Most Endangered Languages Found in Remote and Isolated Regions Worldwide

February 21 Marks World Mother Language Day

A global initiative is being observed today to raise awareness about the importance of linguistic diversity. According to recent data, over 7,000 languages are spoken worldwide, with approximately 3,000 of them classified as endangered.

The most widely spoken language is English, with around 1.5 billion speakers in 186 countries. The majority of English speakers (80%) use it as a second or third language, while only about 20% speak it as their native tongue.

Mandarin Chinese is the second most spoken language, with almost 1.2 billion speakers. However, when accounting for native speakers, Mandarin Chinese ranks as the largest language in terms of population due to China’s large population.

Other languages with significant speaker numbers include Hindi (609 million), Spanish (559 million), and Standard Arabic (335 million).

The World’s Writing Systems database lists 293 known scripts, with over 156 still in use today. In contrast, more than 137 historical scripts are no longer used, including Egyptian Hieroglyphs and Aztec pictograms.

The Latin script is used to write English, French, Spanish, German, and many other languages, and it is the most widely used script globally, with over 70% of the world’s population using it.

According to Ethnologue, a database that catalogues languages, 3,193 languages (44%) are classified as endangered, while 3,479 (49%) are stable. The remaining 487 languages (7%) are institutional, meaning they are used by governments, schools, and the media.

The classification of languages as endangered is based on the fact that users begin to pass on a more dominant language to their children in the community. Some languages are used as second languages.

Ethnologue also reports that 337 languages are considered dormant, while 454 are extinct. Dormant languages still have social uses and are part of an ethnic community’s identity, whereas extinct languages have no speakers or social uses.

Some countries with high concentrations of endangered languages include Australia, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Examples of endangered languages include Yugambeh in Australia, Ainu in Japan, Ongota in Ethiopia, Louisiana Creole in the United States, and Leco in Bolivia.

The World Mother Language Day initiative aims to promote linguistic diversity and raise awareness about the importance of preserving endangered languages.

Source: Al Jazeera