#9 speaking of english...

English is such a useful language. I mean, you can practically go anywhere in the world with it and minimally fear the language barrier (granted, complete comprehension is another case...). So how can English possibly, possibly go wrong?

Indigenous Languages in danger of Disappearing
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20071027.E02&irec=1

This article lies especially close to our class discussions due to our frequent discussions of the fascinating language and culture of indigeous Indonesians. Indonesia is a country where 746 aboriginal languages are spoken, but 10 of which have become extinct, with more to add to the roll call. Researchers cite several reasons for these alarming disappearances:
1. linguicide: also known as linguistic suicide, where languages disappear in massive patches due to natural disasters or genocides
2. language shift: the shift to a more dominant and "universally accepted" language due to practical or psychological reasons (ie. natives might believe the dominant language to be superior to their indigenous ones, and thus the speaker would be automatically elevated to a higher rung in the social ladder)
This is where English comes in. Though English does faciliate international communication, it does so at the risk of endangering less ubiquitous languages. And even though there are no national policies that strictly enforce speaking English, several recent cases in the news show that English has become a prerequisite to those who desire social mobility, in nearly any aspect of any country
Case #1: http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14550699 :"English is the language of retail today"
this article discusses the necessity of English language skills to retail employees in India (note: not the US/UK/austrialia). Echoing the belief of those who practice the language shift (described above), a storeowner states that ,
" 'English makes an impression like no other and especially in cities like Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, majority of the people who shop at stand along retail outlets or those in malls are well versed in English.' "
Another retail owner chimes in that
"If a particular retail chain is aimed towards the youth, then knowing Hindi and basic English should suffice. But if a chain is targeted at the elite crowd then English is a must. It all depends on the crowd that you expect to walk into your outlet." It's interesting that what's been cited as a psychological cause has actually turned into a fact in this case. There almost seems to be no way around it: either you speak English and reap the benefits of speaking a language associated with the "elite," or you don't.

Case #2: http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/display.var.1790844.0..php: "Allardyce keen to keep English the language of choice"
Even in the sports-entertainment sector of society, the almost stifling effects of English can be seen. The coach of the team has banned any language other than english from training sessions and all other team efforts. He says the reason is that "That communication has to spill over onto the field and, while you might be able to communicate with one or two players who might speak French or a different language, that's not the answer."

However, I wondered if he's considered the implications of forcing his players to pick up english so quickly. As we've discussed in class, learning a second language becomes increasingly more difficult later on in life, and is possibly age-sensitive. Therefore, what use is a "universal language" (at least on the field) if the words don't come that easily, and players have to spend that many extra seconds to internally translate what it is they want to say to English (and this is hopefully assuming that they have translations down pat). Therefore, those extra seconds of delay could make a very significant impact on the outcome of the game. How can such problems be addressed? Might gesticulation or any other type of nonverbal communication transcend the problems associated with learning a new language?

3. socio-political enforcements: cited as "the most powerful force behind language disappearance," these enforcements come in the form of "language policy, language indoctrination through education, repression and pressure to use the official and national language over local languages." We saw that this was true in the two cases mentioned above, where some sort of implicit/explicit language policy has favored English over other local languages.

The article also offers several possible solutions to the problem of language disappearance. It suggests that the most effective way is making "ndigenous languages a compulsory subject in school."
However, I see several problems with this solution. I know someone who grew up in a Navajo reserve (he himself is not Native American) and has been learning Navajo ever since he was in elementary school (a result of a similar proposition to save a dying language). However, when asked to reflect on the effeciency of the program, he said that it's more nominal than anything else. Why? Due to lack of formal education on the part of the natives, the district was at a dire lack of qualified Navajo speakers. Taking the second best alternative, they basically hired whoever could speak Navajo, regardless of teaching credentials, and hoped it would work. In the end, it merely gave the students a jumbled and superficial glance into the Navajo language, partly due to inexperienced teachers, and the lack of a systematic plan.
What do you guys think about this problem and its possible solutions? Could education be the ideal way to save a dying language, or is there something else?