Reading Course: Dying Languages

Q: What happens when the last two people on Earth who speak a language decide they hate each other and won't speak to each other? 

A: You need anthropologists to rush to the scene and attempt to save the language from extinction!

Read the following article in the Guardian and test your reading comprehension by answering the following questions:

1. Which language is about to die out?
2. How are anthropologists attempting to save this language?
3. Where is this language spoken?
4. Why is the language about to die out?
5. Do they live far away from each other?
6. Why won't they talk to each other?
7. a. Are their personalities similar? b. How would you describe their personalities?
8. Which speaker is a homebody?
9. a. Who did Segovia used to speak the language with? b. How long ago? c. Why did he stop speaking the langauge with this person?
10. Was the language commonly spoken in the past?
11. What three (3) factors have contributed to the demise of this language?
12. a. What is The National Indigenous Language Institute attempting to do? b. Based on the facts presented, do they have a good chance of succeeding?
13. What does kolo-golo-nay mean?
14. a. Which other languages are on the verge of extinction? b. Where are they spoken? c. How many people alive currently speak these languages?

Essential Vocabulary I

pun ~ a joke made by a play on words, especially the different meanings of a word 

In-Laws ~ the mother, father, brothers or sisters of one's spouse

tidbits ~ yummy little facts, gossip, or food in bite-sized pieces which is "easily digested" by one's stomach or mind

popping by ~ to visit a family member or close friend either: a. unannounced without a formal invitation, or b. without a specific time in mind or purpose (such as arriving sometime after running errands and not specifically for a meal, party, etc.)

anthropologists  ~ scientists who study humans and their culture

extinction ~ a state of no longer existing 

homebody ~ someone who prefers to stay at home as opposed to going out

Answers to the Wee Little Quiz!

1. Ayapaneco or Nuumte Oote.
2. They are trying to write a dictionary.
3. Mexico, specifically in the village of Ayapa in the the southern state of Tabasco
4. There are only two speakers left and they are elderly: Manuel Segovia, 75 and Isidro Velazquez, 69
5. Not at all! They only live 500 m from each other!
6. No one really knows for sure. It could possibly be an argument or feud of some kind but it is known that they do not like to be in each other's presence.
7. a. Not at all. b. Segovia, is described as being "a little prickly" whereas Velazquez, is described as being a "more stoic."
8. Velazquez is the homebody.
9. a. Segovia used to speak the language with his brother. b. Over ten years ago. c. He died. 
10. No. Suslak describes Ayapaneco as a "linguistic island" because it was surrounded by more commonly spoken indigenous languages.
11. 1. In the mid-twentieth century, Mexican schools prohibited the speaking of indigenous languages. 2) Urbanization. 3) Migration.
12.  a. They are going to attempt to start classes in teaching the language to others. b. No. Everyone in the past loses interest and drops out of the classes and there has been funding problems.
13. To gobble like a turkey.
14. 1. a. Ter Sami, b. Russia, c. two people; 2. a. Kayardild, b. Australia, c. four people; 3. a. Lengilu, b. Indonesia, c. four people; 4. a. Mabire, b. Chad, c. maybe three people; 5. a. Tehuelche, b. Chile, c. four people.

How did you do? I'm sure you did an excellent job! But if not and you got any answers wrong, simply go back to the article and try to re-answer the question without looking at the answer one more time. 

Essential Vocabulary II
  
indigenous ~ a person, plant, or object that originates in a specific place

to gobble ~ the specific sound a turkey makes (listen of you are curious!)