Language has more value, than just the ability to communicate with people. Languages can be very diverse in their vocabularies. These vocabularies contain a lot of definitions, meanings and allusions that are bearers of knowledge, since language relates to what people know and have experienced. Different languages can have vocabulary and words containing knowledge and describing things that other languages do not have words for. For example a minority tribe in Africa may not have words for certain natural phenomena that the Scandinavian minority of the Sami people have and vice versa. In Sami languages there are in fact many different words for describing different types of snow, depending on different kind of conditions. Hence different languages used by people from different cultures can contain knowledge that other languages don’t have. So a minority language can bear knowledge within it that a nations dominant language does not. Having this new knowledge could benefit a nation. It could broaden the way people think, as language and the vocabulary are factors that affect the way we think, because we tend to think in the same language that we use. It could develop and broaden peoples understanding of things, for e.g. the Scandinavian countries could gain a better understanding of snow from the Sami languages.
Variety of languages can give a broaden understanding of the world, since languages originate from different types of cultures. Languages have very different modes of expression and different vocabularies to each other. Hence bilingualism can, not just bring knowledge, but also promote creativity in a society, because the varying types of expression and vocabulary between different languages can function as a stimulus to creativity and new kind of thinking. Preserving a minority language would bring two, in many ways, different cultures together, which in itself would bring creativity to a nation, for e.g. in Finland Swedish is used as a second language, which can be seen in many similarities between the countries and could relate, for instance to the similarity in the way the two countries play ice-hockey. Being able to communicate with minorities can be beneficial for a nation and the minority society both, as both parties can learn from each others culturally different ways.
Governments should also understand that minority people are part of the nation or country, and they deserve the same rights as the majority people. As citizens of a country they have the right to speak their own language and the government should have the duty of preserving the culture of every single citizen of a nation not just the majority. Furthermore, the minorities should have the right of getting services, for e.g. healthcare services, in their own language, just like all the other citizens of the nation. Getting healthcare in ones own language is an important right that everyone, even the minorities, should be able to get, as when a person is under a medical condition they are already vulnerable and cannot possibly explain their symptoms in any other than their own language. Therefore help should be available quickly and easily, without any complications regarding language.
The minority languages should be taken to consideration by governments, as minorities deserve the same attention and care as all the other citizens of the country. Preserving the language could also unify a nation and avoid conflict between the majority and the minorities, because the minority people would feel more welcome in their country, and not like outcasts. Preserving a language in itself has benefits, like creating a creative and innovative atmosphere, which can be very beneficial to the country. Minority cultures have often also had an affect on the majority culture of a nation, so why let part of your own culture die away. Minority languages should not just be swept aside. Even though preserving a language consumes government money, the governments should take measures to preserving them, as they are a significant part of the nation. The nations should keep these languages alive and take all the benefit of having such a diverse culture and variety of language, as a nation can learn and gain a lot of knowledge and creativity, from their minorities by being able to communicate with their language.
