You will hear part of a lecture about the influence of digital technology on the Icelandic language.
First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40.
Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.
All right, everyone, let's begin.
In recent classes, we have examined why certain languages around the world are weakening.
Today, I want to consider another influence on languages and their users—technology, particularly its digital forms.
To show what this can mean, I will use Icelandic as our case study.
It is spoken by about 321,000 people, the majority living on Iceland, the North Atlantic island.
Its main difficulty is not simply its relatively small number of users, nor is Icelandic steadily surrendering words to English.
In fact, its vocabulary keeps expanding.
When a new idea needs a name, Icelandic speakers usually coin a term instead of importing one.
This is unusual because the language has changed remarkably little over the last millennium, yet it can still express modern technological concepts.
The Icelandic term for a web browser, for instance, comes from their verb meaning to wander, which seems very appropriate for moving around online.
They also have their own word for a podcast, although I won't attempt to pronounce it.
So Icelandic remains active and adaptable.
The concern is that younger Icelanders spend so much time in an online environment dominated by English.
Smartphones are an obvious example.
Although they are a recent invention, young people now use them constantly for reading, films, games, music, and much more.
This exposure has advantages since they are becoming bilingual at remarkable speed.
But the scale and pace of English influence in digital life are extraordinary.
Their parents and grandparents are less vulnerable because their Icelandic is already fully established.
The effect on younger speakers is more worrying.
Teachers report that teenagers may conduct entire conversations in English in the school playground.
With younger pupils, some find it easier to identify the contents of a picture in English than in Icelandic.
This creates a genuine possibility that the next generation could lose command of its first language.
Icelandic is not the only European language facing this pressure.
A technology company may be prepared to support French, but it is difficult to justify the same investment for a language whose entire population is comparable with that of a single French town, such as Nice.
A further obstacle is Icelandic grammar, which is far more complicated than that of most languages.
At present, the major internet firms show little interest in dealing with it.
What response has the Icelandic government made?
It is putting substantial funding into language technology, aiming to generate Icelandic apps, social media services, and other online systems.
Even with that support, the task will be difficult.
There are reasons for confidence.
Icelandic remains the official language of both education and government, has survived for more than a millennium, and specialists believe its long-term future within Iceland is secure.
Nevertheless, among younger people, it is increasingly becoming their second choice.
That situation prompts serious questions.
Since a language carries so much of a community's past, could young Icelanders eventually lose their sense of identity?
The government is also concerned about children acquiring two languages by separate routes without becoming fully fluent in either one.
If that happens, will they be able to express their ideas adequately?
That is the end of part four.
You now have one minute to check your answers to part four.
