Around the world, languages are disappearing at an alarming rate. Some linguists estimate that half of the approximately 7,000 languages spoken today will be gone by the end of this century. That means a language dies every two weeks or so. This loss of languages poses serious risks, both to the cultures that speak these endangered languages and to overall human knowledge.
Why are languages becoming extinct?
Languages face extinction for several reasons:
- Political repression – Authoritarian regimes often actively suppress minority languages. For example, Kurdish was banned in Turkey for many decades. Children were prohibited from speaking their mother tongue in schools.
- Economic globalization – Minority language speakers may feel pressured to switch to a dominant language for social mobility. A child might not want to speak their native language if it hurts their education or job prospects.
- Cultural assimilation – Minority groups are often encouraged or forced to integrate with the mainstream society. This leads to a shift away from traditional languages.
- Population decline – A small community of speakers can lose their language if natural disasters, disease, or migration causes the population to drop.
- Lack of intergenerational transmission – Parents may fail to teach their language to children, deeming it unimportant or undesirable compared to a dominant tongue.
These forces all contribute to language endangerment and extinction today. However, extinction is not inevitable. With effort, even languages down to their last few speakers can be revitalized, as discussed below.
What is lost when a language disappears?
Languages are repositories of unique knowledge and cultural worldviews. When a language fades from use, future generations are cut off from this rich heritage. Here is some of what we stand to lose when languages vanish:
- Oral histories and mythologies – Stories passed down across generations often contain histories and mythologies unknown to science.
- Indigenous knowledge – Local and indigenous languages contain vast environmental knowledge, such as medicinal plant uses, subsistence techniques, and animal behavior.
- Identity and worldview – Languages reflect how different cultures interact with and conceptualize the world around them.
- Unique sounds and structures – Languages contain sounds and grammatical features that may not exist in global tongues like English.
- Artistic traditions – Songs, poetry, and oral literature constitute treasured forms of art which rely on endangered languages.
When a language disappears before it is documented, all of the above knowledge could be lost. As linguist K. David Harrison writes, “To lose a language is to lose a culture, intellectual wealth, a work of art.” Just as animal and plant species extinction diminishes global biodiversity, the loss of human languages impoverishes our cultural diversity.
Case Study: Hawai’ian Language Revitalization
Hawai’ian (ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi) is an inspiring example of how a language can “come back from the dead” when given community support.
In the 1800s, the number of native Hawai’ian speakers declined sharply due to repression and disease. By the mid-1900s, there were fewer than 2,000 still able to speak Hawai’ian fluently. But thanks to the efforts of language activists starting in the 1970s, Hawai’ian has undergone a remarkable revitalization.
- Hawai’ian immersion preschools were established, allowing young children to acquire Hawai’ian as a first language.
- Hawai’ian was recognized as an official state language in 1978, giving it prestige and protection under the law.
- College programs were created to train new speakers and teachers.
- A standardized diction was developed for modern media and education.
As a result of these initiatives, the number of speakers rose to over 18,000 by 2013. While still endangered, the outlook for Hawai’ian’s survival is far brighter thanks to determined revitalization work. This provides hope for other imperiled languages as well.
What can be done to preserve endangered languages?
While the forces threatening language diversity are powerful, much can be done to catalog and maintain languages on the brink:
- Academic documentation – Comprehensive dictionaries, grammars, and audio recordings can preserve languages even if they cease being spoken.
- Educational support – Governments and NGOs can fund schools, media, and public signage to encourage daily language use.
- Legal recognition – Official status and equal rights for minority tongues empower their speaker communities.
- Cultural programs – Traditions like oral literature and song should be preserved to maintain fluency.
- Technology innovations – Digital interfaces and social media foster communication in endangered languages, especially among youth.
With support at both the grassroots and institutional levels, languages can survive forces of assimilation and globalization. Everyone has a role to play in promoting and celebrating our human diversity.
Why preserve language diversity?
Some argue that language loss is a natural process, and that funds spent revitalizing small languages would be better used elsewhere. However, there are compelling humanitarian and knowledge-based reasons why language diversity merits protection:
- Cultural identity – Languages are integral to how communities relate to their history, values, and customs.
- Linguistic equity – All cultures deserve the right to preserve and transmit their linguistic heritage.
- Alternative worldviews – Diverse languages offer unique ways of conceptualizing ideas and human experience.
- Cognitive benefits – Multilingualism improves critical thinking skills and cognitive flexibility across a lifetime.
- Scientific insights – Documenting little-known languages provides data to model aspects of human cognition and social dynamics.
Just as biodiversity is necessary for a healthy ecosystem, “linguistic diversity adds richness to the human experience” (UNESCO). When languages fade away, so too does our understanding of the many ways we humans relate to each other and the world around us.
Conclusion
The accelerated pace of language loss in the modern world threatens irreplaceable systems of knowledge. However, public awareness and dedicated revitalization programs offer hope that no language needs to go extinct. With effort by speaker communities themselves and support from governments and academia, diverse tongues from Hawai’ian to Maori can survive and thrive. Languages embody unique cultural identities and alternative modes of thought. Their preservation as humanity’s shared inheritance should be an urgent priority.