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Native American Language Loss

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Throughout history, languages have been stepping stones for people. Today, there are a bustling 6,500 languages that are still being used by both native and non-native speakers. Unfortunately, statistics show that, though that number seems large, people are actually at a loss of languages. Linguists have shown that within the next century half of the languages that exist today will become extinct. This loss has been attributed to human interaction involving war, immigration, and cultural pressures to abandon the native language for a more prominent tongue, such as: English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and some other Asian based languages. Like Apache, Kiowa and the other native languages of America, many other languages around the world are suffering …show more content…
The languages were mixtures of a common language with individual dialects, which separated similar groups from one another. With the discovery of the New World, the English and Spanish languages were introduced to the Natives along with a completely different way of life. Soon after, further immigration into America brought a whole world of languages that came together on one common ground. Unfortunately, for the weaker languages this introduction of other languages meant endangerment. In today’s world many of those languages, along with the cultures of those people, are either lost are nearly extinct. The Apache, Kiowa language is one of the nearly extinct Native American languages. Kiowa Apache is a Southern Apache language with a distinct dialect only spoken in Caddo County, Oklahoma. With possibly 1,000 or more in the ethnic population, the language remains at a loss as the speakers have made a shift from Apache to English. As of the 1990s, fewer than 400 spoke the native language and the majority of them were over 50 years of age. Still, at this time the traditional culture was preserved (Barry 328). Later in 2008, the last fluent speaker died, leaving only a hand full that speak the language. Unfortunately, with the loss of the Kiowa Apache language, comes the loss of their ancient connection with their ancestors and an even greater loss of their culture and Native American

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