The Daily Evergreen, September 3, 2008
Film to examine declining languages
One of the featured linguists in the film will be at WSU as part of a post-film discussion.

Emily Kitts

Tonight, the Global Studies office and the International Students' Council will screen "The Linguists," a documentary that explores the impacts of globalization on world languages. The event is part of the CUB's Grand Opening Celebration Week.

According to the film's Web site, it is estimated that out of 7,000 world languages, half will be gone by the end of the century. The documentary highlights the human aspect of languages and what it means for different cultures when dialects cease to exist.

"The Linguists" will premiere in Washington at 8:30 p.m. tonight in the CUB auditorium with a discussion at 10:30 p.m.

Chad Goeden, International Center coordinator and International Programs adviser, helped organize the screening.

"Each day of the grand opening has a different sort of theme," he said. "Wednesday's theme is international culture and I knew that 'The Linguists' would be a perfect film to show." "The Linguists" documents the experience of two linguists, Greg Anderson and David Harrison, in remote areas of Siberia, Bolivia and India as they explore the endangered languages there.

The film has not been released to the general public yet and has only been shown at select screenings. Anderson will be in attendance tonight to talk about his experience and answer any questions students might have.

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January to critical acclaim.

Students should take an interest in the film because it relates to everyone, Goeden said.

"Language is so pertinent to everybody," he said. "It's such an important aspect to individuals as well as communities. If a language dies out, what does that mean for a culture?"