Why Small Languages are Important

Wednesday, January 25, 2005
12:10-1:00 pm Central Library Parlor

Jerold A. Edmondson, Professor of Linguistics
He received the Uta Distinguished Record of Research Award in 2005.
He was the keynote speaker for the Beyond Stress and Tone Converence in Leiden Holland, 2005.

Most language learners are inclined to study one of the large important languages of the world (English, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, to name a few) because knowledge of them has great utilitarian value. However, there are many reasons why knowledge of small languages may help us better understand how the history and culture of Homo sapiens has developed and what the outer limits of sounds and structures in a human language are. The reasons for this situation are: (1) Languages with many speakers tend over time to lose unusual features that may be preserved in small languages, (2) Most of the world's languages have less than 10,000 speakers, and sadly (3) Many small languages are disappearing. This talk will present field data from several small languages from Asia and North America to illustrate these features.

Free and open to all - Light refreshments