There is a fundamental linkage between language and traditional knowledge related
to biodiversity. As languages go extinct, there is an irrecoverable loss of
unique cultural, historical and ecological knowledge. Local and indigenous
communities have elaborated complex classification systems for the natural
world, reflecting a deep understanding of local flora, fauna, ecological
relations and ecosystem dynamics. This traditional ecological knowledge is both
expressed and transmitted through the local or indigenous language. When young
people no longer learn the language of their ancestors, special knowledge is
often lost, as it is not transferred into the dominant language that replaces
it. This is often because the dominant language does not have the vocabulary for
this special knowledge, or even because the very situations in which this kind
of knowledge and its relevance for survival are learned do not occur in the
dominant culture. Information on status and trends of numbers of speakers of
indigenous languages may therefore be used as a proxy for measuring trends in
the status of traditional knowledge, innovations and practices.
This indicator will assess the status and trends of linguistic diversity and
numbers of speakers of indigenous languages, to act as such a proxy. Data will
largely be available at national and regional scales, and by 2010 it is expected
that the basis for estimating trends will most likely be regional case studies.
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