What is an endangered language?
The Definition
While there are many opinions to what an endangered language technically is defined by, the most common definition is, "a language that is at risk of falling out of use as its speakers die out or shift to speaking another language." Basically, if enough native speakers of a language die or start speaking a different, more modern language, that language is at risk of "dying out" or becoming extinct.
What is the difference between an extinct language and a dead language?
An extinct language, however, is not to be confused with a dead language. An extinct language is a language that no living person can read, speak, or write. Basically, it is lost to us. A dead language is just a language that is not the official language of any country, state, or province. Many languages are mistaken for extinct when they are actually dead. This can cause confusion, especially because the definitions for these terms are fairly fluid, and one linguist might have a different opinion on the difference between "dead" and "extinct" than another.
For example, Latin is considered a "dead language," yet it is the official language of the Catholic church and is spoken fluently throughout Vatican City. Many prayers, sermons, and religious ceremonies unique to the Catholic religion are performed only in Latin, and more than 100 people speak it fluently. Many more than that are learning it or can read and write it. Simply because there is more than one person who can speak Latin makes it dead instead of extinct. Latin is still used a lot today and will probably never be forgotten because of the influence it has on the creation of other languages such as English, Spanish, and French. Latin still exists in many conversations today and should not be forgotten.
Endangered Languages in Numbers
It is estimated that by the beginning of the next century, half of the 7,000 known languages on Earth today will have disappeared. This number is incredibly alarming. 3,500 languages, cultures, and future history books will have died off with their speakers. This number, however, doesn't include the languages that linguists have never discovered, such as the languages of the tribes that live in the most remote parts of the Amazon rain forest or the scorching Australian Outback. There are many languages that have yet to be discovered, and there are many that will die off before getting a chance to show themselves. Every 2 and 1/2 weeks, another language dies. That leaves very little time for the location and collection of these scarce languages.
While there are many opinions to what an endangered language technically is defined by, the most common definition is, "a language that is at risk of falling out of use as its speakers die out or shift to speaking another language." Basically, if enough native speakers of a language die or start speaking a different, more modern language, that language is at risk of "dying out" or becoming extinct.
What is the difference between an extinct language and a dead language?
An extinct language, however, is not to be confused with a dead language. An extinct language is a language that no living person can read, speak, or write. Basically, it is lost to us. A dead language is just a language that is not the official language of any country, state, or province. Many languages are mistaken for extinct when they are actually dead. This can cause confusion, especially because the definitions for these terms are fairly fluid, and one linguist might have a different opinion on the difference between "dead" and "extinct" than another.
For example, Latin is considered a "dead language," yet it is the official language of the Catholic church and is spoken fluently throughout Vatican City. Many prayers, sermons, and religious ceremonies unique to the Catholic religion are performed only in Latin, and more than 100 people speak it fluently. Many more than that are learning it or can read and write it. Simply because there is more than one person who can speak Latin makes it dead instead of extinct. Latin is still used a lot today and will probably never be forgotten because of the influence it has on the creation of other languages such as English, Spanish, and French. Latin still exists in many conversations today and should not be forgotten.
Endangered Languages in Numbers
It is estimated that by the beginning of the next century, half of the 7,000 known languages on Earth today will have disappeared. This number is incredibly alarming. 3,500 languages, cultures, and future history books will have died off with their speakers. This number, however, doesn't include the languages that linguists have never discovered, such as the languages of the tribes that live in the most remote parts of the Amazon rain forest or the scorching Australian Outback. There are many languages that have yet to be discovered, and there are many that will die off before getting a chance to show themselves. Every 2 and 1/2 weeks, another language dies. That leaves very little time for the location and collection of these scarce languages.
Locations of Endangered Languages
The map above shows all of the recorded endangered languages in the world. The dots represent where each endangered language is mainly spoken. There are the most endangered languages in places like Australia, Papua New Guinea, and South America. In Australia and Papua New Guinea, there were many, many different languages there to begin with, making trade and tribe integration difficult. This is one reason that so many languages are being abandoned there. Another reason is because there were never many speakers of those languages to being with. Many of the Aboriginals in Australia made up their own languages, so those languages only started out with twenty or so people, making them technically "endangered" to start with. In South America, many of the natives learned Portuguese and Spanish because of modernization. Most of the cultures with their own languages in South America wanted to advance and become more modern with the rest of the world, and part of doing that was starting to speak a more popular language so that they could communicate easily. This is actually the main reason many languages are being left behind for newer ones. Nobody wants to be left behind in this time of rapid economic and technological growth that the world is experiencing now. Language and culture is the sacrifice left behind to become part of this growing world.
The map above shows all of the recorded endangered languages in the world. The dots represent where each endangered language is mainly spoken. There are the most endangered languages in places like Australia, Papua New Guinea, and South America. In Australia and Papua New Guinea, there were many, many different languages there to begin with, making trade and tribe integration difficult. This is one reason that so many languages are being abandoned there. Another reason is because there were never many speakers of those languages to being with. Many of the Aboriginals in Australia made up their own languages, so those languages only started out with twenty or so people, making them technically "endangered" to start with. In South America, many of the natives learned Portuguese and Spanish because of modernization. Most of the cultures with their own languages in South America wanted to advance and become more modern with the rest of the world, and part of doing that was starting to speak a more popular language so that they could communicate easily. This is actually the main reason many languages are being left behind for newer ones. Nobody wants to be left behind in this time of rapid economic and technological growth that the world is experiencing now. Language and culture is the sacrifice left behind to become part of this growing world.
The Future of the World's Languages
After the year 2100, where there is expected to only be 3,500 languages, the number languages will be unpredictable. There are many predictions as to where the course of our world's languages will go. In my own opinion, from what I've researched, the world will be divided into only a few extremely populous languages. All other small languages will die out, unfortunately, and the large languages will rule. According to a study by Ethnologue, a linguistics organization, Chinese, Spanish, English, and Hindi, in that order from most to least populous, are the most spoken languages in the world, all with over 260,000,000 speakers. Arabic, Portuguese, Bengali, Russian, and Japanese follow, all with over 125,000,000 speakers. Mandarin Chinese tops the list by far with almost 2,000,000,000 speakers, which is a little bit under 5 times as many speakers as Spanish, which comes in at number two on the list. All of these nine languages have the numbers to become one of the last remaining languages. In my opinion, it will come down to Chinese, Spanish, Hindi, and Arabic. These four languages are steadily growing by the day and all have the potential to take over the smaller languages. I'll bet you noticed one language missing from that list: English!
Click the button below for more information.
After the year 2100, where there is expected to only be 3,500 languages, the number languages will be unpredictable. There are many predictions as to where the course of our world's languages will go. In my own opinion, from what I've researched, the world will be divided into only a few extremely populous languages. All other small languages will die out, unfortunately, and the large languages will rule. According to a study by Ethnologue, a linguistics organization, Chinese, Spanish, English, and Hindi, in that order from most to least populous, are the most spoken languages in the world, all with over 260,000,000 speakers. Arabic, Portuguese, Bengali, Russian, and Japanese follow, all with over 125,000,000 speakers. Mandarin Chinese tops the list by far with almost 2,000,000,000 speakers, which is a little bit under 5 times as many speakers as Spanish, which comes in at number two on the list. All of these nine languages have the numbers to become one of the last remaining languages. In my opinion, it will come down to Chinese, Spanish, Hindi, and Arabic. These four languages are steadily growing by the day and all have the potential to take over the smaller languages. I'll bet you noticed one language missing from that list: English!
Click the button below for more information.