Topic: Preservation of Endangered Languages
Country: Lebanon
Delegate Name: Fabiola Murrieta Peralta
School: Instituto Educativo Olinca
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Lebanon position papers GLIMUN 2013 committees
A language disappears when its speakers die or when they have to change their native language for a modern one used by a majority group. Languages are threatened by external problems such as military, economic, religious, cultural or educational, or by internal forces such as a community’s negative attitude towards its own ancient language. Today, migration and urbanization often bring along the loss of traditional ways of life and a strong pressure to speak a dominant language that is – or is perceived to be – necessary for full civic participation and economic advancement.
Lebanon has only two endangered languages, Domari and Western Armenian. Domari is the language spoken by the Dom of the Middle East. It has several dialects and no standard written form. Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Syrian Arab Republic are countries where Domari is spoken. On the other hand Western Armenian is an almost lost language and it is one of the oldest languages we know of. It is spoken in Beirut, Lebanon and Aleppo in Syria; also Cairo in Egypt and in Iraq and Turkey.
Ghada Shbeir, a Lebanese man, wrote about the importance of keeping endangered languages alive and stated: “Language embodies the culture and religion of a population, the history of a land, and creates the frame of reference of a community. Throughout history, societies have faded and been replaced by new ones with new languages and cultures. When nations move on and old languages are forgotten, chapters of history, science, and culture are closed to future generations.”
Linguistic extinction is a global problem that has to be solved. Education has to be increased in order to keep languages alive, countries should encourage citizens to speak in those languages and also there should be a written register of the language.
