A new Cornell University Library exhibit opening Oct. 22 will examine how languages become endangered and how communities work to keep them alive. “Languages at the Brink: Threatened Languages and How We Protect Them” will run at Kroch Library through May 2027, Cornell announced.
The opening includes a reception from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Oct. 22 in Olin Library Room 107. John Whitman, a Cornell linguistics professor, will discuss teaching language endangerment and revitalization, and students will describe research projects included in the exhibit.
The display draws on Cornell collections, classes and research. It presents histories and current efforts involving five languages: Ainu, Welsh, Yiddish, Garifuna and Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ, the Indigenous language of the region where Cornell is located.
Local language reclamation
Whitman said the Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ example is especially relevant to Cornell. Stephen Henhawk, a first-language speaker, has taught the university's Cayuga Language and Culture class since 2019.
Whitman prefers “language reclamation” to “revitalization” because it emphasizes that the people who hold a language are the ones bringing it back. He said an institution's most important role is to assist communities committed to keeping their own languages alive.
The exhibit also addresses threats and recovery efforts connected with languages from outside the region. Ainu is associated with northern Japan, Welsh is a Celtic language, Yiddish incorporates Germanic, Slavic and Hebrew elements, and Garifuna has Caribbean Arawakan and West African influences.
Phil Robinson, a library software development assistant director and linguistics selector who co-curated the exhibit with Whitman, said Cornell's collections contain items in more than 460 languages. Books, images and audio in the display illustrate how communities document and protect languages.
The exhibit is the final installment of Cornell University Library's “From the Brink” series, organized with campus departments and groups. Visitors can see it at Kroch Library after the Oct. 22 opening; the reception and presentations are in Olin Library Room 107.
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