Congregations, especially in the New York City area, are playing a key role in preserving and protecting languages from around the world, many of which may be in danger of extinction, writes Emily Belz in Christianity Today (January/February). Linguists led by Ross Perlin of Columbia University have identified 700 languages in New York City, which is considered the most linguistically diverse metropolis in human history. Christian churches throughout the world are important places for language preservation, since Christians speak 82 percent of the world’s languages. Often Bible translators have also had a part in such language preservation as they seek to reach various language groups. When documenting languages used in religious services in New York, Perlin and his fellow researchers found the following rare languages: Abakuá (from the Caribbean), Avestan (from India and Iran), Church Slavonic (Russia), Coptic (Egypt), classical Armenian, Ge’ez (Ethiopia and Eritrea), Jewish Babylonian Aramaic (Israel), Koine Greek, Syro-Malankara Syriac (India), and Syriac (Middle East).
Most endangered languages are only spoken and not written, and immigrants in New York might discard their primary languages in favor of a language spoken by the majority. But there are large enough minority communities in the city to make language preservation possible. Most of the endangered language communities are in the outer boroughs, rather than Manhattan, and can be heard more in storefront churches (as well as restaurants) than established congregations. But Perlin says that churches are often the main connection immigrants have to their culture, “to bring their kids where they can show them where they are coming from.” He points to the growth of Central American languages (outside of Spanish) that have arrived in the U.S. through recent immigration, and how Iglesia Jovenes Cristianos, a network of New York churches, offers church services featuring several rare indigenous Central and South American languages, such as Mam and Quechua.
(Christianity Today, https://www.christianitytoday.com/)
