List of endangered languages in Central America
Encyclopedia
An endangered language
is a language
that it is at risk of falling out of use, generally because it has few surviving speakers. If it loses all of its native speakers, it becomes an extinct language
.
Central America
(Spanish
: Centroamérica or América Central) is a central geographic
region
of the Americas
. It is variably defined either as the southern portion of North America
, which connects with South America
on the southeast, or as a region of the American continent in its own right.
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Nicaragua
Panama
Endangered language
An 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"....
is a language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
that it is at risk of falling out of use, generally because it has few surviving speakers. If it loses all of its native speakers, it becomes an extinct language
Extinct language
An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers., or that is no longer in current use. Extinct languages are sometimes contrasted with dead languages, which are still known and used in special contexts in written form, but not as ordinary spoken languages for everyday communication...
.
Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
(Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
: Centroamérica or América Central) is a central geographic
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
region
Region
Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...
of the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
. It is variably defined either as the southern portion of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, which connects with South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
on the southeast, or as a region of the American continent in its own right.
Costa RicaCosta RicaCosta Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
| Language | Ethnonym | Speakers | Source | ISO 639-3 | Ethnologue entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boruca language Boruca language The Boruca language is the native language of the Boruca people of Costa Rica. It is one of the Chibchan languages. It is nearly extinct; it was spoken fluently by only five women in 1986, while 30 to 35 others spoke it nonfluently. The rest of the tribe's 1,000 members speak Spanish... |
5 women (1986 SIL)30 to 35 nonfluent speakers 1,000 (1991). | Ethnologue | |||
El SalvadorEl SalvadorEl Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
| Language | Ethnonym | Speakers | Source | ISO 639-3 | Ethnologue entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pipil language Pipil language Pipil is a Uto-Aztecan language descended from Nahuatl which was spoken in several parts of present day Central America before the Spanish conquest. It is on the verge of extinction in western El Salvador and has already gone extinct elsewhere in Central America... |
20 (1987) 196,576 (1987) | Ethnologue | |||
GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
| Language | Ethnonym | Speakers | Source | ISO 639-3 | Ethnologue entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Itza' language Itza' language Itza is one of the Yucatecan branch of the Mayan languages. The other languages in the Yucatecan branch are Yucatec, Lakantun, and Mopan.... |
12 (1986 SIL) 1,800 (2001). | Ethnologue | |||
HondurasHondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
| Language | Ethnonym | Speakers | Source | ISO 639-3 | Ethnologue entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lenca language Lenca language The Lenca language is one of the indigenous Mesoamerican languages. At the time of the Spanish conquest of Central America in the early 16th century, it was spoken by the Lenca people in a region that incorporates northwestern and southwestern Honduras, and neighboring eastern El Salvador, east of... |
Only a few speakers in Honduras | Ethnologue | |||
NicaraguaNicaraguaNicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
| Language | Ethnonym | Speakers | Source | ISO 639-3 | Ethnologue entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rama language Rama language Rama is one of the indigenous languages of the Chibchan family spoken by the Rama people on the island of Rama Cay and south of lake Bluefields on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. Other indigenous languages of this region include Miskito and Sumu . Rama is one of the northernmost languages of the... |
24 (1989 J Holm) 900 (2000 C Grinevald). | Ethnologue | |||
PanamaPanamaPanama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
| Language | Ethnonym | Speakers | Source | ISO 639-3 | Ethnologue entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Miguel Creole French | 3 (1999 SIL). | Ethnologue | |||