Type: UDA
What you will find in this resource:
Language is essential to human identity. It defines us as human, shapes our cultural identities and cannot be contained by political borders. Over time, some languages have spread as their speakers migrated, fled from disasters and wars, or colonised other lands. Some have been overwhelmed and tragically died out, others have been brought back from the brink of extinction. Very occasionally a language can survive without everyday speakers for very long periods. This may be through use for religious purposes or academic communication, or, like Latin and ancient Greek because it is continually taught over generations for its importance as a forerunner of and contributor to other languages.
Language can also be used as a political tool in attempts to unite or divide us. There have been instances in history where languages have been forbidden or discriminated against in a bid to assert power or independence, shape national identity, or assimilate minority groups into a dominant culture through requirements to speak an official language. An article on the BBC News on 22 July 20181 provides some recent examples from Israel, Latvia, Croatia, India, Turkey and Canada. However, most countries with a history of conquest, colonialism, or recently asserted independence have experienced similar issues.
The Universal Declaration on Archives (UDA) has already been translated into many languages. The ICA website has a list of all the languages into which the UDA has been translated together with links for downloading them.
Languages:
- English
- French
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