Turoyo Language Lawyer

• The Turoyo language has similarities to the Arabic and Turkish language, making it easier to learn.
• Due to its similarities to other languages such as arabic, armenian, kurdish and turkish, it is easier to learn these languages which would increase its global value.
• Adding to its ease of learning the language, the Turoyo language is documented in both the Latin and Serto Alphabet.
• Speakers of the Turoyo language (the Assyrian people) used to be spread all over the world (USA, Germany, Australia, Russia, etc.) due to civil wars and the Assyrian genocide by the ottoman empire During WWI, making the language easier to spread 
• The Assyrians are descendents of one of the oldest civilisations in the world, dating back to 2500 BC, bringing many unique traditions and values with it.
• English was forced to be taught by the western countries due to the strength of the nations which speak english such as the UK, USA, and its allies. The english language is in no way superior to any other language, and was only seen this way due to the oppression by the western countries on languages in the orient.

Endangered Language Podcast

Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/lukas-schroth/endangered-language-podcast

Most Meaningful Takeaway

"When I think of my tongue being no longer alive in the mouths of men a chill goes over me that is deeper than my own death, since it is the gathered death of all my kind. It is black night descending once and forever on all that world of forests, lakes, snow peaks, great birds' wings [...]"

This passage of the text The Only Speaker of His Tongue by David Malouf resonated with me due to its contents on language, identity and culture. If I were to think that my mother tongue would die out, I believe that I would have the same perspective on the matter as stated in the passage above, as it does not only mark the death of my language, but the death of all of my kind. Words unique to my mother tongue would be lost, traditions would vanish, it values would be forgotten.

In the passage, David Malouf describes the death of his tongue as "deeper than [his] own death", meaning that the death of a language has a greater effect than just on an individual as the language is "no longer alive in the mouths of men". The loss of a language marks the death of its culture, customs, inherited knowledge and its traditions "since it is the gathered death of all [its] kind." David Malouf describes the death of a culture as a "black night", empty and dark, without any light that would represent the life of a culture. With the culture's death, also die the culture's unique way of describing the world, such as its "forests, lakes, snow peaks, great birds' wings", as no two cultures are alike. Each culture, like its language, is unique.

What is the value of preserving indigenous languages?

Language is an important part of society as it enables us to communicate with each other and express ourselves. According to Back To Babel, when a language dies out, “it marks the loss of an entire culture”. I however disagree with this statement as I believe that a language is only a part of a culture, and not something that solely defines a culture. However on the contrary, I do believe that some of the knowledge and understanding of a culture is lost when its language is extinct. Even though most of the culture and some of its traditions can be preserved by writing or technology, certain things such as customs, inherited knowledge and oral traditions are lost, meaning that future generations lose a important part of the culture which is necessary in order to completely understand it. 

As not all aspects of a culture can be preserved after its language dies out, I believe that it is important to preserve indigenous languages. Each language is unique, no two are the same. When a language dies out, certain words which don't exist in other languages die out with it. For example, the word “Dadirri” from Aboriginal Australian, which is an ancient word that combines deep inner listening, contemplation, and quiet still awareness of creation and the creator. Furthermore, words such as these also gives us an insight into what was valued in the culture. If all of the indigenous languages were to die out, there wouldn't be such a great language and cultural diversity as certain aspects of these lost cultures are forgotten. Due to this, it is important to preserve all languages as they all give us a unique perspective on the world and their values in their culture.