attested in numerous inscriptions, graffiti, and coins written in the so-called Carian script. The Carian glosses cited by Byzantine writers, mainly by Stephan of Byzantium, are the main secondary source for the Carian language. Despite the hundred-year-long search for etymologies and the almost completed decipherment of the Carian inscriptions, these pseudo-glosses have not been fully explained. The present study links three of the seven most certain of these glosses, namely κόον/κῶν/κοῖον ‘sheep’, γίσσα ‘stone’, and ἄλα ‘horse’, to some Altaic and Xiongnu words and traces their origin back to a non-Indo-European language spoken among the Scythians. The language in question is assumed to be the donor of Proto-Turkic *kōńï̆ ‘sheep’, Proto-Bulgar Turkic *kïsa ‘rock, cliff’, and Early Common Turkic *halan ‘horse’. These forms also entered the Mongolic, Tungusic, and other neighboring languages. The parallelism between the Carian pseudo-glosses and these word forms is the result of the linguistic contact at the two opposite ends of the Scythic culture.

Coding Local Weight Sensitivity in Wergaia

Wergaia, an extinct language in Australian Wimmera region, exemplifies a generalized trochee language wherein heavy syllables generally do not bear stress, except when in final position in an odd-parity word to preserve a regular rhythmic alternation. This paper reviews the Wergaia stress pattern and provides a program in Python to model its local weight sensitivity in metrical parsing.

Kant’s Philosophy of Language of Philosophy: On Philosophical Terminology

Abstract Among the passages which are suggestive of a philosophy of language in Kant’s writings are his remarks and arguments on appropriate terminology for philosophical concepts. I ask what it is for Kant that makes some words more suitable than others. I reconstruct the arguments from the Inquiry concerning the distinctness of the principles of natural theology and morality (1764) and the Critique of Pure Reason (1781/1787) that defend that there is no such thing as a proper, real definition for philosophical concepts (only nominal definition and exposition); in addition, philosophical concepts are only represented by terms in abstracto, not in concreto. On these grounds, in the Inquiry, Kant sustains that the reference of a term to a philosophical concept is ultimately sanctioned by the term’s ‘linguistic usage’ (Redegebrauch). I argue that this is the basis for Kant’s criterion in the Critique of Pure Reason of employing traditional terminology, words from ordinary language, or even words from extinct languages, to refer to philosophical concepts, and for his rejection of coining new terms – even for distinctly new philosophical thoughts.

“We Most Certainly Do Have a Language”

AbstractThis article proposes that languages should be embraced by the field of extinction studies while at the same time being mindful of the imbrication of colonialism in both the assignation and terminology of extinction and attempts to revive or reclaim endangered and extinct languages. It thus argues for a decolonizing approach to discourses of both language extinction and reclamation. The article starts by contextualizing the complementary extinction crises facing both species and languages. It then moves on to explore the links between colonialism and the extinction crisis for languages as well as the colonialist underpinnings of many attempts to document and revive endangered and extinct languages. The article then looks to a particularly unique case of decolonial language reclamation, focusing on the work of members of the Kariri-Xocó Indigenous community in present-day Northeast Brazil. It concludes that, by reclaiming their language in a way that is both agentive and coconstructed, the Kariri-Xocó bring together language, culture, and spirituality as tools for resistance.

What has not yet been said about Prussian proper names in Polish lands

The research of historical proper names reveals the necessity to emphasize and link the cultural, social and political aspects that play a role in the development of onyms. It should be noted that the language and the names of inhabited settlements reflecting it developed within a certain single system of life, which can be divided only hypothetically. The oikonymy of the extinct language, when viewed as the development of linguistic phenomena, should be addressed from a systematic perspective. It is impossible to draw the line that would divide the starting point and the end point of the development of historical proper names. The rich empirical data, mostly coming from historical manuscript sources, show an ongoing process. We cannot tell the exact date when the Old Prussian language became extinct. However, it is clear that the Old Prussian names of inhabited settlements outlived the language and were more resistant to the processes of Germanization and Polonization than it has been thought to this day. Linguistic, social and cultural phenomena occur in the same domain and are mutually dependent. Politics has the power to change the name. The replacement of some of East Prussia’s native toponyms with Russian ones is a sad proof of that power put into practice. Nevertheless, some indigenous toponyms had enough strength to survive. The dimension of historical time has been introduced to the research and the significance of change for the survival of Old Prussian proper names in the processes of Germanization and Polonization has been highlighted. Polish onomasticians also study the extralinguistic meaning of onyms through the heritage of the Teutonic Order, as onyms are the witnesses of history in the environment of language contacts. The monumental work of Polish researchers Nazwy miejscowe Polski (Eng. Polish Place Names) is also noteworthy, however, the material that is included or excluded occasionally poses quite a few questions for the researchers of Old Prussian proper names. The article discusses more interesting cases of Old Prussian oikonymy on the territory of present-day Poland.

Revitalization of Local Language in Si Bolang

The millennial era and the times have made language change. Not only language but even ethics, manners, and habits change. Indonesians are more interested in films, YouTube, and social media. The existence of Si Bolang shows that highlighting children's activities in the area can be a way to preserve the language. These shows often use regional languages during the dialogue between the character Si Bolang and the local children. In this study, he wanted to know about the revitalization of extinct languages in the 2019 Si Bolang program for language preservation. The research method used is descriptive qualitative. In the research, watching Si Bolang shows in 2019 by selecting 3 shows, then looking for the revitalization of the extinct languages contained in these shows. The results showed that the Si Bolang version shows "Serdadu Kecil Kampung Nelayan Cipanon", "Riang Akur Bocah Selur", and "Penjaga Alam Tanah Jawa". In these shows, language revitalization is becoming extinct or displaced due to the times and the millennial era. The first broadcast used the Sundanese regional language in as much as 40% of all shows due to the dominant language, namely Standard Indonesian. The second and third shows used the Javanese regional language, as much as 60% of all impressions. Because the dialogue used mainly uses the Javanese regional language. The language of instruction or explanation of Si Bolang's activities uses standard Indonesian. This revitalization is essential to be collected and then preserved. The results of this study are helpful for the whole community so that they are more familiar with the diversity of regional languages that are starting to be forgotten or not applied to everyday life. This film contains education and cultural preservation elements, so it needs to be a suggestion for other films to elevate Indonesian culture. With shows or films, it is easier for the audience to understand and more accessible to get the film's meaning. So that it will grow in the community to preserve the existing culture in Indonesia, researchers suggest that various parties can create media to provide impressions that can preserve local languages and introduce culture to the audience.

Survey and Review of Parallel Glossary of Indian Languages

The research paper highlights the survey review of the parallel vocabulary of Indian languages, which are useful for today's education world. The purpose of this research paper is to broaden the natural language resource by storing words of different languages ??and strengthen the three-lingual formula in the education world, preserve extinct languages ??and facilitate machine translation, etc.

Java-Sunda Students’ Appreciation on The Learning of Rejang Language as A Local Subject in Elementary Schools, North Bengkulu

This study is about the appreciation of students of SD Negeri 158 Air Baus, a transmigration area which is dominated by Javanese and Sundanese people, towards learning Bahasa Rejang as the original language and oldest ethnic group in Bengkulu province. In North Bengkulu district, Rejang language is a compulsory subject as an effort of the government to preserve the culture and language. Considering the facts that Rejang is in the category of nearly went extinct language and rarely used by today's youth. This research uses qualitative ethnographic methods. The findings of this study are 1) Students from Javanese-Sundanese ethnic group, on average, find that Rejang language is difficult to learn, especially when learning to pronounce and understand it, 2) Students learn the local subject of Rejang language through reading, writing, singing, imitating the teacher, listening and practicing independently, 3) The materials studied are KaGaNga script, counting, reading stories, types of animals, types of plants, types of objects and others, 4) Students also have a problem learning Rejang script because the letter symbols used are very different with daily grammar.

Has what was ‘Too far for you to see’ come any closer? Language and Identity in Wales

This article examines issues of language usage in Welsh and the identity of this region’s residents. The stress is upon people and language as they are inseparably inter- and entwined when forming one’s identity (Evans, 2018, p. 7). In accordance with this approach, I focus on three aspects (of this people, language, and identity): 1) the “diachronic” analysis of the Welsh language; 2) bilingual language use in general and in Wales in particular; 3) the recent period and research that slowly led to Welsh becoming an official language, effective in 2012. In this paper I will discuss what has happened since the poet, R. S. Thomas, captured the feelings and thoughts of his era while expressing his worries for his nation’s fate in the poem, The Welsh Hill County. I believe that my inquiry suits the environment of languages and cultures as the success story of an almost extinct language that survived its foretold death may provide valuable insight into the actual problems minority groups fighting for their rights face. What is more, I find this question important from the viewpoint of a second language teacher: the way we acquire languages in a naturally (albeit sometimes hostile) bilingual region can furnish further ways to enhance language learning abilities of students. The role played by the Welsh in Wales and the UK serves as a good example of the above interests.

EVOLUTION OF ABSOLUTE PARTICIPIAL CONSTRUCTION IN LANGUAGES OF ROMANCE, GERMANIC, AND SLAVIC GROUPS

The study was carried out within the framework of the current problems associated with the evolution of the absolute participial construction in several living and extinct languages of the Romance, Germanic and Slavic groups. The controversial issues, versions of the origin and development of the structure in these languages ("Latin", "Greek" and "autochthonous") are discussed. The structural and semantic features of the absolute participial construction are compared. It has been established that in the languages under study, the construction has a binary structure that includes a name (noun or pronoun) playing the role of a logical subject, and a participle in the role of a logical predicate. Together with the main sentence, the construction forms a paratactic syntactic complex, the constituents of which are not connected with each other by means of service words. Similarities include the ability to express definitively or syncretically temporary meaning; as for the differences, they are the expression in some languages of a causal, conditional, concessive, target, connecting meaning. Depending on the peculiarities of the development of grammatical systems of languages, the structure may include participles of different types, prepositions may be present, the structure may take both the general case form and another case fixed by the language for this type of structures. The words order, which can be either direct or inverse or depend on the transmitted meaning or part of speech of the subject, also differs in the languages. In conclusion, the necessity of further comprehensive analysis of this type of structures is substantiated.

A Program for the Preservation and Revitalization of the Languages of Russia

This article presents the Program for the Preservation and Revitalization of the Languages of Russia proposed by the Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Sciences (the Program). The Program is based on knowledge accumulated in linguistics in domains such as linguistic diversity, language endangerment, and language preservation methods. According to a recent assessment, there are 150 to 160 languages of Russia. This number of languages, even though quite high, is manageable for a national language preservation Program. Languages are rapidly becoming extinct worldwide, and Russia is no exception to this trend. The following terms are used to categorize languages according to risk of extinction: safe languages, endangered languages, severely endangered languages, and nearly extinct languages. There are several important humanitarian and scientific reasons for engaging in language preservation. The central idea of the Program is to boost intergenerational language transmission wherever feasible. Various approaches to different language situations are envisaged, including enlightenment campaigns, language nests, and language documentation. Three necessary conditions for language revitalization include engaging local activists, administrative and financial support, and the scientific validity of the methodology. The Programs 12-year roadmap is split into three stages. There are a number of favorable factors making the Program feasible, as well as a number of potential obstacles. We have a historic opportunity to preserve languages spoken in Russia, and this is an opportunity that must be used.

"Culture is a shadow”, language as a shade; Fragments of a dead language, Naka’ela

One of the distinctive languages of Central Maluku, Naka’ela, was once spoken by a remnant language community on the north coast of Seram. Relying on data collected in Seram in 1978, Naka’ela has been among the Central Maluku languages included in studies of morphophonology (Collins 1983a, 1983b), areal phonology shift (1982, 2018a), and language classification (Collins 1983a). A fallacious, mechanistic classification of Naka’ela (Mahsun et al. 2008; Mukhamdanah 2015) was also published and has been recently disproven (Collins 2019a, 2019b). This essay will review some of the aspects of the Naka’ela language system by exploring what we can discern about verbal conjugation systems and genitive paradigms in this Central Maluku language. Based on contemporary reports from Seram (Sadrach Latue, p.c., 27-10-2018), the Naka’ela language, like so many others in Central Maluku, is no longer spoken; nor are there “rememberers” of this extinct language. In this setting of dead and forgotten languages, we recall the brutal genocides and culture murders in Australia (Daniel Nettle and Suzanne Romaine 2000). Recently, Dianne Biritjalawuy Gondarra, a Yolngu woman from northern Australia, explained that “culture is a shadow, it's something that follows your everywhere, and part of culture is language, which connects me back to my land" (James Griffths 2020). This essay is intended to shed more light on Naka’ela and the complex setting of fading multilingualism in Central Maluku. The displaced, disregarded Naka’ela community survives in Seram, their land, but their language is only a shade, a ghostly memory.

Interpreting protohistoric societies through place names of landscape features: a case study in València, Spain

ABSTRACT Protohistoric place names, created before written history and related to extinct languages, are analysed in this article. Our case study deals with place names of current towns (over 20,000 inhabitants) in the Spanish region of València. Linguistics is needed when dealing with the origin of an opaque protohistoric place name, but observation of landscape features is crucial when finding or choosing the most plausible origin of a place name if there is more than one theory. Protohistoric names are thus interpreted in this article from two perspectives: landscape feature observation and philology. This multimethod analysis produces more reliable results. The main results reveal that protohistoric town names in our case study derive from natural features of landscape, while historic town names refer mainly to cultural features of landscape. Place names are one of the most valuable sources available to explain the concerns of protohistoric peoples.