When a language dies, we lose cultures, entire civilizations, but also, we lose people. We lose perspectives, ideas, opinions, most importantly, we lose a unique way of being human.
Language death is a process in which the level of a speech community's linguistic competence in their language variety decreases, eventually resulting in no native or fluent speakers of the variety. Language death can affect any language form, including dialects.
DOES it matter if a language dies out? The orthodox answer is that it does, because every language is a repository of ideas and culture and embodies a unique way of looking at the world. The planet only has about 7000 languages; the extinction of even one diminishes the sum total of human knowledge.
Language is closely tied to culture. That means the death of a language hurts people's ability to take part in cultural traditions. They might lose access to stories and knowledge that were passed down for many years. This is one reason why many people today are working to save dying languages.
A dead language is a language which has no native speakers alive in the world, the most commonly given example being Latin. An extinct language, however, not only has no native speakers, but in fact has no speakers at all or is no longer in use.
1. English (1,452 million speakers) According to Ethnologue, English is the most-spoken language in the world including native and non-native speakers.
An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers, especially if the language has no living descendants.
Written and spoken words are an art form, a way for values and traditions to be passed down for generations. When a language is lost, part of that culture is lost. By the same measure, when language is preserved, the traditions and customs continue living in the hearts and minds of those who understand it.
The revitalisation of indigenous languages is essential for ensuring the continuation and transmission of culture, customs and history, but it is also important to address biodiversity loss and climate change.
It is crucial to understand that languages represent cultures. This reiterates the need to protect endangered languages. Without its language, a culture can die out quickly and become lost to time. Above all, preserving languages is as critical as preserving diverse wildlife to maintain a balanced ecosystem.
There has only been one successful instance of a complete language revival, the Hebrew language, creating a new generation of native speakers without any pre-existing native speakers as a model. Languages targeted for language revitalization include those whose use and prominence is severely limited.
Currently, there are 573 known extinct languages. These are languages that are no longer spoken or studied. Many were local dialects with no records of their alphabet or wording, and so are forever lost. Others were major languages of their time, but society and changing cultures left them behind.
One language dies every 14 days. By the next century nearly half of the roughly 7,000 languages spoken on Earth will likely disappear, as communities abandon native tongues in favor of English, Mandarin, or Spanish.
Learning an endangered language in addition to a more common language can help you connect with more specific demographics and improve your understanding of the diverse cultures of a region.
Naturally, one of the biggest benefits of the preservation of endangered languages is the impact it has on the understanding of how languages grow and develop. Since communication is a fundamental part of human interaction, the study of indigenous languages offers limitless insight into humanity itself.
When an individual speaks at least two languages, the culture, language and cognition interchange among each other within the shared mind, thus promoting a healthy brain. Bilingualism is an effective aspect of life as it allows for a healthy brain as well as an open door for more job opportunities.
Therefore, while growing up without hearing poses many difficulties in life, growing up without language is significantly worse. Language is so central to being human that lacking it can mean a lifetime of social deprivation and isolation.
Njerep is the rarest language that has been declared extinct by experts. It is native to Cameroon and does not have more than five speakers today. These speakers are not fluent in the tongue.
Ancient languages: the oldest dead languages on Earth
The archaeological proof we have today allows us to state that the oldest dead language in the world is the Sumerian language. Dating back to at least 3500 BC, the oldest proof of written Sumerian was found in today's Iraq on an artifact known as the Kish Tablet.
7000 Languages is a non-profit that helps Indigenous communities around the world teach, learn and sustain their languages through technology. We create free online language-learning courses in partnership with Indigenous, minority, and refugee communities so they can keep their languages alive.
According to a UNESCO survey, Bengali has been classified as the sweetest language in the world. As a language, Bengali is widely spoken all over India, including Assam and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The sweetest language in the world is also recognized in the Constitution of India.
Across multiple sources, Mandarin Chinese is the number one language listed as the most challenging to learn. The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center puts Mandarin in Category IV, which is the list of the most difficult languages to learn for English speakers.
250 First Languages were spoken around Australia at the time of British invasion. There were many dialects within each language group. Today, only 120 First Languages are still spoken.
90% of languages will become extinct because of migration, linguist claims. Sci-fi visions of the future may focus on soaring skylines and flying cars, but the world in 100 years may not only look different, but sound different too.