10 Lost Languages of the United States

[@S.p.a.c.e.C.o.w.b.o.y]

In my home town of Leigh, Northwest England, there was a language spoken by the coal miners of the surrounding pits. During the miners strikes in the 70s/80s it was used on the picket lines as a way to convey information away from the police. I learned it in the late 80s in primary school as a child from a classmate, but this little known language has all but died out and within a generation it's likely to be lost to time. 😊

[@y_fam_goeglyd]

Don't let it die out. Contact your nearest university and their linguistics department (could be Lancaster? I used to work there in the library!) Cornish and Manx were saved thanks to the last native speakers and linguists. They went and spoke to them, recording conversations and writing everything they could down. Cornish is now growing, and I believe the same is true about Manx. Cumbrian and other British languages are gone forever and it's a tragedy. I can count to five in Cumbrian (apparently the numbers stayed used by shepherds for counting the sheep. I was taught it by my brother-in-law - from the SE of England, but who went to Lancaster Uni, as did my sister. She studied linguistics... Seeing a theme here? 😅). I don't know if it's saved in any other way, and that's a tragedy. Northumbrian is another lost language, I believe. When I was growing up in Wales in the '70s, the Welsh language was fading away. No government was interested in it. Mercifully there were determined people who fought to save it. In fact the fight for having a Welsh-language channel gave the whole country Channel 4, the English version of S4C! The leader of Plaid Cymru went on hunger strike in the '80s to get the channel - he was up against Thatcher (you'll undoubtedly understand the struggle! She hated us, and not just our miners). Obviously, he won! Especially since S4C, small but determined groups, and the Senedd came into being, Welsh speaking has not just blossomed, it's spread like wildfire! I couldn't be prouder of my little country 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿❤! Welsh-medium schools were like hen's teeth when I was growing up. These days they're all around and you can go from nursery to a degree without using English (much. Especially at degree level. But the teaching is in Welsh). The number of speakers and learners is phenomenal! Even though all my children were born in England (I'm in exile for marrying an Englishman 😉🤣), my eldest and youngest went to Swansea uni. The eldest is still in Swansea - he stayed at the uni even after getting his PhD, and still has connections to it while working as a scientist in a small company nearby. The youngest moved to Cardiff and works for the NHS. They're running a programme teaching Welsh, free of charge, to those in any position who want to do it. It's to make sure that no patient or family member loses out on information, treatment, or even a cup of tea! (That latter one has something to do with the programme being set up - too long a story for here, but it is a powerful one and makes a lot of sense when you know it. In practice it's mostly for communicating with the elderly whose English isn't so good, and stroke/Alzheimer's and similar sufferers whose Welsh has "overtaken" English in their minds.) My daughter is learning Welsh with them, and Duolingo (you need someone to help you pick apart the two Welshes - Southern & Northern, because the course isn't that helpful 🤦🏻‍♀️), and is fortunate to have an awesome bf who is a Welsh-speaker. He and his family encourage her to use the language when she's comfortable doing so, and I am so very proud of her! The point of all this being that with effort, languages which were dying out can and are being saved! (E.g. my dad _couldn't_ speak Welsh because it was literally beaten out of him in the school playground in the 1930s - he lived in a rural area and his friends, mostly farm kids, spoke it at home whereas his family didn't. He picked it up from them, but his teacher was an effing sadist!) Don't let such an important part of your, and British heritage as a whole die out! Whilst there are some speakers left, get the experts involved. I've never heard of it and I'm really into linguistics. There's a chance that the members of the uni linguistics department have come from other places and so don't know about it. If you ever want to see an academic in a hurry, give them a call! 😂 Good luck! (Sorry for the "essay"!)

[@TheTarablee713]

Wonderful reply and great story!

[@JBTriple8]

yeah Language presrvation is Important also Arrival(2016) made me appreciate more also the Dormant and Extinct could have been used to solve the many unanswered questions in humanities history why its important to preserve them.

[@cherylcampbell9369]

Excellent video and research.

[@cherylcampbell9369]

I'm not too far from Tillamook. Many many tribes and languages were in Oregon. Officially, a little over 100 languages were spoken within the present-day Oregon borders.

[@Ciesiam]

I’d like to know what comment of mine was removed stating it violated your standards? Consider me TOTALLY confused. 🙄

[@christianavance9124]

Could this possibly be a positive use for AI? Having professional linguists travel to the areas that are about to experience this and have their languages recorded catalogued with AI availability to train people the languages once they are as completely documented as possible.

[@bazookapower88]

Good vid

[@Orangesky7-l8c]

The online dictionary Glosbe has several of these languages. I’m not sure how many words it has translations for, but I still think it’s worth mentioning.

[@zinja0830]

Sadly, the links you said would be in the description are not present.

[@LillibitOfHere]

It’s so sad how much history and culture of the native Americans was destroyed by Europeans invaders and immigrants.

[@staubach1979rt]

And how much history and culture was destroyed by the different tribes who constantly fought, tortured and murdered other tribes across the North American continent.

[@jliller]

It is sad, but humans invading the territory of other humans and taking their stuff is a big part of human history across the globe.

[@TheTarablee713]

@@staubach1979rt True! The English are not immune to this type of violence against each other as the British tried to wipe out the Scottish Highlands culture as well.

[@btetschner]

A+ video! LOVE IT! Hope there is an opportunity for revival for those that believe it is worth it!

[@pierreabbat6157]

Eyak was declining for centuries before it died, losing ground to its distant relative Tlingit. Penobscot is an Algonquian language, so if it dies partially recorded, it can be reconstructed from closely related Algonquian languages. Tunica, however, is an isolate. As a North Carolinian, I'd like to mention Carolina Algonquian, from which we get "tippity-witchet", another name for a Venus flytrap.

[@jliller]

All the native languages spoken in Florida in 1492 became extinct by 1776. We at least know Apalachee was a Muskogean language, related to surviving languages like Muscogee/Creek. My understanding is a research project is ongoing trying to gather the scraps of the Timucua language in an effort to determine its origins. All the languages of central and southern Florida are completely lost and mysterious in origin.

[@shutterchick79]

Lol .. upstate NY lady here... I love the way people mispronounce our place names.. We always say "Awl-benny" ir "Awl-binny", not "Al-bay-ne".

[@shutterchick79]

Martha's Vineyard sign language isn't entirely extinct... at least 20% of ASL can be traced back to it.

[@btetschner]

Eating a big bowl of Reese's Puffs cereal...while watching this video!

[@JBTriple8]

I was eating chicken Ramen with a egg I boiled in

[@btetschner]

@@JBTriple8 That sounds good!

[@daffers2345]

So Latin really _IS_ a dead language!

[@customerservice2902]

You claim that not letting these languages die out is important, but you don't specify why. I see no reason why it's important for a handful of people to speak a dialect shared by only a handful of others. I understand that language and culture each affect each other, and the loss of a culture could potentially be important, but culture can be shared amongst people who speak different languages. also we're all going to be warm dirt at the end of the day anyway so in the grand scheme of things why not end human suffering rather than devoting time and energy to helping a dozen people keep speaking to that same dozen people in a language that nobody knows.

[@staubach1979rt]

Interesting how she uses the adjective “white” when referring to the settlers of California. Not only is this inaccurate, but it’s bad journalism. It’s pretty telling when “journalists” use wholly unnecessary adjectives. This channel just lost a little more credibility on top of what it had previously lost.

[@btetschner]

Desperate times call for desperate measures... When the reliable elements of establishing, developing, and maintaing a culture breakdown completely, it is time for a Hail Mary. x Regarding the Eyak language: o Apparently the language had an oral tradition, a tradition that is prone to forgetfulness because there are not extensive written records. † Just knowing the linguistical elements of the language isn't enough to maintain it throughout time. o As silly as it sounds, they should put elements of the Eyak language on kayaks † Then the language would at least have a part in the public and the culture, it that would be a start. † They should then take those Eyaks (Eyak kayaks) and complete in the Kayak Sprints in the Olympics! x In relation to the language Yana: o The Yana people apparently lived partly in Shasta County, which is the home of Mount Shasta. † Mount Shasta is the inspiration for the soda Shasta, one of the best-selling sodas in the world. - The Weird History Food video about Shasta was my request. o Those interested in the Yana language should sell Shasta. † It could be the noble language of Shasta Elites! x About Penobscot: o Stephen King (who is from Maine) should write a novel that uses Penobscot as one of the elements of the story. o He uses the history of Roanoke Island (Storm of the Century) and a name of a demon named Legion from the bible (Storm of the Century) for his writing, he certainly seems to succeed using historical elements like that. o Maine is his home state and that is part of their history. x For Tunica: o They should sell tunics with words from their language on it. o They could also promote the video game Tunic. † Heck, they should have the fox from that game be their spokesperson! x About Tillamook: o Some say that the Tillamook has a strong spiritual heritage, maybe the places that are named Tillamook incorporate the language into some part of their culture... x In reference to Siuslaw: o Those interested in reviving the language could create some type of river culture (there is the Siuslaw River). x And Eastern Atakapa: o If the oral tradition of the Atakapa say that they originated from the sea, some type of sea culture using their language might work. x Also Susquehannock: o According to some, the Susquehannock is known today as the Conestoga which is associated with A LOT: † They could put parts of their language on Conestoga wagons. † They could put parts of their language on Conestoga trucks. † They could figure out something with the Conestoga Mall in Grand Island, Nebraska (that was the mall I went to during public school). † They could create a lake culture by the Conestoga Lake in Nebraska. - Interesting Fact: There is a Contestoga Lake in Lancaster County Nebraska and the Conestoga group lived in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania! x For Martha's vineyard Sign Language: o The cast from the movie CODA could start a vineyard for those interested in the language. x For Albany Dutch and New Jersey Dutch: o They should sell those stroopwafels at in their own coffee shops and use parts of their languages. † That would at least generate interest. † I love those stroopwafels, my elder brother bought me a boxed tower of them for Christmas a couple of years ago. Note: The only reason Shasta is not bigger and more well-known today is because they were completing for an ideal window of opportunity against two of the greatest marketers in history: Pepsi and Coke.

[@clbcl5]

You forgot conversational English for anyone under 15

[@JBTriple8]

thank you just call what is brainrot they will speak better if you do

[@ZeroTooL88]

Okay grandpa, let's get you into a home

[@jliller]

i c wut u m33n lol

[@TheEmotobucket]

They'll have a conversation with you if they respect you. If you don't think the kids these days are conversational, it just means they don't want to talk to you. Can't guess why. Seems like you'd be fun at parties.

[@jackwood8307]

No kid under the age of 15 wants to have a conversation with an adult. 😅

[@reddblackjack]

It's time for someone to use AI to develop a workable universal translator. Like they have in star trek. That way when humans are down to only a few languages, we can still translate ancient texts and inscriptions. We might learn something about how modern languages developed as well. Like how Hebrew was a phonetic version of language based loosely off Egyptian spoken language. I saw a show a few years ago that details the process. This genius linguist figured it out. There's also a subtle and ancient connection between almost all Eurasian languages. They all essentially came from ancient Sanscrit. An AI or two could help decipher stuff we can't figure out. I've heard that we don't know how Aramaic sounded, for instance. That was the language Jesus spoke. I think it's all fascinating!

[@jliller]

Plants and animals that become endangered or go extinct often do so due to human activity, so referring to language by those same terms is not inappropriate. Languages can die out naturally, like Latin, which essentially evolved into various other languages. Most native languages have no reason to remain alive except for the sake of cultural identity. From a purely practical standpoint, English the more useful language in the USA or Canada because you need it to speak to a lot more people. It is a normal process for small ethnic minorities to be adsorbed into larger surrounding majorities, much as immigrants come to America speaking their native tongue and within a generation or two the family is speaking only English. Of course, stuff like the boarding schools tried to forcibly accelerate the process.

[@RedJoker9000]

First, YES

[@phife1878]

I'm not sure why it's important to preserve languages. If it's barely being used, it just seems like an unnecessary barrier to communication.

[@emmacomstock9488]

Because language death is a product of colonialism and violence against native people. Preserving languages is part of preserving culture and trying to undo damage against native people.

[@datafoxy]

It is part of a culture and people, languages are unique when it is lost we lose part of a people. Many languages like in the video were exterminated so it was not natural for the language to be lost. Many people learn more than one language so there is not a barrier to communication.

[@goatorr]

Most things in life aren't really that necessary, and can get in the way of things that are. Is watching and commenting on a KZbin video necessary to live? Could your comment create a barrier between you and other people? Could we all have been doing something like I don't know, preparing food or shelter instead of making these comments? Sure could have.

[@jrhattenstein]

Nails on a chalk board. Please google how to say Biloxi

[@facumod1932]

I guess if no one uses those indigenous languages it doesnt matters if they go