Passage Two (12-15)
(12)The US has already lost more than a third of the native languages that existed before European colonization and the remaining 192 are classed by the UNESCO as ranging between unsafe and extinct. (13)"We need more funding and more effort to return these languages to everyday use," says Fred Nahwooksy of the National museum of the American Indian, "we are making progress, but money needs to be spent on revitalizing languages, not just documenting them." Some 40 languages mainly in California and Oklahoma where thousands of Indians were forced to relocate in the 19th century have fewer than 10 native speakers. Part of the issue is that tribal groups themselves don't always believe their languages are endangered until they are down to the last handful of speakers. "But progress is being made through immersion schools, because if you teach children when they are young, it will stay with them as adults and that's the future." says Mr Nahwooksy, a Comanche Indian. Such schools have become a model in Hawaii, but the islanders' local language is still classed by the UNESCO as critically endangered because only 1,000 people speak it. (14)The decline in the American Indian languages has historical roots: In the mid-19th century, the US government adopted a policy of Americanizing Indian children by removing them from their homes and culture. Within a few generations most had forgotten their native tongues. Another challenge to language survival is television. (15)It has brought English into homes, and pushed out traditional storytelling and family time together, accelerating the extinction of native languages.
12 What do we learn from the report?
13 For what purpose does Fred Nahwooksy appeal for more funding?
14 What is the historical cause of the decline in the American Indian Languages?
15 What does the speaker say about television?
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