Thank you so much.
There are no words to stress the importance of language to an individual, to a society, to a people and to a family. Sometimes I think we make a mistake when we think of language as a tool for communication between two people or between two societies. Language is much more than a tool. It's the foundation for being a human being. In some ways, it is what distinguishes us from all the others as humans. Language is basically a way of thinking. It's a way of being in the world.
I was speaking just this morning with Dr. Gyal Lo about its importance, about what it means to lose a language. When somebody loses their language, it's not the same as losing many other things that are important to a person. The person who loses their mother tongue does not always gain another language at the same level. Usually, they gain half a language. Usually, they gain an incomplete language.
There are people who argue—there is literature that says so—that language basically determines thought. It determines our characteristics, our personalities. It influences who we are even at that level. When we talk about losing a language, it is not only a traumatic loss for an individual. It's not only a traumatic loss for a nation. It's not only a loss for society or for the relationships people have. We lose so much more that cannot be expressed enough through words. I think that is the future we are looking at if we fail, if the world fails to notice the alarming situation right now, if we fail to respond to this alarm that is the situation right now.
Thank you.