Preserving Asia and the Pacific's cultural traditions

Preserving Asia and the Pacific's cultural traditions

The Asia Pacific occupies one quarter of the world’s languages and they are at the risk of disappearing, Australia universities are assisting preserve the traditional culture of this region. The University of Sydney, the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University are involved in the project of cultural protection which called PARADISEC. They recorded some small -lingual recording to prevent this language disappear, and some recordings even up to 7596 hours long. However, not everyone think it is worth to carry out the PARADISEC. The Australia government does not give enough support on this program as well. In my opinion, I believe these endangered languages should be recorded, as it can be used to tell us our future generations what kind of language does our ancestors speak as well as their culture.  

Here is an example about how PARADISEC helping preserve the traditional culture. Alamenk is the only man who lives in a small village in Papua New Guinea four years ago, and he knows how to make traditional artifact. Prof. Nicholas Evans had an interview with Alamenk in 2009. He recorded Alamenk was doing the traditional artifact one by one meanwhile Alamenk explained each artifact’s functions and how to make them in his languages. Alamenk insist on doing traditional artifact because he wants his children know the valuable things that his ancestors left behind. Prof. Nicholas Evans explained the aim of PARADISEC is to digital preservation and access to endangered language and music from the Asia Pacific, which includes music or includes story telling it includes a lot thing other than just language itself (2013). Whereas Dr. Nick Thieberger from the University of Melbourne does not agree with that, he thinks doing this is price lessens, they are unique often. The disappearance not only in those minority languages, but also the culture that related on those minority languages would disappear as well. “The most important relationship between language and culture that gets to the heart of what is lost when you lose a language is that most of the culture is in the language and is expressed in the language” (Fishman.J, 1996). Sometimes a small languages ​​disappear, perhaps imply a tribal cultural extinction. Nowadays, due to the rapid development of economic globalization and English as the international communicate language, it lead to western culture has become the mean stream culture. In our process of learning English, in fact, we are also studying and absorbing western culture and our own culture is slowly being forgotten. 

My personal idea is, as mentioned above, the development of economic globalization leading English as main communicate language. Many minority languages ​​will gradually disappear, and this region's culture will slowly disappear as well. I believe that PARADISEC program is a good way to preserve the endangered languages and its traditional culture. After several years later, some of these extinct languages can be tell to the next generations by PARADISEC website, let them know their ancestors left them some precious culture. The Australian Research Council should give more support to PARADISEC for funding and technology. It is important to protect the minority language, they gradually extinct indirectly and thus leading some culture disappeared. If the vanishing of languages is continuing, one day cultural diversity will slowly disappear, and the world would be boring. 

Reference  

1. Arnott.K, 2013, Preserving Asia and the Pacific's cultural traditions, Australia, Australia Network news, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-24/an-preserving-asia-and-the-pacific27s-cultural-traditions/5042756 26/10/2013 
2. Cantoni.G (Ed.) (1996), Stabilizing Indigenous Languages-What Do You Lose When You Lose a Language Joshua Fishman, Northern Arizona University Center for Excellence in Education, Flagstaff, P71-81 http://www2.nau.edu/jar/SIL/Fishman1.pdf, 26/10/2013