Should minority languages be saved from extinction?

I think that minority languages should be saved from extinction because they are a part of a culture and a history of that culture. I think that is the most important reason as to why we should save minority languages from extinction because then parents can pass it down to their kids and they can pass it to theirs. People should understand that a language is part of a culture and it helps communicate with people and bring people together, and so even if there is language not commonly spoken it deserves to be preserved and used like all other languages. History tells us what has happened in our past, and minority languages are apart of that history showing us the beginning of how languages have evolved in time and I think that is an important thing to know.

Does Language Define Our Identity?

During break I saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie. In the Sherlock Holmes film, the main characters, Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, and the gypsy woman Simza were very different from each other. The way Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson spoke, sounded like they were more intelligent. They used strong vocabulary, different codes for letters and other examples through out the movie to solve things and I think that it does mold and define their identity, because of the way that they speak, it makes them seem more brilliant then the woman gypsy when she speaks. Simza, the gypsy woman also grew up in a different background which also has to do with culture. She is a gypsy fortune teller and the way she spoke was not like she was as intelligent as Mr. Holmes or Dr. Watson. She talked like she grew up in a rural poor area, and she also was a gypsy which also affects how she speaks. She used lots of slang and so I think that defined her identity and made her the way she was in the movie as a gypsy fortune teller. On the other hand her identity of being a gypsy fortune teller could be the reason why she speaks with lower intelligence and uses a lot of slang. Maybe because of the people she is around it effects the way she speaks. She could be around poor, lower class people when she is telling fortunes, or with other gypsies, etc.  This also has to do with the power of a group of people affecting the way she speaks. Which ties the question of the power of a group of language users effect the use of language. Overall I think language can define our identity but I also think that our identity can define our language. It could go either way for the example that I used.

Does the Power of a Group of Language Users Change Language Directly?

During break there wasn't anything that really lead me to answering this question, but I feel like this question could be a question used everyday. I think that the power of a group of language users does change language directly. Earlier in the school year, before I left for Thanksgiving break, one of my friends was able to get me to start saying the word "yikes" and when I returned home with the family I would use the would constantly, not on purpose but because it was a word I was addicted to saying. That person directly changed my language. Half way through Thanksgiving break my youngest sister started using it because I was using it so much and it directly changed her use of language. Bronte was strictly against using the word "yikes" thinking it was an annoying, overused word and she said she would never use it. By the end of break with both my youngest sister and I saying the word constantly Bronte started to say it a little bit here and there. I would call her out on it and say "Well that was an important time to use the word." Eventually Bronte started to say it regularly. Now that might not be a large group of language users, but it was a small example of how the power of even one or two people can effect a person and how they directly change the language they use in their everyday lives. So does a group of language users change language directly? I would say yes.

Are Some Languages Easier to Learn Than Others?

During break I don't know how the subject came up, but my grandma and I were discussing if some languages were harder to learn than others. I said to her that I thought that English was an easy language to learn but that was because it is our first language and we grew to learn English. I told my grandma that I also thought that if English wasn't a persons first language, then it would be very hard to learn and get used to. My grandma agreed and said that we have so many different, sometimes useless words that have the same meaning which must make it difficult for kids to learn because they might be used to saying one word for the longest time and then someone tells them to use a different word with the same meaning, and it would just make them get confused because it could be a similar meaning but not the exact same definition. I thought that Spanish is a pretty easy language to learn because there are not a large amount of words that a person must know to make up a sentence or have a small conversation with. Probably one of the most challenging parts of learning a language is when using the tenses. For Spanish, that is the one of the things I  struggle with. So are some languages easier to learn than others? I think so, but just learning a new language does have some sort of challenge at times for any person.