Endangered languages

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.

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