最新英美报刊选读Unit I Focus Return Background Information How do languages become extinct? 1.Outright genocide--When European invaders exterminated the Tasmanians in the early 19th century,an unknown number of languages died. 2.Languages become extinct when a community finds itself under pressure to integrate with a larger or more powerful group. 3.The people learn the outsiders'language in addition to their own--in Greenland,a territory of Denmark,Kalaallisut is learned alongside Danish 4.The community is pressured to give up its language and even its ethnic and cultural identity--ethnic Kurds in Turkey,are forbidden by law to print or formally teach their language.Younger speakers of Native American languages,as recently as the 1960s,were punished for speaking their native languages at boarding schools.最新英美报刊选读_Unit 1 Focus How do languages become extinct? 1. Outright genocide -- When European invaders exterminated the Tasmanians in the early 19th century, an unknown number of languages died. 2. Languages become extinct when a community finds itself under pressure to integrate with a larger or more powerful group. 3. The people learn the outsiders’ language in addition to their own -- in Greenland, a territory of Denmark, Kalaallisut is learned alongside Danish. 4. The community is pressured to give up its language and even its ethnic and cultural identity -- ethnic Kurds in Turkey, are forbidden by law to print or formally teach their language. Younger speakers of Native American languages, as recently as the 1960s, were punished for speaking their native languages at boarding schools. Background Information