We hear a lot these days about preserving the biosphere. And, that's a good thing. The biosphere is essential to life. But, as we think about our fragile biosphere and reflect on the importance of biodiversity, we can take one step to the side and consider how fragile cultural diversity is.

There are about 6,000 languages in the world. 6,000! New Guinea has 1,000 of those languages, some as different from one another as English is from Mandarin Chinese. In fact, Canada has 89 languages, four of which are now extinct. Within a generation, 3,000 of the world's languages will be dead, no longer spoken. Today, as another elder dies without passing on their tongue to the children, more than just a set of grammar rules and curious syntax is lost. The whole history and culture of a people are lost. Libraries of information about human connection to nature. This is because language and culture and intertwined, inseparable. Language carries culture and preserves it.

I've done quite a bit of reflection over languages since I have lived in Catalonia. In Spain there are several autonomous regions, some with their own languages. In fact, there are four main languages in Spain: Basque, Catalan, Galician and Castilian. Castilian is more commonly known as Spanish. But the other languages are officially recognized and official in their respective autonomous regions. Galician, Catalan and Spanish all come from the same family of Latin-derived languages that changed over the centuries due to geographical separation of their peoples. Basque is one of the most unique languages in the world and even today, linguists are not sure where it fits into the evolution of language. In addition to these mentioned languages, there are more, including Aranese, Asturian and Extremaduran. There are more still. I have had the opportunity to learn both Catalan and Spanish since I have been here and at times it is no easy task. But, as you learn the languages, you necessarily learn the culture. One thing I find interesting is the acceptance of language diversity here. It is not uncommon to hear a group of people speaking a mix of Catalan and Spanish (or, increasingly, English) because they just speak the language they are more comfortable expressing themselves in. Same thing happened when I visited Portugal in February. I had a conversation, speaking Spanish and the woman in the Synagogue I was visiting spoke to me in Portuguese. We understood one another. There wasn't the issue of "translation", we just listened and replied quite naturally.

So, I believe we should give some thought (more than just a passing one) to cultural diversity and the preservation of our languages. It's seems tempting to think that, "wouldn't the world be a better place if we all spoke one language". But, as Wade Davis asks, "How would you feel if that language were Kombio or Uda or Chinese Min Bei?".

I believe that one of the biggest steps we can take toward peace on earth is by embracing other cultures and working toward language preservation. Please take a few minutes to watch this entertaining and inspiring video from Wade Davis an anthropologist of the National Geographic Society.

Peace,
Grant