Creative Ways to Save an Endangered Language拯救濒危语言的创造性方法

Languages are dying at an alarming rate. This has left many people around the world asking the same question： how do we save endangered languages？

语言正以惊人的速度消亡。这让世界各地的许多人不禁问出同一个问题：我们该如何拯救濒危语言？

There are countless ways of answering that question. One way to keep a language alive is by mandating its teaching in schools. This can also be a great way to ensure its continued survival via future generations， but even this isn’t always enough to maintain the vitality of a language. Grammar and vocabulary are only one aspect of a language’s life; living with a language involves so much more.

这个问题有无数的答案。让一门语言保持活力，一种方法是在学校强制教授这门语言。这也是确保其代代延续的好方法，但即便如此通常也不足以保持一门语言的活力。语法和词汇只能体现语言生命力的一个方面，与一门语言共存远不止于此。

Fortunately， there are people around the world finding creative ways to revive endangered languages. Here are some of the most creative ways people are using endangered languages around the world.

好在世界各地的人正在寻求各种创造性方法来复兴濒危语言。以下是世界各地最具创意的濒危语言使用方式。

Using music

利用音乐

Music has documented our history and legends for the entirety of recorded history. It’s no surprise， then， that many people are using music to promote the use of endangered languages.

有历史记载以来，音乐就一直在记录我们的历史和传奇。因此，许多人用音乐来推广使用濒危语言也就不足为奇了。

One example is Garifuna， a language spoken by fewer than 100，000 people in Central America， particularly Honduras.

加利弗那语就是一例，它分布在中美洲（尤其是洪都拉斯），使用者不到10万人。

The interplay of language and music has played a large role in the continued survival of the Garinagu people1. This is partially accomplished by performing traditional songs and dances， like the jankunu， which was created hundreds of years ago to satirize the British colonists. Another important aspect， however， is making new music that attracts attention from people who might not have an existing interest in the language. A genre called punta rock combines traditional Garinagu drumming with a modern sound. Groups like the Garifuna Collective have toured the world to spread the word， literally.

语言和音乐的相互影响对加里那古族群的延续意义重大。这在一定程度上是通过表演传统歌舞来实现的，例如数百年前为讽刺英国殖民者而创作的扬库努舞。而另一种重要方式是创作新歌，吸引原本对加利弗那语不感兴趣的人。一种名为“朋塔摇滚”的音乐风格将传统的加里那古鼓乐和现代音乐融合在一起。像“加利弗那集体”乐队这样的团体在世界各地巡演，实际上就是在传播加利弗那语。

Music alone is probably not enough to keep a language alive， but it’s a fun way to infuse creative energy into the larger goal of preservation. Garifuna is far from the only language that’s being used in music， either. Gaelic， Yiddish and countless other languages are now being performed and recorded， with both traditional and new songs. Whether it’s someone’s specific goal to promote an endangered language or a musician wanting to embrace their roots by singing songs in a language connected to their ancestry， music extends the long cultural history of these languages.

仅靠音乐可能不足以让一门语言保持生命力，但利用音乐是一种有趣的方式，可以为语言保护这一更大的目标注入创造力。加利弗那语也绝非唯一用于音乐的语言。盖尔语、意第绪语和无数其他语言的传统曲目和新歌也都在表演和录制中。无论是有人特意要推广某种濒危语言，还是音乐家想用与自己血脉相连的语言演唱歌曲从而寻根谒祖，音乐都延续了这些语言悠久的文化历史。

Making movies

拍摄电影

Using movies and television to preserve languages includes both filming native speakers of the language in a documentary fashion and making creative scripted works. Both of these are integral to making sure languages survive into the next generations.

利用电影和电视剧来保护语言，既包括拍摄有关母语者的纪录片，也包括制作创意剧情片。对于确保语言代代延续，这两种方式都不可或缺。

Movies in endangered languages are kind of having a moment， or at least they’ve garnered quite a bit of media attention over the past few years. Disney， for example， created a Hawaiian version of its animated film Moana， and distributed the film for free to schools around Hawaii to promote the endangered language. Admittedly， this is as much a marketing move as it is an act of linguistic care， but it still helps young people get excited about other languages.

濒危语种电影如今算是迎来了高光时刻，至少在过去几年里它们获得了大量的媒体关注。例如，迪士尼制作了动画电影《海洋奇缘》的夏威夷语版本，并免费在夏威夷各地的学校放映，以推广濒危的夏威夷语。诚然，这是一种关注语言保护的行为，同时也是一种营销手段，但此举确实能激起年轻人对其他语言的兴趣。

More important than the occasional big-budget blockbuster is the work of small filmmakers who choose to use endangered languages in their movies. Increasingly， people are creating films that feature indigenous American languages. This itself can present a whole set of problems—ensuring the language is translated correctly， representing the language’s speakers accurately， working closely with the communities—but with proper care， can produce excellent works of art.

比起零星的高成本大片，更可贵的是选择在电影中使用濒危语言的小制片人的作品。越来越多的人开始拍摄以美洲土著语言为特色的电影。这本身就可能会引发一系列难题——要确保语言翻译无误、要准确呈现语言使用者群体、要与各族群密切合作——但如果处理得当，就能创作出杰出的艺术作品。

The film SGaawaay K’uuna （“The Edge of the Knife”） used largely indigen-ous talent to bring the critically endangered language Haida to the screen. The language has fewer than 20 speakers left， and the film was spearheaded when tribal elders thought it would be a good way to get young people excited about the language. Even if films alone can’t save a language， they can revitalize a language by removing it from the classroom context and compelling viewers to consider it more deeply.

电影《刀刃》主要使用原住民演员，将极度濒危的海达语搬上了银幕。海达语的使用者只剩下不到20人，部落长老们认为拍电影是让年轻人对海达语感兴趣的好方法，于是牵头参与拍摄。即使仅靠电影不能拯救一门语言，但电影可以将其带出课堂情境，促使观众更深入地思考，从而复兴这门语言。

Embracing the digital age

拥抱数字时代

The internet has been a double-edged sword for endangered languages. It’s been lauded2 by many because it allows people to connect from all around the world in ways that were impossible before. In this way， speakers of endangered languages are no longer limited by geography. On the flip side， the inter-net is overflowing with English. The majority of content online exists in just one language. If you add to that the fact that even the best translation tools tend to neglect endangered languages， the internet is perhaps not the polyglot3 utopia it was once envisioned to be. Even so， its influence on all languages can’t be underestimated， and young people especially are using digital spaces to innovate with endangered languages.

互联网对濒危语言来说是把双刃剑。很多人称赞互联网，因为它能让世界各地的人以前所未有的方式联系在一起。有了互联网，濒危语言的使用者不再受地理位置的限制。另一方面，互联网上充斥着英语。网上的大部分内容都只用一种语言表达，而且即使是最好的翻译工具往往也会忽视濒危语言。如此看来，互联网或许并非人们曾设想的多语种乌托邦。即便如此，互联网对所有语言的影响也不可低估，特别是年轻人正利用数字空间以创新的方法使用濒危语言。

One language being used in this way is Icelandic. Spoken by roughly 300，000 people， almost all Icelandic speakers live in Iceland. The language has been around for hundreds of years， but has spent the past few decades on the decline. The greatest threat to the role of Icelandic is the cultural dominance of English， which has been slowly overtaking the island. This is in part to accommodate Iceland’s massive tourism industry， but the people native to the country are also running into more English in their day-to-day life， particularly when they go online.

其中一种以创新的方法使用的语言是冰岛语。冰岛语的使用者约30万，几乎都在冰岛。冰岛语已存在数百年，但近几十年来一直在衰落。对冰岛语威胁最大的是英语的文化强势地位，英语正在慢慢占据冰岛。使用英语在一定程度上是为了迎合冰岛庞大的旅游业，但土生土长的冰岛人在日常生活中也越来越多地接触到英语，尤其是在网上。

A possible path to fight against English is entrenching Icelandic and disavowing any changes to it. It might make sense that in order to keep Icelandic relevant， it needs to be defended against outside influences. In practice， however， this has meant the language is unable to react to changes in the world. The solution， then， might be finding the right balance between preserving pure Icelandic and switching entirely to English.

对抗英语的一种可行方式是巩固冰岛语，拒绝对其进行任何改变。为了让冰岛语在当今仍具意义，抵御外来影响或许确有必要。然而，实际情况却是这种做法会让冰岛语难以适应世界的变化。因此，在保持冰岛语纯正与全面改用英语之间找到适当的平衡，或许才是解决之道。

On the podcast “Far Flung”， a group of young Icelandic speakers talk about their own experiences code-switching between English and Icelandic. The consensus was that there were certain topics that Icelandic simply didn’t have words for， and so they find themselves resorting to English in many cases. Especially online， young people are having to adopt English slang or invent their own terms to communicate in Icelandic. While some have said this is “ruining the language”—in the same way teenagers all around the world are “ruining” their languages with slang—it’s a vital process for Icelandic.

在播客节目《遥远》中，一群说冰岛语的年轻人讲述了自己在英语和冰岛语之间切换的经历。他们一致认为，有些话题根本没有对应的冰岛语词汇，所以很多情况下只能用英语。尤其是在网上，年轻人不得不使用英语俚语，或者自己创造冰岛语词汇来交流。虽然有人说这是在“破坏语言”——就像世界各地的青少年用俚语“破坏”本土语言一样——但这对冰岛语来说是一个至关重要的过程。

If a language doesn’t change at all， young people will be forced to look for alternatives to speak in a way that works for them. By embracing rather than rejecting the linguistic changes accelerated by the digital age， there’s a greater chance for these endangered languages to stay culturally strong. Reviving an endangered language isn’t something that happens overnight， and can take generations. Each new creative solution won’t work alone， but together， they can introduce countless new speakers to the rich diversity of languages spoken around the planet.

如果一门语言完全不改变，年轻人就不得不寻找替代方式来表达自己。与其抵制由数字时代加速的语言变化，不如迎接改变，这样濒危语言才更有可能保持文化活力。复兴一门濒危语言并非一朝一夕之事，可能需要几代人的努力。每一种创新方案都不会单独发挥作用，而是齐心协力，这样才能让世界上丰富多样的语言都拥有数不胜数的新使用者。

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）

1虽然通常被称为“加利弗那人”，但该族群的名字应为“加利那古”，“加利弗那”为该族群使用的语言。

2 laud称赞。

3 polyglot（使用）多种语言的。