The rising ocean will extinguish more than land. It will kill entire languages

As the climate crisis forces migration, so native tongues wither, too. But it ’s not too late to interveneRising sea levels already pose an existential threat to the populations of Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and other low-lying Pacific atolls. In these places, however, it is not just homes, crops and community cohesiveness that are at risk: it is Tuvaluan, Kiribati and Marshallese – the languages native to these islands.The impact of the climate crisis on languages may be new, but the relationship between language and climate is old. As humans populated the Earth, climate and geography were enormous factors in where they settled and flourished. The equatorial region, with its consistent temperatures, predictable rainfall and abundant agricultural opportunities, was particularly agreeable.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Climate crisis Language Kiribati Asia Pacific World news Tuvalu Marshall Islands Pacific islands Environment Science Coastlines Unesco United Nations Source Type: news