The Progress of the Prosperous One of the two principal strategies on which a language can attempt to survive, the Farmer's Strategy is one that while holding little glory, has proven its success in establishing a strong language. The Farmer's Strategy is when a language survives and thrives through the slow growth of its economy and population around a specific base, be it the Nile River of Egypt or the Yellow River of China, and it spreads its language through the simple growth of its population through natural means. The Farmer's Strategy is the one most often taken by languages which can be found originating in very fertile and lush areas, as it usually can only be used by a language when that language is not in conflict with its neighbors over resources. This abundance breeds peace, which often leads to a unified culture and identity. All this makes for a strong culture, centered around a large population base, in a fertile land, leading to a language that is very difficult to entirely destroy, as its roots run deep. The success of this strategy can be seen in the best example of it, Chinese, which is both the largest language spoken today and nearly the epitome of a language which takes the farmer's way.
|