0264 - Introduction: Language Endangerment, Globalization, and Indigenous Peoples

Course Description

This unit will introduce students to the concept of language endangerment: what is an endangered language, and how is endangerment measured? What causes languages to become endangered, or even to fall silent? What’s the definition of an “Indigenous language” or “Indigenous peoples”? And why is the loss of languages so important, and so accelerated, in a rapidly “globalizing” world (we’ll explore what that means, too)? This first unit will set the stage for exploring more specific topics and geographic areas in the following weeks.