When people think of dead languages, they tend to think of the Latin and Ancient Egyptian that can be associated with media like the Indiana Jones franchise as well as a slew of modern novels that take inspiration from ancient mythology like Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series. They think of the ancient civilizations that seem so far removed that they are almost mythological. It leaves foreign audiences in the Americas with the impression that these languages are so far from their own lives and origins. However, even these languages can be found in dialects used today in North and South America, with common languages like English and Spanish which respectively take word roots from and originate in dead languages like Latin. This said, there are much less well known languages whose very existence is endangered despite how close they are to us.
In Nevada, there are several languages that are lost to the general population of the various cities throughout the state. Out of the 7000 languages that exist today, about 40% are endangered according to The Endangered Languages Project and the First Peoples’ Cultural Council, and the four languages that mark Nevada’s heritage are the Northern Paiute, Southern Paiute, Shoshone, and Washoe languages. These four are all endangered, according to the project’s classifications, meaning they each have one thousand speakers at most. The most critically endangered is the Uto-Aztecan Northern Paiute language, with only 300-400 speakers remaining. Language is a crucial part of a cultural identity, and the groups that had inhabited Nevada are unfortunately at risk of losing parts of their identity. In the great melting pot of America, it would be tragic for individual groups to lose a part of themselves, taking away from the diversity that defines the nation.
Learning about dead languages or even taking the time to fully study them within the context of their societies may at first seem redundant, but can actually prove to be a valuable pursuit. With the more well-known of the dead languages, written sources can be instrumental in understanding ancient history, and offer windows into the development of humanity and everything that society has today. The languages that lack such written material make learning about their history harder to follow, but it isn’t any less worthwhile. Like any language, they offer a window into the world from a unique perspective. The passing down of oral tradition and the few who endeavor to keep studying these languages are what remain today. So if you’re ever feeling a bit bored or want to know more, even locally, about America’s past, you can take a glimpse into the languages that shaped our world.
Endangered Languages Project and First Peoples’ Cultural Council
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