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Linguicide




Some of the mechanisms leading to the death of languages and recent historical examples:
  • instituted separation of children from their parents, e.g., Aboriginal children in Australia. See Stolen Generation .

  • imposition of another language (e.g., by declaring it official, English-only Movement )

  • imposition of another culture

  • ban on the language that is to be annihilated (e.g., Hawaiian in Hawaii by the USA after its annexation; German in the USA after the World Wars, German in Italy after WWII, Ainu in Hokkaido)

  • linguistic competition (e.g. English vs. French in scientific publications)

  • "glottopolitics and linguistic warfare"

  • extermination of people speaking the language (e.g., Holocaust contributed to the decline of Yiddish ; the Indian Wars to various Native American Languages )

  • destruction of the traditional culture (e.g., Native American languages by European settlement, etc.)

  • natural decline in native populations and their traditions

  • refusal to teach children through their native tongue, e.g. Scottish Gaelic and Welsh within the British state.

  • refusal by advertisers/corporations/employers to allow/use certain languages



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