Endangered languages
siddlobo
17 March, 2009 17:21
Only one native speaker of Livonian remains on Earth, in Latvia. The Alaskan language Eyak went extinct last year when its last surviving speaker passed away. Manx in the Isle of Man and Ubykh in Turkey have joined the list of extinct languages. Last week, we discussed the world’s most popular languages; this week let’s take a look at the other end of the spectrum - languages that run the risk of extinction.
So firstly, how does a language qualify to be considered endangered?
In most general terms, it means that parents are no longer teaching the language to their children and are not using it actively in everyday matters. (More)
World’s most spoken languages
siddlobo
05 March, 2009 15:42
Gone are the days when people spoke just one language. In case you’re
planning to add a new language to your skill set, it may as well be one
that you can use with a whole bunch of people. Check the list below for
10 of the most spoken languages in the world*.
1. Mandarin
With an estimated 1.2 billion
people speaking it, it’s hardly surprising that this is the world’s
most spoken native language. Belonging to the Sino-Tibetan and Chinese
family of languages, Mandarin is not an easy language to learn. There
are four tones to every syllable and a beginner is bound to get them
mixed up. But hey, look on the bright side, if over a billion people
can do it, so can you.
2. English
With over 500 million speakers of
the language, English is the lingua franca used in much of the world
today. Its speakers hail from all around the world, including New
Zealand, the U.S., Australia, England, Zimbabwe, the Caribbean, Hong
Kong, South Africa, and Canada. If you’re reading this article, you
probably don’t need much more information on the language. (More)
