| Marcelo Dascal Endangered Languages | 
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Innovation and creativity are essential conditions for our lives. It is because humans were able to improvise (e.g., to adopt different diets in different regions and under different conditions) that we survived, while many other species did not.
Creativity means the ability to see things from different perspectives, rather than being enclosed in a single frame of mind. Humor exemplifies and enhances that ability. Non-creative persons lack humor. Species other than homo sapiens, seem to lack humor too.
Recent research has shown that bilingualism enhances that ability too. It trains the mind to shift from one way of conceptualizing something to another, often quite different one.
The ability to "wear the shoes" of another,
to try to view things as someone very different from oneself does,
not only facilitates mutual understanding in interpersonal relations.
It also enriches cognition, providing often unexpected alternatives.
One such example is the alternative we have been exploring thanks to our willingness to consider what Iatiku (12k) had to say about the plurality of languages.
Remote and 'exotic' cultures and languages may seem,
at first, of interest to us only as curiosities. When studied
more closely, however, they may prove to be relevant to us in
a deeper sense. We may come to realize, through their radically
different viewpoint, that ours is not the only way to see and
interpret the world. Here is a touching testimony of American
researchers who devoted decades of their life to studying Maya
culture.
Before writing this book, we studied the beliefs
the ancient Maya recorded in their art and architecture as if
they were part of the fascinating alternate reality that had little
relevance to our personal lives. We did what scientists are supposed
to do-keep an objective distance. Like the majority of our colleagues,
we were secure in the superiority of our own worldview. Preparing
this book has changed our attitude. We now come to this alien
world with respect and awe, knowing that the worldview created
by the Maya was, and is, just as powerful, meaningful, and viable
as our own.
D. Friedel, L. Schele, J. Parker
