Endangered Languages From Around The World

There are nearly seven thousand languages spoken throughout the world today. The majority of these are predicted to be extinct by the end of this century. Half the world's population speaks the top twenty world languages. Mandarin, Spanish and English, in that order, are the top three. Most linguists point to globalization as the main cause for the rapid decline in many languages.

Unfortunately, when a language dies so does much of the knowledge and traditions that were passed on by the people speaking that language. This list was composed of data from the Alliance for Linguistic Diversity.

Irish Gaelic: Despite the fact that the government requires Irish students to learn this language and it currently has an estimated forty thousand native speakers, it is still classified as vulnerable.

Rapa Nui: The mother tongue of Chile's famous Easter Island has less than four thousand native speakers, and is quickly being taken over by Spanish.

Seneca: There are approximately only one hundred people in three reservation communities in Western New York in the United States who speak this Native American language, with the youngest being in his 50s.

Yaw: Most young people living in the Gangaw District of Burma understand but do not speak this critically endangered language that has less than ten thousand native speakers.

Kariyarra: Although there are many people who have a passive understanding of this aboriginal language, there are only two fluent Kariyarra speakers left in Western Australia.

Franco Provençal: There are only about one hundred thirty thousand native speakers of this language, mostly in secluded towns in east-central France, western Switzerland and the Italian Acosta Valley.

Yahgan: This indigenous language of Chile purportedly has only one remaining native speaker. Others are familiar with the language, but it will most likely disappear soon.

Patuá: Derived from Malay, Sinhalese, Cantonese and Portuguese, less than fifty people in Macau, China, speak this language. It is now the object of folkloric interest among those who still speak it.

ENDANGERED LANGUAGES

Right now there are nearly 7,000 languages spoken throughout the world.  Surprisingly, it's predicted that a majority of them will become extinct by the end of this century.

Current population of the world is approximately 7 billion people.  Of those 7,000 languages, half the world's population speaks the top 20 languages with the leaders being Mandarin (China making up an estimated 20% of the world's population), Spanish, and English in that order.  Linguists point to globalization as one of the main reasons for the rapid decline of most languages.

When a language becomes extinct, the world loses more than just the words.  The knowledge and traditions of the people speaking that language are also lost.  Following is a sample list of 8 endangered languages (in no particular order) including information from the Alliance for Linguistic Diversity.

Irish Gaelic:  Even though the government requires Irish students to learn this language and it currently has an estimated 40,000 native speakers, it is still classified as vulnerable.

Rapa Nui:  This is the native tongue of Easter Island (part of Chile even though it's located in the Pacific Ocean approximately 2,000 miles away, similar to Hawaii's proximity to the U.S. mainland).  There are less than 4,000 native speakers.  The language is rapidly being taken over by Spanish.

Seneca:  Approximately 100 people, residents of 3 small native American reservation communities in the U.S., are the only speakers of this language with the youngest speaker being in his 50s.

Yaw:  This language comes from the Gangaw District of Burma (currently known as Myanmar).  Young people living in this area understand but do not speak this critically endangered language.  There are currently less than 10,000 native speakers.

Kariyarra:  While there are many people who have a basic understanding of this aboriginal language, there are only 2 fluent Kariyarra speakers remaining in Western Australia.

Francoprovençal:  Only about 130,000 native speakers of this language exist, primarily in secluded towns in east-central France, western Switzerland, and the Italian Aosta Valley.

Yagan:  This is an indigenous language of Chile.  There is purportedly only 1 remaining native speaker even though others are familiar with the language.

Patuá:  A language derived from Malay, Sinhalese, Cantonese and Portuguese, there are less than 50 native speakers in the Macau, China area.

Hopefully there will be a folkloric history created of these languages and the many other endangered languages before they become extinct and lost to mankind for all time.