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.
There are many reasons that contribute to languages dying out. Key amongst them is a small number of speakers of the language to begin with. This coupled with influences like the use of other languages regularly in various cultural settings, feelings of ethnic identity towards another group, the ever increasing migration from rural areas to bigger cities, different language(s) used in education, as well as economic intrusion and exploitation may easily push a language to extinction.
According to a recent survey conducted by UNESCO, of the 6,900 languages spoken in the world, some 2,500 are endangered. And these aren’t just languages spoken in remote parts of the world.
India for example, tops the list of countries with the greatest number of endangered languages, 196 in all, followed by the United States which stands to lose 192 and Indonesia, where 147 are in peril. Sub-Saharan Africa which is home to some 2,000 languages is also expected to shrink by at least 10 percent over the coming century.
On UNESCO's rating scale, 538 languages are critically endangered, 502 severely endangered, 632 definitely endangered and 607 unsafe. The atlas says 200 languages have become extinct in the last three generations, and another 199 languages have fewer than 10 speakers left.
But the news is not all dire. Papua New Guinea, the country of 800 languages, the most diverse in the world, has only 88 endangered dialects. Certain languages are even showing signs of a revival, like Cornish, a Celtic language spoken in Cornwall, southern England, and Sishee in New Caledonia. Governments in Peru, New Zealand, Canada, the United States and Mexico have been successful in their efforts to prevent indigenous languages from dying out.
While government support can help, the most important step in keeping languages alive and healthy is to ensure that the people are proud to speak their language.
Related reading and sources:
http://www.sil.org/sociolx/ndg-lg-home.html
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090219/ap_on_re_eu/...
Sidd lobo
Freelance writer
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.
3. Spanish
With an estimate of over 322 million native speakers, Spanish is the
third most spoken language in the world. One to learn if you’re headed
to any South American country.
4. Hindi
This is the official language of India. With 313 million native
speakers of standard Hindi, most of them in the South Asian region,
this is a language to consider picking up, especially if you want to
watch a Bollywood movie! Another advantage is that if you learn Hindi,
you can understand a whole bunch of related dialects.
5. Arabic
Of Afro-Asiatic and Semitic origin, this is the native language spoken
by an estimated 206 million people. It is also one of the six official
languages of the United Nations. One of the world’s oldest languages,
it is spoken in the Middle East, with speakers found in countries such
as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt.
Furthermore, because Arabic is the language of the Koran, millions of
Muslims in other countries speak Arabic as well.
6. Portugese
With around 177 million native speakers, this language is spoken far
beyond its shores. Thanks to this country’s famous explorers like Vasco
da Gama, the language established itself all over the world, especially
in Brazil (where it’s the national language), Macau, Angola, Venezuela,
and Mozambique.
7. Bengali
The national language of Bangladesh is the seventh most spoken language
in the world. With Bangladeshi workers migrating around the world in
search of jobs, it’s hardly surprising to note that Bengali is spoken
in many countries that use immigrant labour.
8. Russian
Given that it’s the largest country, it’s no surprise that the national
language has made it to the top 10 list. Russian is also one of the six
official UN languages and is spoken beyond its borders in countries
like Belarus and Kazakhstan to name a few.
9. Japanese
With roughly 130 million native speakers, Japanese makes it as the
ninth most spoken language in the world. The Japanese language is
written with a combination of three different types of scripts and its
vocabulary borrows heavily from Chinese and other Indo-European
languages, primarily English.
10. German
Of Indo-European and Germanic origin, German is spoken by an estimated
100 million native speakers. Swiss German and Austrian German are
popular dialects spoken in its neighbouring countries.
French
Often called the most romantic language in the world, French is spoken
in a number of countries, including Belgium, Canada, Rwanda, Cameroon,
and Haiti. It’s also the official language of 29 countries. Although
ranked 12 by the Ethnologue estimates (with 78 millions), it can extend
to hundreds of millions of speakers with 113 million "native and real speakers",
250 million second language (worldwide including Africa and North
Africa) and up to 500 million total with significant knowledge of the
language (2008 ).
For a more detailed look at other popular languages spoken globally, click on the source of this article.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers
*Remember the estimates of people speaking the language vary
according to different surveys. This article is intended to provide you
with an overall idea of the popularity of languages.
Sidd Lobo
Freelance copywriter based out of Munich