Review Unit 3
Review Reading 5: Dying Languages
Time yourself as you read through the passage. Record your time. Then answer the questions.
Dying Languages
Dying Languages
The world is getting smaller, at least when it comes to
language. More and more people speak the three most
common languages: English, Spanish, and Mandarin. As
a result, local languages are being forgotten. In many
parts of the world, grandparents speak a language their
grandchildren do not understand. As cultures adjust to
these changes, and languages aren't taught to children
or spoken at home, these local languages are slowly
disappearing.
A language is said to be in trouble when less than 30
percent of children in the community speak it. It is
considered a dying language. If children no longer learn to
use a language, it will have fewer and fewer speakers over
time and, eventually, the language will be gone.
Why keep languages alive? Languages hold the key to
understanding a culture's beliefs and values. They show
how a culture understands or explains the world. "You need
to look at a variety of languages, because no one language
gets it all," said anthropologist1 Dr. Linda Cumberland who
is working to save Assiniboine, a Native American language.
According to Dr. Cumberland, a dying language needs a dictionary and people to understand
and record its grammar. Most importantly, you need to listen to those who still speak the
language. This can be very difficult, especially if there are very few speakers of the language left.
For example, when researchers were working to save the language Ayapaneco in Mexico, it was
hard for them to record anything because the last two people on Earth who could speak the
language refused to speak to each other!
Today, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) lists more
than 3,000 languages that may disappear by the end of this century. Some of the languages still
have a few million speakers and may survive. Unfortunately, hundreds of languages have fewer
than 25 speakers remaining and may soon be lost forever.
329 words | Time taken: ___________
1 An anthropologist is someone who studies people, societies, and culture.
Reading Comprehension
The main idea of this reading is that ______.
Why are local languages being spoken less and less?
When is a language considered to be dying?
What does Dr. Cumberland mean when she says “no one language gets it all” in lines 18–19?
According to Dr. Cumberland, to save a dying language, you need to ______.
Why was it so hard for linguists to study Ayapaneco?
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