Language and the resilience of knowledge

Abstract

Hundreds of languages worldwide are endangered, and the common notion is that such language loss results in knowledge loss. In this thesis, I investigate the idea that different knowledge might have a different resilience to this process, and explore what factors influence what happens to knowledge when a language disappears. What factors influence whether knowledge can survive language death? The thesis addresses the research question: What factors influence the resilience of knowledge in case of language loss? To investigate this, I sent a questionnaire to researchers who have worked on endangered language projects all over the world, inquiring about their experiences with language endangerment and knowledge loss. This research explores potential factors that influence the resilience of knowledge when a language vanishes and proposes a model for analysing and scaling this resilience. The thesis concludes that the resilience of knowledge is partly influenced by properties of knowledge, which need to be considered when investigating what language loss in practice means for knowledge loss.