Topic: Preservation of Endangered Languages
Country: Turkmenistan
Delegate Name: Olivia Decker
School: Royal Oak High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Turkmenistan position papers GLIMUN 2013 committees
Currently Turkmenistan has one endangered language called Turkhmen. UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) states that it is presently ‘definitely endangered’, which means that it could quickly move on to severely endangered, then critically, and then possibly extinct. UNESCO says, “It is estimated that, if nothing is done, half of 6000 plus languages spoken today will disappear by the end of this century. With the disappearance of unwritten and undocumented languages, humanity would lose not only a cultural wealth but also important ancestral knowledge embedded, in particular, in indigenous languages.”
Why should we try and save this endangered language? Because it holds part of Turkmenistan’s cultural history. Languages tend to create descriptive words for things that are culturally important, including geography, geology, and history. For example, Eskimo’s have approximately 50 words for snow, a geographical importance in their culture. If you lose the language, you lose the unique cultural knowledge that that language held specifically for those people. Therefore, you lose that history.
Another reason to keep the language alive is social balance. Letting the language die out would put an advantage on the speakers of Turkmen, which is the national language of Turkmenistan. The speakers of Turkhmen would be at a disadvantage as that is their native language that they are used to and they would become out of place in their own country.
The UN should work on trying to keep the language running throughout the people of Turkmenistan. If it’s common among the people, then it’s easier to recognize and acknowledge its cultural and historical importance.
To keep the language alive, it is recommended by UNESCO that one keep learning and practicing that language and teaching it to their children. Hiring teachers at schools to teach children the language, or at least give them an understanding of the language, would be very practical and possibly beneficial. Having children know Turkhmen can allow them to better understand their environment and history.
Turkmenistan is also funded by AFCP (Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation Program) which provides financially under-developed countries preserve their cultural heritage. Over the past 12 years, the AFCP has funded 20 projects to help preserve culturally important sites and objects. Turkmenistan can perform projects in the areas of Cultural Sites, Cultural Objects and Collections, and Forms of Traditional Cultural Expression, which supports recovery of endangered languages. Therefore, Turkmenistan also has this route to help preserve and even recover Turkhmen. They can use the money provided to them to implement laws that require a certain number of years learning Turkhmen, enough to keep the language intact and people speaking it.
In conclusion, it is decided that it is very important to keep the endangered language that Turkmenistan has alive so that the people can access its unique knowledge whenever they need.
