The Earth's Vanishing Voices

"The world's languages are dying. Ninety percent of them are expected to disappear in the next one hundred years."

Join me as I interview anthropologist Dr. Daniel Nettle, the co-author of the book Vanishing Voices to find out why.

Many of the journal entries that appear in the 2008 Sacred Journey calendar are kernels of larger issues. In fact, to expound on some of these issues, I'll be drawing on the insights of leading scholars. I'll also bring the Yoruba and other ethnic groups to center stage to further enlighten us. Plus, I'll also share my own insights.

The authors of Vanishing Voices assert that the "extinction of languages is part of the larger picture of the near-total collapse of the worldwide ecosystem." In the first of Sacred Journey's podcasts, Dr. Daniel Nettle talks about his field work in Africa, indigenous knowledge systems, and the detailed information that's encoded in language.

We also discuss ecology. "The extinction of languages is part of the larger picture of worldwide near total ecosystem collapse," say the authors of Vanishing Voices. "Despite the increasing attention given to endangered species and the environment, there has been little awareness that peoples can also be endangered. More has been said about the plight of the pandas and spotted owls than about the disappearance of human language diversity," they add.

"While the loss of most of the world's languages and cultures may be survivable, the result will be a seriously reduced quality of life, if not the loss of the very meaning of life itself. Allowing languages and cultures to die directly reduces the sum total of our knowledge about the world, for it removes some of the voices articulating its richness and variety. With the passing of each voice, we lose a little more of who we were and are, and what we may become."

Daniel Nettle received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from University College London. He is also the author of The Fyem Language of Northern Nigeria and Linguistic Diversity. He joins us live and direct from his home in London. On behalf of the Sacred Journey Worldwide team, please join me in welcoming this distinguished scholar as we discuss one of the most critical, but underreported issues of our time.

James: (email: james@sacredjourneyworldwide.com)