1 The Endangered Languages of the World and the Case of Adyghe-Abkhaz Languages Ankara July 1, 2006 Karina Vamling The linguistic richness of Caucasian languages in the European context Linguistic diversity? I would like to start by a few words about linguistic richness or linguistic diversity in general. It is possible to take two different approaches to the issue. 1. linguistic diversity => multitude of languages 2. linguistic diversity => languages that are of different types Why are we keen on protecting the world’s linguistic diversity? Why is the maintenance of languages important? As a point of departure and an attempt to answer these questions we may consider a quote stressing the importance of language for a person’s identity. “…. For most minorities, language, as much as if not more than any other attribute of identity (such as common religion or history), serves as a means of unity of the group and source of self-identification of the individual. The enjoyment and preservation of the minority culture turns upon the freedom to transmit ideas, customs, and other indicia of culture in the original language of the minority.” (REPORT ON THE LINGUISTIC RIGHTS OF PERSONS BELONGING TO NATIONAL MINORITIES IN THE OSCE AREA, p. 3) This is, of course, not to say that a person has only one identity. In our modern and globalized society, a person may have several intersecting identities. For instance, I as a Swede from southern Sweden have a ”Scanian” identity being based on the local dialect, Scanian. On the other hand, in another context together with Danes and Norwegians, I may percieve myself as Scandinavian on the basis of linguistic and cultural closeness at another level. We may thus have multiple identities that are linked to different contexts and roles – and these contexts and roles are in general closely tied to different languages and language varieties or registers.