Why do we need languages and dialects?

Diversity is what makes our world interesting. Nowadays, cultural and linguistic diversity are
one of the essential things, as the modern world tends to globalization. Linguistic diversity is
highlighted as the most important question related to globalization. As English gets spread all
over the world, other languages and dialects face the problem of existence and usage. It is
important to make sure we can save the dialects we have because they are part of our history, and
each one is the part of national identification. [ CITATION Suz14 \l 1033 ][ CITATION
Jam14 \l 1033 ]
Dialects identify the specific parts of a nation, and the disappearance of them means the
extinction of the identity. For millions of years people have been developing languages, and as a
result influenced each other during this whole period. Languages have been modified by the
factors specific to their region. As an example, take English. It has more than 160 variation in
different parts of the world. Jamila Lyiscot mentions that she speaks three dialects of English,
and each one is beautiful and unique. Three of them are used and understood differently, because
they were developed in different regions, among people with different histories. [ CITATION
Jam14 \l 1067 ] So, dialect is something like your cultural DNA; it contains all of your cultural
and historical data. Sometimes even your memories are in a specific dialect. Luizzi states that his
father was talking mainly in his west Italian dialect. After his death, it was hard for Luizzi to
remember his father clearly, because he did not speak his father’s dialect. In this case the
memories were saved in his brain in that specific dialect, which he did not even speak.
[ CITATION Jos14 \l 1033 ] The dialect died with writer’s father, alongside the personal
memories, stories and history of a specific region. Language is your cultural DNA: it is as
valuable as the biological one, it can tell about yourself a lot [ CITATION Dav12 \l 1033 ].
As English becomes more popular, many languages get endangered. People in different
countries find it trendy to speak only English, companies switch to English to be more accessible
for international customers and employees. In such countries as Saudi Arabia this problem is
vital: sometimes it gets to the point of bullying people who speak Arabian. People who have
lived and raised in Arabic countries refuse to talk to people in Arabian, waiters ignore customers
who do not talk In English; people reject their identity. They do not value this beautiful
language, they consider people who speak in their dialects uneducated. Suzanne Talhouk
highlights the uniqueness of their language by bringing several examples. There are many
phrases which cannot be translated into English, there are situations where you cannot fully
express yourself without using your mother tongue. She states that every language and dialect is
gorgeous, and each is worth being used. [ CITATION Suz14 \l 1033 ] Besides, the uniqueness of
the language influences the way the native speakers think and act. It is obvious that the
intonations and the ways of expressions are individual in each language, so the speakers act
accordingly. [ CITATION Ler18 \l 1033 ] “Linguists analyze how certain speech patterns
correspond to particular behaviors, including how language can impact people’s buying
decisions or influence their social media use. For example, in one research paper, a group of
Stanford researchers examined the differences in how Republicans and Democrats express
themselves online to better understand how a polarization of beliefs can occur on social media”. [
CITATION Sha19 \l 1033 ].
By concluding the ideas supporting the uniqueness and the importance of dialects and
languages, it is obvious that people must try their best to save them. Unesco’s Atlas of the
World’s Languages in Danger lists 576 as critically endangered, with thousands more
categorized as endangered or threatened. To save these languages, linguists make dictionaries,
recording histories and traditions, and translating oral stories. “If there’s really good
documentation, then there’s a chance that these languages could be revitalized in the future even
after they cease to be spoken,” Turin says. However, without speakers and users the language
becomes just an artefact we keep in a museum. So, no matter how rapidly globalization spreads,
people must keep on speaking in their languages and dialects to save those treasures.
[ CITATION Rac14 \l 1033 ]
References
Boroditsky, L. (2018, May 2). How language shapes the way we think.
Everett, D. (2012). Languag: The cultural tool.
Luizzi, J. (2014). Talking to my father in a dead dialect .
Lyiscot, J. (2014, June 19). 3 ways to speak English.
Nuwer, R. (2014, June 6). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140606-why-
we-must-save-dying-languages
Shashkevich, A. (2019, August 22). The power of language: How words shape people, culture.
Retrieved from https://news.stanford.edu/2019/08/22/the-power-of-language-how-words-
shape-people-culture/
Talhouk, S. (2014). Don't kill your language.