Linguistic preservation: Should native languages be taught in schools?

If there is a native language that can be secondary to another official or dominating language, should it be preserved with teaching in the schools, or should languages be set to the "survival of the fittest", and focus on teaching dominant international languages like English?

I am talking about, not only from Caucasus perspective like Chechen and Adyghe, I mean also Irish language, Welsh, Livonian, Catalan, Ocitan, and so on...? Maybe Tatar and Bashkir except you will consider them not to be European... but you understand my point.

I have a strong opinion on this, old and dwindling languages are part of our culture and heritage, they should be preserved as much as possible, the problem is that Governments are usually very centralist and, in some cases, anything that could create ruptures in national identity (via language differences) is usually percieved as a potential threat.

In Portugal, for example, Mirandés is one of such languages. It's not even derived from Galaico-Português but Astur-Leonese.

Only native languages of a country should be official, all other languages as second languages with no official status. Native minority languages should also be official in their respective areas.

Whilst it's tempting to say that Ireland should abandon English as an official language, in practice this isn't fair to the people who would natively speak forms of English there such as the Ulster Scots and the former Yola speakers in Wexford.

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Originally Posted by Groznenka

If there is a native language that can be secondary to another official or dominating language, should it be preserved with teaching in the schools, or should languages be set to the "survival of the fittest", and focus on teaching dominant international languages like English?

I am talking about, not only from Caucasus perspective like Chechen and Adyghe, I mean also Irish language, Welsh, Livonian, Catalan, Ocitan, and so on...? Maybe Tatar and Bashkir except you will consider them not to be European... but you understand my point.

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Unless you're talking about French Catalonia, don't put Catalan in the same bag. It is the primary language, not secondary, of Catalonia, and the one used in schools, not as a subject only, but for teaching too. It is even a requisite for foreign teachers in universities.

Yes, of course.
Talking about my region, piedmonteis, occitan and arpitan "ruled" this zone 1000 years before the introduction of standard italian.

Yes, it should be mandatory. That doesn't apply for Estonian and Latvian though (JMHO, they are Nazis persecuting Russians they need to taste the Nazi kool aid themselves once they are under Russia again)... :)