Gender

                                         Preserve Language

There are about 6000 languages in the world today that are recognized and

respected for the preservation of one’s culture. There will be one less if

we don’t try to preserve our unique language. We should put some effort in

learning our own language so that one’s culture is kept alive and not

forgotten. It will also be beneficial to the next generation. It is

predicted that over the next century half of the world’s languages are

expected to disappear. It is our responsibility to show importance to

language and we should preserve our language for the next generation, and to

maintain our cultural identity.

            It is so important to value languages because it’s a piece of

us disappearing each day when we don’t acknowledge the importance of it.

Language holds a very important history that our future generations may

never see again if we don’t value it now. Languages are disappearing and

according to the American Summer Institute of Linguistics, "There are 51

languages with only one speaker left - 28 of them in Australia alone. A

further 500 languages are spoken by fewer than 100 speakers, and another

1,500 by fewer than 1,000 speakers”. In order for the language to survive,

it must have a function in one’s life. There is big misconception about

learning your native language instead of the common language by many

parents. They believe that perceiving their native language could be a

potential drawback to their success in life, which is untrue. Studies have

shown that speaking more language brings more opportunities and it also

stimulates the brain for the better.

           Our duty is to maintain our cultural identity. A major aspect of

the culture is to speak that language. As a Tibetan I live thousands of

miles away from my homeland where my parents once lived, a land that I have

never stepped food in my entire life. The only way for me to still be

connected to my people and culture is by speaking Tibetan. Others may say

since I live in United Sate what is the point of speaking a language that I

barely speak? However, I feel that it is an important part of me and by

speaking Tibetan I am also preserving my culture, which is a part of who I

am. Growing up in state, it was hard enough for my single mother to juggle

from work to work. She would make time out from her busy Sunday schedule to

take me and my brother to Tibetan school, so that we can learn new things if

not maintain what we know. Speaking my mother language connects me to my

religion and religion is the most vital key factor in my culture. During one

of the His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit in San Francisco, I remember

sitting in a crowded of Tibetan people listening very closely to what he had

told us. He said to us, “To be or become Tibetan Buddhist you must learn the

core first, which is to learn how to read, write, and speak in Tibetan”. He

also encouraged parents and everyone in room to speak Tibetan to our younger

generation to keep our language alive and also to not dismiss the root of

our culture. A language spoken by one person, or even a few hundred, is not

considered a language at all. We should preserve our language before it