From an article in the local paper today subtitled "Europe's Member Countries Are Losing Their Diversity:

English seems to be becomeing the universal language but many are concerned about the deterioration of native languages. So much so that a word has been coined: linguicide. Derived directly from the word genocide, linguicide is the extinction of a language and is considered a threat to one's heritage, culture and nationality.

Have others heard this term, and what do you think of it? I'd not heard it, and a quick google-scan turned up two possible meanings. One is the cheapening of language for political obfuscation.¹ The other, conforming with the account I read today, is seen on Can English be dethroned? on UNESCO's website. The title shows the slant of the author, a French academician.



¹"When the slaughter of civilians is called 'collateral damage,' that's linguicide."
-- Norman Solomon, author

I hadn't seen the word, but it is logical. English is like the Borg on Star Trek, assimilating other languages as it moves throughout the galaxy. It is likely that in two or three hundred years just one or two main languages will exist, and the rest will become "classical languages," just as Latin is today.

As I mentioned in my recent FOTA post, I believe that L'Acadamie Francais stands little chance of maintaining the purity of the French language; indeed, I suspect its efforts have helped the language's obvious decline.

The seemingly unstoppable rise in the importance of English is due in large measure to its flexibility and ability to accept, without comment, words and expression acquired from whichever sources it chooses.

If I were to say, "Vive L'Anglais", all would get my message, meaning and moral!

Richard English

Linguicide sounds worrying in a 1984 way. If rebellious language dies, we will no longer be capable of rebellious thoughts. However, the reverse seems to be true, and new words and phrases are coined all the time.