by Ayana Ebisuno

As world is more globalized, we would feel more comfortable and many things would become more convenient. For example, now we can talk with friends who are in other side of the globe, we can take same classes that is held in American universities even if we are in class rooms in Japan, we can see many news all of the world even if we do not go out from our house if we use the Internet.

More and more students all over the world are studying English as a second language because English have been becoming global common language. On the other hand, there are many languages that are disappearing at fast rate. This problem is known as “language death.” Many people around the world are worried about it. And most specialists agree that no language can survive unless about 100,000 people speak it. But unfortunately, half of the world’s languages are spoken by fewer than 10,000 people. And quarter of all languages are spoken by fewer than 1,000 people. Specialists estimated that about 10 languages disappear every year. And when a language dies, its culture also dies with it. This fact is a worry not only for specialists but also for ordinary people all over the world.

When we lose a language, it means we also lose a lot of important knowledge and understanding of the world we live in. There is also a close connection between language and personal identity. As the number of people speaking a language in a community decreases, there is often increase in social problems. This is one reason why saving language is important even if they only have a few speakers.

We cannot easily say that “language death” problem happened due to only the globalization. That problem has caused by not only globalization but also many other changes, for example, population, personal consciousness, and so on. But I think the problem has something to do with globalization, because it is cultural and economic connection and assimilation to each different country that promote the globalization. Living in the world where the globalization is promoting, it is important to considerate small countries and weak culture and save them.