In languages we live - voices of the world

Directors: Janus Billeskov & Signe Byrge Sørensen
Producers: Signe Byrge Sørensen, Rune Bager & Thomas Stenderup
Produced by: Final Cut Productions, 2005

In Languages We Live - voices of the world is a documentary about the world's linguistic diversity.

There are approximately 6,500 languages in the world. On average, at least one language disappears every two weeks. The consequences of this development are that by the end of this century half of the world’s languages will have disappeared. Through a number of personal stories the film asks: What is the significance of this loss to those who speak these languages as well for the rest of us?

The film examines language as a social, political and cultural field. Without language, any form of human societal structure would be inconceivable. It is the fundamental of our relationships with other people. Why do some languages become world languages, while others are in the process of dying out? How are our language and identity connected? What does it feel like to be the last person to speak a language? How do you document a language? How does language develop? How does one translate linguistic and cultural meaning from one language to another?

"To lose my mother tongue would be like being forced into language exile.  I would lose my family's history and culture."  Director Janus Billeskov Jansen

<www.unesco.org/education/imld2006/film.pdf>