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John Tvedtnes relates language drift to our time with:
| "Each generation uses the vocabulary of its parents in new ways. The second half of the twentieth century saw words such as cool, brother, and bad redefined by younger speakers of the English language. If such changes can take place in a single generation, consider how many more such changes have occurred since the King
James Version of the Bible was first published."3.269 | |
We can all understand language drift, which can also be called language evolution. And we can understand how as the meaning of words change, some words and phrases are no longer used. In effect, phrases like "For whi thouy Y schal go in the myddis of schadewe of deeth" become extinct, just like biological species in
the physical world.
Biological extinctions can be caused by genetics, environmental changes, evolution, catastrophes, over harvesting, pollution, habitat destruction, and introducing new predators and food competitors. The widespread destruction of tropical rain forests and the replacement with open pasture land is an often quoted example of a cause of extinction. Mankind has been transporting plants and animals from one environment to another for centuries. Some are on purpose, like bringing Hereford cattle to the United States, and others are
unplanned, like the accidental introduction of rats to various places around the world. Some extinctions are planned, like smallpox and polio, along with the discussions about eliminating 30 mosquito species using recessive "knockout genes" as a way to attack malaria. Going back to the other end of the species extinction spectrum, scientists do talk about bringing back to life mammoths and possibly other extinct species through cloning.3.255 However, other than in science fiction, there is not an established scientific discussion about even attempting to create even one new species.
One of the most interesting places on planet Earth, relative to the study of different species, is the large island of Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean. As was discussed in the geological section (pages 155 - 160), this island has been isolated for at least 65
million years ago, which was at the end of the Cretaceous when the asteroid hit
the Yucatan Peninsula and changed planet Earth. Madagascar is home to 5% of the world's plant and animal species, more than 80% of which are indigenous to Madagascar. The most famous are the Lemur,3.270 the fossa,3.271 as well as three bird families and six baobab species only found on the island.3.272
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paradoxes