List of endangered languages
Encyclopedia
In order to be listed, a language must be classified as "endangered" in an academic source quoted.
SIL Ethnologue (2005) lists 473 out of 6,909 living languages inventorized (6.8%) as "nearly extinct", indicating cases where "only a few elderly speakers are still living".
In order to judge if a language is endangered, the number of speakers is less important than the age distribution; There are languages in Indonesia
reported with as many as two million native speakers alive now, but all of advancing age, with little or no transmission to the young. On the other hand, while there are 30,000 Ladin speakers left, almost all children still learn it as their mother tongue, thus Ladin is not endangered in the 21st century. Similarly, the Hawaiian language
has only about 1,000 speakers but it has stabilized at this number, and now has school instruction in the language, from Pūnana Leo
Hawaiian immersion preschool classes and Ke Kula Kaiāpuni Hawaiʻi, Hawaiian immersion schools kindergarten through the 12th grade. Much inspiration comes from Kōhanga Reo
(Māori immersion preschools), Kura Kaupapa Māori
(immersion primary and secondary schools), and Te Whare Wananga (immersion tertiary institutions or immersion universities).
While there are somewhere around six or seven thousand languages on Earth today, about half of them have fewer than about 3,000 speakers. Experts predict that even in a conservative scenario, about half of today's languages will go extinct within the next fifty to one hundred years. Accordingly, the list above presents only a sample of the approximately 3,000 currently endangered languages.
SIL Ethnologue (2005) lists 473 out of 6,909 living languages inventorized (6.8%) as "nearly extinct", indicating cases where "only a few elderly speakers are still living".
- 182 American languages
- 152 Pacific languages
- 84 Asian languages
- 46 African languages
- 9 European languages
In order to judge if a language is endangered, the number of speakers is less important than the age distribution; There are languages in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
reported with as many as two million native speakers alive now, but all of advancing age, with little or no transmission to the young. On the other hand, while there are 30,000 Ladin speakers left, almost all children still learn it as their mother tongue, thus Ladin is not endangered in the 21st century. Similarly, the Hawaiian language
Hawaiian language
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
has only about 1,000 speakers but it has stabilized at this number, and now has school instruction in the language, from Pūnana Leo
Punana Leo
Pūnana Leo are private, non-profit preschools run by families, in which the Hawaiian language is the language of instruction and administration. Initially opened illegally, the first Pūnana Leo opened in 1984 in Kekaha, Kaua'i...
Hawaiian immersion preschool classes and Ke Kula Kaiāpuni Hawaiʻi, Hawaiian immersion schools kindergarten through the 12th grade. Much inspiration comes from Kōhanga Reo
Kohanga reo
The Māori language revival is a movement to promote, reinforce and strengthen the speaking of the Māori language. Primarily in New Zealand, but also in centres with large numbers of New Zealand migrants , the movement aims to increase the use of Māori in the home, in education, government and...
(Māori immersion preschools), Kura Kaupapa Māori
Kura Kaupapa Maori
Kura Kaupapa Māori are Māori-language immersion schools where the philosophy and practice reflect Māori cultural values with the aim of revitalising Māori language, knowledge and culture...
(immersion primary and secondary schools), and Te Whare Wananga (immersion tertiary institutions or immersion universities).
While there are somewhere around six or seven thousand languages on Earth today, about half of them have fewer than about 3,000 speakers. Experts predict that even in a conservative scenario, about half of today's languages will go extinct within the next fifty to one hundred years. Accordingly, the list above presents only a sample of the approximately 3,000 currently endangered languages.
See also
- Endangered languageEndangered languageAn endangered language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use. If it loses all its native speakers, it becomes a dead language. If eventually no one speaks the language at all it becomes an "extinct language"....
- Language families and languages
- Language policyLanguage policyMany countries have a language policy designed to favour or discourage the use of a particular language or set of languages. Although nations historically have used language policies most often to promote one official language at the expense of others, many countries now have policies designed to...
- List of extinct languages
- List of last known speakers of languages
- List of revived languages
- The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian EmpireThe Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian EmpireThe Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire is a book about the small nations of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and the Russia and some other post-Soviet states of today...
External links
- Onkwehonwe.com Learning Labs
- List of more than 500 nearly extinct languages in SILSIL InternationalSIL International is a U.S.-based, worldwide, Christian non-profit organization, whose main purpose is to study, develop and document languages, especially those that are lesser-known, in order to expand linguistic knowledge, promote literacy, translate the Christian Bible into local languages,...
's Ethnologue Report (print version 2005: ISBN 1-55671-159-X). - UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
- National Geographic - Enduring Voices