An article written by John McWhorter for the New York Times discusses whether language should be saved, or just go extinct like the many that already have.
He talks about his job as a university lecturer, answering many questions revolving round the subject of language. One particular question was 'If indigenous people want to give up their ancestral language to join the modern world, why should we consider it a tragedy? Languages have always died as time has passed.' This raises the point that if languages die out, the history and individuality also does too - 'If language dies, a fascinating way of thinking dies along with it'.
McWhorter shares this opinion, but with a few extras. Having language common with people brings a sense of connection and community between them. Having a universal language would mean that this tight-knit community would be lost.
McWhorter makes it clear that language is something that should be saved. He thinks that we should care about it, and even if a language is coming to an end, we should at least document them to keep the history. 'Languages, however, are variations on a worldwide, cross-cultural perception of this thing called life.'
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