Reasons For Translating Who-Am-I?

Pages to translate: Lesson plans/workshop
General infrastructure | Who-am-I? overview

Art by Flemming (class 4.c), Denmark

Pride in one's own language and identity helps youth get more out of multi-lingual interaction with peers, be it in Chinese, Spanish, English, or some other "Esperanto." We want them to understand that there's no such thing as a second class person!

UNESCO: "Language is not only a tool for communication and knowledge but also a fundamental attribute of cultural identity and empowerment, both for the individual and the group. Respect for the languages of persons belonging to different linguistic communities therefore is essential to peaceful cohabitation. This applies both to majority groups, to minorities (whether traditionally resident in a country or more recent migrants) and to indigenous peoples."

"Every language is an old-growth forest of the mind, a watershed of thought, an ecosystem of spiritual possibilities," says Wade Davis, anthropologist and National Geographic's explorer-in-residence.

Children who study the language and culture of their immigrant parents may achieve more and become more involved citizens, says British researchers

"Other researchers are interested in a broader range of knowledge that is more difficult to save. To do so requires encouraging younger people to learn their language from their elders, preserving not only the words themselves but unwritten traditions, arts, religion and more. For example, plants used by traditional healers around the world have led to the discovery of new medicines, including aspirin." Aljazeera.Net article about "Languages in danger of dying out," 2005.

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