According to a recent study, half of the 7,139 languages currently spoken worldwide are threatened with extinction. Projections indicate that by the end of this century, 1,500 of these languages may no longer be in use.
The threat to global language diversity is highlighted in a study published in the journal Nature, Ecology and Evolution. According to estimates, one language is currently dying out every three months. Without action, the rate of language loss could triple in the next 40 years, with one language disappearing every month.
Languages Are More Than Words
Of the approximately 7,000 languages currently spoken worldwide, 52% are spoken by fewer than 10,000 people, 28% by fewer than 1,000 and at least 10% by fewer than 100 people. In the age of global communication, the chances of these 6,300 languages surviving in most parts of the world are slim. By the year 2100, more than half of these languages will have disappeared. According to pessimistic estimates, as many as 90% of languages are threatened with extinction. Even language communities with 20,000 or 50,000 members are often severely endangered.
When it comes to evaluating a language as endangered, the age distribution of speakers is more important than the number of speakers. In Indonesia, there are languages that currently have up to two million native speakers. These native speakers however are primarily older people who have hardly passed on their language to the younger generation, if at all. A contrasting example can be seen with the Ladin language. Although only 30,000 people speak Ladin, this language is currently not endangered because almost all of the children learn the language as their mother tongue. The Hawaiian language provides another illustration. Thanks to Hawaiian being taught throughout the entire public school system, the language has stabilized and is not endangered, even with only 1,000 speakers.
Our generation is experiencing a dramatic impoverishment of cultural heritage. With every language that dies out, a culture and a particular way of understanding the world and responding linguistically to the challenges of community and environment disappears. At inlingua International, we recognize the intrinsic value of each language as a vital component of cultural heritage. As an experienced provider of high-quality global language services with a strong network of licensees, we aim to advance unlimited communication and foster connections between diverse communities. By offering language learning opportunities across the globe, we not only support language acquisition but also contribute to the preservation of cultural identity and mutual understanding among communities.
Linguists Concern
Language endangerment is a serious problem. The culture, values, thinking, and worldview of a community are shaped by the language spoken at home during childhood. When a language disappears, a significant part of humanity’s intangible heritage is lost, which almost always leads to social and cultural upheaval.
As expressed by Professor Lindell Bromham, an evolutionary biologist at the Australian National University, “When a language is lost or is ‘sleeping’ as we say for languages that are no longer spoken, we lose so much of our human cultural diversity”.
Concern about endangered languages focuses on the reasons why speakers abandon their language and the social and psychological consequences of language loss for the community. Linguists are particularly concerned about the impact on the communities affected. Not only is linguistic diversity being lost, but also valuable knowledge about language and communication as a human phenomenon.
Getting to the Bottom of the Causes
Studies by the Australian National University (ANU) show a correlation between formal education and language endangerment. Consider when there is an emphasis on teaching and testing in the dominant national language over indigenous languages. An indigenous mother tongue can be displaced by another language and die out even though it was still spoken in childhood.
Since education often focuses on the dominant language, parents may stop using the mother tongue at home to help their children succeed in school. By not using the mother tongue anymore, the transmission of the inherited language from the older generations to the younger ones is reduced or stopped. The conclusion is that fewer and fewer people will continue to use their first or main language and, as a result, the language may no longer be spoken at all.
The density of roads is also a threat to endangered languages in certain regions. Although interaction with other languages aids in preserving indigenous ones, exposure to global influences might not have the same effect. According to Professor Lindell Bronham, co-author of the study, “We found that the more roads there are, connecting country to city, and villages to towns, the higher the risk of languages being endangered. It’s as if roads are helping dominant languages ‘steam roll’ over other smaller languages.”
A growing awareness of the importance of cultural diversity can be observed in many regions of the world. Unfortunately, these countries, and especially the small language communities, lack the necessary means to promote their languages. With many languages spoken by small groups of people, there is not even a rudimentary description of the grammar available to create teaching materials. Linguistics is currently primarily concerned with documenting endangered languages and promoting the continued existence of linguistic and cultural diversity – where human society also has an important role to play.
Saving the Indigenous Languages
A study from 2013 addressed the idea that the digital world is said to be displacing indigenous dialects at the expense of major languages. Today, it is precisely this technologically networked world that could save endangered languages. Specialized apps help with learning endangered languages online, while also promoting language preservation. Ma! Iwaidja, for example, is an app that allows those working with speakers of the indigenous Australian language Iwaidja to record words, phrases and translations.
The Rosetta Project aims to create a freely accessible digital library of human languages. With a collection of around 100,000 pages of documents and records in more than 2,500 languages, they want to draw attention to the “drastic and accelerating loss of languages in the world” and potentially save many endangered and dormant languages.
With the International Decade for Indigenous Languages, UNESCO is launching an initiative to focus on the issue of language loss worldwide. Building on the International Year of Indigenous Languages 2019, a global network is being created that is committed to the protection and preservation of indigenous languages and rights.
Key Elements that Sustain Language Vitality in Communities
Key factors for language vitality include actively speaking the language within homes and communities for communication needs, and a full oral transmission to all children. Additionally, speakers need to recognize the advantages—whether economic, social, religious, or cultural—of using their language orally, while government policies affirm its spoken use. Finally, the shared norms held by community members regarding when to use their local language in contrast to when a more dominant language should be utilized.