ProZ.com Translation Forums

An interesting article on disappearing languages | And then...

Daniel Frisano — Thu, 14 May 2026 05:56:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: An interesting article on disappearing languages
Poster: Daniel Frisano
Post title: And then...

... at the opposite end of the spectrum there's my own mother, who stopped speaking her native Trevisan dialect with her mother because she was afraid it would confuse us kids.

To think that I could have been a native trilingual: Friulian with my parents and friends, Trevisan with my grandmother, Italian at school. Sigh...

An interesting article on disappearing languages | Language loss is irreversible — every effort matters

Rodolfo Abachi — Tue, 12 May 2026 13:25:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: An interesting article on disappearing languages
Poster: Rodolfo Abachi
Post title: Language loss is irreversible — every effort matters

Thanks for sharing this article. The topic of language loss is deeply connected to our work as translators and language professionals — we are, in a sense, guardians of linguistic and cultural heritage.

What strikes me most is that when a language disappears, it's not just the words that are lost, but entire ways of categorizing and making sense of the world. Many languages encode knowledge about ecosystems, medical plants, social structures, and cosmologies that exist nowhere else.

The mention of Marie Wilcox is inspiring — one person with the will to document and revitalize their native language. While we can't stop globalization, efforts like hers, along with digital archiving, immersion schools, and community programs, have shown that revitalization is possible.

As translators, we can also do our small part by taking on work that involves minority and endangered languages whenever possible.

An interesting article on disappearing languages | Could this trend be reversed? Or at least mitigated?

Daniel Frisano — Mon, 11 May 2026 21:02:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: An interesting article on disappearing languages
Poster: Daniel Frisano
Post title: Could this trend be reversed? Or at least mitigated?

Nothing new indeed, and so sad. Whenever a language disappears, a whole culture is lost. And it happens all the time, with dozens of languages gone each year.

So let's celebrate people like Marie Wilcox:
[url removed]

or Katrina Esau:
[url removed]

An interesting article on disappearing languages

Caryl Swift — Mon, 11 May 2026 13:25:00 +0000

Forum: Off topic
Topic: An interesting article on disappearing languages
Poster: Caryl Swift

I know this is nothing new, but I thought people might like to see it:

[url removed]

Happy reading!