Date: 18-Jan-2006 From: Stan Anonby <">sil.org>> Subject: Re: 17.100, Disc: Prestige & Language Maintenance
I think Cosper's insights are correct. I have observed that people learn languages that are higher up on the hierarchy.
Maybe we could try the analogy of wind. The dominant languages in the Americas are like funnel clouds compared to the breezes that are the minority languages. On other continents, the winds of languages are closer to the same strength. In the Old World, prestige could add enough strength to make a real difference in language maintenance.