Linguists estimate that one language dies every four months, and half of the world’s languages could disappear by the year 2100.
About 80% of the world’s population currently speaks only 1% of the languages on Earth. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) estimates that over 40% of the world’s languages are at risk of disappearing, US News reported on May 23.
Areas where languages are about to be wiped out of the world. (Graphic: US News).
It is estimated that there are 20 “language hotspots” in the world today, areas where languages are at risk of disappearing. Central South America near Peru and Bolivia, the western edge of Canada, northern Australia and Siberia are areas where languages are in the critically endangered group.
“With every language that dies, we lose a huge cultural legacy, the way people relate to the world, scientific knowledge, medicine, botany, most importantly, how communities express themselves.” achieves humour, love, and life,” declared the Endangered Languages Project. ” In short, we have lost the evidence of centuries of life.”
The world has about 6,000 spoken languages. Most endangered languages have less than 10,000 speakers. The Smithsonian Research Institute, USA has archived songs and sounds of endangered languages. Each recording demonstrates how humans describe and communicate with their surroundings.