What is an early story, but a mere
oral dissemination of expression? Early stories were passed down through the
generations to document and teach, to convey legend and fact, and to instill fear
and pride. Many early languages are coming to an end. Dying Words brings the sad reality to light, that so many languages
will not survive the next generations of men. Author Nicholas Evans believes we
will likely lose half of the world’s 6,000 languages in the next century.
In our own lives we run into the
same problems with documenting our oral history. We often do not realize until
it is too late to talk to our older living relatives about the lives they have
lived and the stories they have to share. Sometimes it is difficult to make
time to sit down to discuss this history or problematic when distance and time
are an issue. Websites such as Saving
Memories Forever and Storyworth
are examples of new online options for helping with saving your oral history.
While I have never used either of these services, there are more options out
there online or with the help of other family members for those desiring to
make the most of the time the storyteller has left. Don’t forget other family
members might even be able to take on this task themselves. Teamwork may be all
that is needed to save this history for future generations.
Baker, Harvey and Jane. Saving
Memories Forever.
http://blog.savingmemoriesforever.com/tag/oral-history/.
2014.
Baum, Nick. Storyworth.
https://www.storyworth.com/. 2014.
Evans, Nicholas. Dying
Words. Singapore: Ho Printing Singapore Pte Ltd, 2010.