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Recently, preserving minority languages has become a fiercely controversial issue. Some people assert that governments should try to keep minority languages, while others argue otherwise. I wholeheartedly agree with the former stand. In the following essay, both views will be discussed before a conclusion is reached with my opinion. On the one hand, those who claim against preserving minority languages do so for several reasons. Proponents of this argument insist that governments have to pay a huge amount of money even though minority languages are used by only few people. In addition, governments should make a concerted effort to deal with more crucial problems such as air pollution and climate change since these issues are directly related to global citizens' lives. As an illustration, one recent article released by the Edge Times in South Africa illustrates that the government of South Africa expended vast sums of money sponsored by global organizations on preserving minority languages and it turned out that about 70% of local residents were not satisfied with this policy since they wished that money shuold be spent on other issues. My opinion, however, is that governments around the world should devote to invest vast sums of money to keep minority languages. The most compelling reason is that the value of these is considered priceless because some of them are regarded as cultural heritage. Furthermore, if people do not protect these languages, it will do harm to cultural diversity, which is playing important role in global society. To exemplify, a study conducted by the Seoul National University shows that Spanish was used by only few people in the past. However, this is used widely and one of the dominant languages around the world. Researchers insist that the value of Spanish is more than 150 billion US dollars. In light of the above, I find these more persuasive.
In conclusion, it is undeniable that there are a variety of opinions about this topic. However, after considering this matter in a careful manner, I fully support the view that governments should be willing to protect minority languages for the reasons discussed above. |