Forms of Language and Assessing Need
Even when the prospects for the development of a written form of a language seem poor, this does not automatically mean the translation is not needed. It will mean, however, a different strategy. For instance, it may mean that much greater use of audio and video communication should be envisaged. Language assessment should determine the strategy for developing a language program, not just the decision to begin such a program.
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Language is, perhaps, the characteristic of mankind that most obviously distinguishes us from the rest of creation. Small wonder, then, that language reflects all the complexities of our mind and of our diverse cultures. Infinite varieties of language exist, mirroring the innumerable differences that there are, both between individuals and between groups of people. For convenience, similar speech forms are grouped together and labeled a language, but the boundaries are arbitrary. The groupings may change given different purposes for each grouping. In the course of history, many such changes have taken place.
The primary use of language is for face-to-face communication. Usually this is in the form of oral speech, but there are also signed languages, invented by deaf people, which have all the characteristics linguists have come to expect of natural languages. All languages can also be written, but not all have or will have a written form.
Increasingly many speak more than one language. Not all men and women read and write a language or wish to do so. In the lives of those who speak more than one language, each may play a different part, and for some roles a written form is not considered useful.
- John Bendor-Samuel, former Executive Director, Wycliffe International