Dialects and borders
Language is
one of the most basic characteristics which we share as human beings. Whether
we are hunter-gatherers or Internet surfers, we rely on language for communication,
culture, classification and contemplation. It is the fabric that binds society
together, as it has done throughout recorded history – indeed, without
language, recorded history would not exist. Yet this very fabric is under
threat - over 50% of the world’s 6,000 different languages are endangered,
according to UNESCO.
Why is this priceless part of our
human heritage under threat? One of the main threats comes from an unexpected
source: the nation state. When a country chooses its official language
or languages, this immediately puts all other languages spoken in that country
at a disadvantage. At the same time, languages are often chosen to justify the
existence of countries and their borders.
A country isn't a country unless it
has borders. Those people who die defending these borders are usually
remembered as heroes. Yet the reality is that the borders of virtually every
country on earth are artificial. Sometimes they are based on mathematical
constructions such as lines of latitude or longitude; in other cases they are
based on bizarre
historical anomalies.
However, borders become more
definite if the people on one side of the border speak one language, and those
on the other side of the border a different language. Both groups of people
will then consider each other "foreign", with a different language
and therefore a different culture.
If this is
not already the case, the state can intervene by making sure that the schools
on their side of the border force children to use an
officially approved national language, even if this is not their mother
tongue. And if their mother tongue is not the official language of any country,
the result is to endanger the future existence of that language.
In some
cases, “speaking differently at school” is justified by saying that the home
language is “just a dialect”. Dialects are often dismissed as inferior versions
of a standard language. Yet they too are an endangered part of our cultural
heritage.
The
linguistic definition of what is a dialect is not clear-cut. Indeed, it is
often said, “a
language is a dialect with an army and a navy.” Where a language has many
dialects, it is often the dialect of those in power which is considered the
standard version of the language.
Nationalism
also affects dialects, since many dialects contain words from other languages,
including the language across the local border. In some cases they break down
linguistic borders. For example, the local dialects on both sides of much of
the German-Dutch border are mutually intelligible, even though Standard Dutch
(A.B.N.) and Standard German (Hochdeutsch) aren’t.
Another
example of state interference in language is official spelling revisions.
English speakers found it strange when the German government decided to revise
German spelling; in fact, many languages have official spelling systems which
are revised from time to time, sometimes substantially. While having a standard
spelling system does aid communication (which is what language is for, after
all), it is far less clear why governments should decide on this.
Ultimately,
it is up to all of us to use our language in the way we want.