Creative Ways to Save an Endangered Language拯救瀕危語言的創(chuàng)造性方法

Languages are dying at an alarming rate. This has left many people around the world asking the same question： how do we save endangered languages？

語言正以驚人的速度消亡。這讓世界各地的許多人不禁問出同一個問題：我們該如何拯救瀕危語言？

There are countless ways of answering that question. One way to keep a language alive is by mandating its teaching in schools. This can also be a great way to ensure its continued survival via future generations， but even this isn’t always enough to maintain the vitality of a language. Grammar and vocabulary are only one aspect of a language’s life; living with a language involves so much more.

這個問題有無數的答案。讓一門語言保持活力，一種方法是在學校強制教授這門語言。這也是確保其代代延續(xù)的好方法，但即便如此通常也不足以保持一門語言的活力。語法和詞匯只能體現語言生命力的一個方面，與一門語言共存遠不止于此。

Fortunately， there are people around the world finding creative ways to revive endangered languages. Here are some of the most creative ways people are using endangered languages around the world.

好在世界各地的人正在尋求各種創(chuàng)造性方法來復興瀕危語言。以下是世界各地最具創(chuàng)意的瀕危語言使用方式。

Using music

利用音樂

Music has documented our history and legends for the entirety of recorded history. It’s no surprise， then， that many people are using music to promote the use of endangered languages.

有歷史記載以來，音樂就一直在記錄我們的歷史和傳奇。因此，許多人用音樂來推廣使用瀕危語言也就不足為奇了。

One example is Garifuna， a language spoken by fewer than 100，000 people in Central America， particularly Honduras.

加利弗那語就是一例，它分布在中美洲（尤其是洪都拉斯），使用者不到10萬人。

The interplay of language and music has played a large role in the continued survival of the Garinagu people1. This is partially accomplished by performing traditional songs and dances， like the jankunu， which was created hundreds of years ago to satirize the British colonists. Another important aspect， however， is making new music that attracts attention from people who might not have an existing interest in the language. A genre called punta rock combines traditional Garinagu drumming with a modern sound. Groups like the Garifuna Collective have toured the world to spread the word， literally.

語言和音樂的相互影響對加里那古族群的延續(xù)意義重大。這在一定程度上是通過表演傳統(tǒng)歌舞來實現的，例如數百年前為諷刺英國殖民者而創(chuàng)作的揚庫努舞。而另一種重要方式是創(chuàng)作新歌，吸引原本對加利弗那語不感興趣的人。一種名為“朋塔搖滾”的音樂風格將傳統(tǒng)的加里那古鼓樂和現代音樂融合在一起。像“加利弗那集體”樂隊這樣的團體在世界各地巡演，實際上就是在傳播加利弗那語。

Music alone is probably not enough to keep a language alive， but it’s a fun way to infuse creative energy into the larger goal of preservation. Garifuna is far from the only language that’s being used in music， either. Gaelic， Yiddish and countless other languages are now being performed and recorded， with both traditional and new songs. Whether it’s someone’s specific goal to promote an endangered language or a musician wanting to embrace their roots by singing songs in a language connected to their ancestry， music extends the long cultural history of these languages.

僅靠音樂可能不足以讓一門語言保持生命力，但利用音樂是一種有趣的方式，可以為語言保護這一更大的目標注入創(chuàng)造力。加利弗那語也絕非唯一用于音樂的語言。蓋爾語、意第緒語和無數其他語言的傳統(tǒng)曲目和新歌也都在表演和錄制中。無論是有人特意要推廣某種瀕危語言，還是音樂家想用與自己血脈相連的語言演唱歌曲從而尋根謁祖，音樂都延續(xù)了這些語言悠久的文化歷史。

Making movies

拍攝電影

Using movies and television to preserve languages includes both filming native speakers of the language in a documentary fashion and making creative scripted works. Both of these are integral to making sure languages survive into the next generations.

利用電影和電視劇來保護語言，既包括拍攝有關母語者的紀錄片，也包括制作創(chuàng)意劇情片。對于確保語言代代延續(xù)，這兩種方式都不可或缺。

Movies in endangered languages are kind of having a moment， or at least they’ve garnered quite a bit of media attention over the past few years. Disney， for example， created a Hawaiian version of its animated film Moana， and distributed the film for free to schools around Hawaii to promote the endangered language. Admittedly， this is as much a marketing move as it is an act of linguistic care， but it still helps young people get excited about other languages.

瀕危語種電影如今算是迎來了高光時刻，至少在過去幾年里它們獲得了大量的媒體關注。例如，迪士尼制作了動畫電影《海洋奇緣》的夏威夷語版本，并免費在夏威夷各地的學校放映，以推廣瀕危的夏威夷語。誠然，這是一種關注語言保護的行為，同時也是一種營銷手段，但此舉確實能激起年輕人對其他語言的興趣。

More important than the occasional big-budget blockbuster is the work of small filmmakers who choose to use endangered languages in their movies. Increasingly， people are creating films that feature indigenous American languages. This itself can present a whole set of problems—ensuring the language is translated correctly， representing the language’s speakers accurately， working closely with the communities—but with proper care， can produce excellent works of art.

比起零星的高成本大片，更可貴的是選擇在電影中使用瀕危語言的小制片人的作品。越來越多的人開始拍攝以美洲土著語言為特色的電影。這本身就可能會引發(fā)一系列難題——要確保語言翻譯無誤、要準確呈現語言使用者群體、要與各族群密切合作——但如果處理得當，就能創(chuàng)作出杰出的藝術作品。

The film SGaawaay K’uuna （“The Edge of the Knife”） used largely indigen-ous talent to bring the critically endangered language Haida to the screen. The language has fewer than 20 speakers left， and the film was spearheaded when tribal elders thought it would be a good way to get young people excited about the language. Even if films alone can’t save a language， they can revitalize a language by removing it from the classroom context and compelling viewers to consider it more deeply.

電影《刀刃》主要使用原住民演員，將極度瀕危的海達語搬上了銀幕。海達語的使用者只剩下不到20人，部落長老們認為拍電影是讓年輕人對海達語感興趣的好方法，于是牽頭參與拍攝。即使僅靠電影不能拯救一門語言，但電影可以將其帶出課堂情境，促使觀眾更深入地思考，從而復興這門語言。

Embracing the digital age

擁抱數字時代

The internet has been a double-edged sword for endangered languages. It’s been lauded2 by many because it allows people to connect from all around the world in ways that were impossible before. In this way， speakers of endangered languages are no longer limited by geography. On the flip side， the inter-net is overflowing with English. The majority of content online exists in just one language. If you add to that the fact that even the best translation tools tend to neglect endangered languages， the internet is perhaps not the polyglot3 utopia it was once envisioned to be. Even so， its influence on all languages can’t be underestimated， and young people especially are using digital spaces to innovate with endangered languages.

互聯網對瀕危語言來說是把雙刃劍。很多人稱贊互聯網，因為它能讓世界各地的人以前所未有的方式聯系在一起。有了互聯網，瀕危語言的使用者不再受地理位置的限制。另一方面，互聯網上充斥著英語。網上的大部分內容都只用一種語言表達，而且即使是最好的翻譯工具往往也會忽視瀕危語言。如此看來，互聯網或許并非人們曾設想的多語種烏托邦。即便如此，互聯網對所有語言的影響也不可低估，特別是年輕人正利用數字空間以創(chuàng)新的方法使用瀕危語言。

One language being used in this way is Icelandic. Spoken by roughly 300，000 people， almost all Icelandic speakers live in Iceland. The language has been around for hundreds of years， but has spent the past few decades on the decline. The greatest threat to the role of Icelandic is the cultural dominance of English， which has been slowly overtaking the island. This is in part to accommodate Iceland’s massive tourism industry， but the people native to the country are also running into more English in their day-to-day life， particularly when they go online.

其中一種以創(chuàng)新的方法使用的語言是冰島語。冰島語的使用者約30萬，幾乎都在冰島。冰島語已存在數百年，但近幾十年來一直在衰落。對冰島語威脅最大的是英語的文化強勢地位，英語正在慢慢占據冰島。使用英語在一定程度上是為了迎合冰島龐大的旅游業(yè)，但土生土長的冰島人在日常生活中也越來越多地接觸到英語，尤其是在網上。

A possible path to fight against English is entrenching Icelandic and disavowing any changes to it. It might make sense that in order to keep Icelandic relevant， it needs to be defended against outside influences. In practice， however， this has meant the language is unable to react to changes in the world. The solution， then， might be finding the right balance between preserving pure Icelandic and switching entirely to English.

對抗英語的一種可行方式是鞏固冰島語，拒絕對其進行任何改變。為了讓冰島語在當今仍具意義，抵御外來影響或許確有必要。然而，實際情況卻是這種做法會讓冰島語難以適應世界的變化。因此，在保持冰島語純正與全面改用英語之間找到適當的平衡，或許才是解決之道。

On the podcast “Far Flung”， a group of young Icelandic speakers talk about their own experiences code-switching between English and Icelandic. The consensus was that there were certain topics that Icelandic simply didn’t have words for， and so they find themselves resorting to English in many cases. Especially online， young people are having to adopt English slang or invent their own terms to communicate in Icelandic. While some have said this is “ruining the language”—in the same way teenagers all around the world are “ruining” their languages with slang—it’s a vital process for Icelandic.

在播客節(jié)目《遙遠》中，一群說冰島語的年輕人講述了自己在英語和冰島語之間切換的經歷。他們一致認為，有些話題根本沒有對應的冰島語詞匯，所以很多情況下只能用英語。尤其是在網上，年輕人不得不使用英語俚語，或者自己創(chuàng)造冰島語詞匯來交流。雖然有人說這是在“破壞語言”——就像世界各地的青少年用俚語“破壞”本土語言一樣——但這對冰島語來說是一個至關重要的過程。

If a language doesn’t change at all， young people will be forced to look for alternatives to speak in a way that works for them. By embracing rather than rejecting the linguistic changes accelerated by the digital age， there’s a greater chance for these endangered languages to stay culturally strong. Reviving an endangered language isn’t something that happens overnight， and can take generations. Each new creative solution won’t work alone， but together， they can introduce countless new speakers to the rich diversity of languages spoken around the planet.

如果一門語言完全不改變，年輕人就不得不尋找替代方式來表達自己。與其抵制由數字時代加速的語言變化，不如迎接改變，這樣瀕危語言才更有可能保持文化活力。復興一門瀕危語言并非一朝一夕之事，可能需要幾代人的努力。每一種創(chuàng)新方案都不會單獨發(fā)揮作用，而是齊心協力，這樣才能讓世界上豐富多樣的語言都擁有數不勝數的新使用者。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）

1雖然通常被稱為“加利弗那人”，但該族群的名字應為“加利那古”，“加利弗那”為該族群使用的語言。

2 laud稱贊。

3 polyglot（使用）多種語言的。