Language

My home language is American English, it is a way of communication as well as ones identity. Many people associate a specific language with a certain culture, region, or group of people. For example in France they speak french, in mexico they speak Spanish, Russia-Russian, and so on. But just because the language spoken primarily is what you identify the people with, does not always mean that is the only language they know. For me my language gets me by here in America where the majority of people speak it. If I was to visit a different country where English is not spoken however, then it would majorly impact how my visit would go. Without language we couldn't communicate with each other, if I went to a foreign country and knew nothing of the language then I would be lost and have no way of receiving help in a crisis or just to get some food. Language impacts everyone with it you can say hello, ask for help, and order seomthing to eat from a restaraunt. English is one of the most spoken languages in the world, aside from mandarin and spanish. For me as well as most Americans, it means that my home language is one that is somewhat universal. There may be some places or even people who don't know how to speak it, but for the most part it is well known. On the videos about language, I found many of them interesting, especially the one with the fresh prince. To know that a simple childhood song can be put into a different language, and translate to something completely off the wall is fascinating. The most interesting thing for me was the website on endangered languages. From looking at me you wouldn't know it, but I am part Hawaiin on my mothers side. My grandmother was full Hawaiian and I went to visit her during high school. They kept refering to me as a haole and I was like what in the world is that, it apparently means white person. My cousin also visited last year and kept on saying you so cabbage to my other cousin. You may ask why did she call her a vegetable, but in Pidgin or Hawaiian language it means something along the lines of you so crazy. The website however pointed out that from 1995 there were only 5,000 people who can speak Hawaiin. From those 5,000, 400 of them were from Ni'ihau, which is a forbidden island. No outsiders are allowed on the island and if a native leaves they cannot return. For this reason they are all native Hawaiians and the language is still intact. It is still crazy to know that only 400 people who have been removed from modern society will be able to preserve a language, and even then no one outside of that island will learn it. I think it is sad to see a language go extinct, especially if the language is not preserved. There could be many languages in this world that we don't even know about simply because people stopped using and learning them. If we don't have language then the world would be like a silent movie with people walking around and staring at each other. There would be no way to communicate because without a languae we wouldn't have anything to write. You can't very well write a letter to someone if you don't have the words to use to express what it is you want. Language and writing go hand in hand without one the other would not exist. You could write something on a piece of paper, but without the words that form languages it would just be scribble. I think that language is one of the most important things about us as humans, and I hope that one day I can expand my literacy of languages.