One of the many homogenizing effects of globalization and the spread of Western culture is the steady disappearance of local languages in many areas of the world. A few languages are becoming global in nature while the rest are slowly withering away. Even the fortunate few languages are changing and adapting new vocabulary and forms. This ofcourse is a natural progression in the evolution of languages. A truly static language is a dead language.
The question is does this phenomenon matter? Does it matter if some languages disappear? After all no language is pre-ordained to exist forever. Languages evolve under a particular set of social, historic and geographic circumstances. They represent a particular outlook and a particular way of thinking. In this respect, they preserve a diversity of though processes and opinion at a global level. Therefore when a particular language disappears, a particular way of thinking goes with it. We end up with a sameness in thought processes. The reason this happens is that a particular languages imposes certain constraints on its speakers. It also emphasizes some elements and relationships. For example, in Urdu, there is a separate word for maternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, paternal grandfather, father's elder brother, father's younger brother and so on whereas in English, such fine familial distinctions are not made.
Again the question can be asked: despite all of the above, does it matter? I think it does. All societies constantly face new challenges and new sets of circumstances. People speaking different languages approach these problems and circumstances from different perspectives. If languages disappear so that only a few remain, then we will end up with a sameness in outlook. Lack of diversity can mean the difference between successfully forging a path into the future or getting stuck and remaining stagnant and slowly becoming more and more irrelevant.
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