Operation X

We Have Reached 1200 Followers

Written by Dyami Millarson

We are very thankful that there are now 1200 people following us. This is more than the total number of speakers of Aasters, Eilauners and Hielepes combined, showing that the worldwide interest in endangered languages with limited speakers stretches far beyond the original group of speakers. If we continue to grow like this, we can be a source of inspiration to the communities of these languages, for they will know there are far more interested people than there are speakers belonging to their community. Such a reality will give them the much needed hope that their language and culture will not be forgotten.

Please feel free to comment below and tell us why you think it is important that small languages and cultures be not forgotten!

Published by Operation X

Operation X is a team of innovative language learners who wish to save, promote and study indigenous languages, integrate culturally and linguistically and philosophically with the respective language communities and earn community membership through hard work aimed at adopting and respecting the existing linguistic, cultural and philosophical norms of each community, and finally make each language thus acquired one of the official languages of the non-profit "Foundation Operation X for languages, cultures and perspectives." The languages that our non-profit Foundation officially recognises include (but are not limited to) Klaaifrysk, Wâldfrysk, Aasters, Westers, Eilaunders, Hielepes, Mòlkòrres, Seeltersk, Wangerōgersc, Harlingerland Frisian, Wursten Frisian, Upgant Frisian, Hâtstinge frêsh, Brêkleme frêsh, Trölstruper Freesch, Hoolmer Freesch, Hoorninger Fräisch, Bêrgeme frêsh, Halifreesk, Ingsbüllinge frėsh, Risemer Frasch, Naischöspeler Freesk, Hoorblinger Freesk, Halunder, Amring, Aasdring, Weesdring, Söl'ring, Hogelandster Grunnegers, Oostfreesk, and övdalsk.

8 comments

  1. Back in college I found out that the Japanese I learned as a child was really a dialect of the Wakayama province of Japan, where my paternal grandparents were from.. It really wasn’t “incorrect” by Wakayama standards, but I was mercilessly corrected and even teased by my instructors in the Japanese department. (Many of them were themselves not native Japanese speakers, so this especially stung. I find that people who learned Japanese as young adults/academics tend to be more rigid in their perception of the language than native speakers.) So I am acutely aware of regional dialects; though I’ve spent most of my adult career as an English teacher, I think it’s rude to correct someone’s grammar while they’re speaking because I know that not all of us who speak English are going to talk like a BBC news reader. (!)

    Anyway, I think what you are doing is important. I do worry about the recent global rise in nationalism and the preservation of regional dialects becoming tangled together, but I also fear that if a dialect or language dies, we lose an entire culture and literature, whether it’s oral or written.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s