Mar 17, 2025 06:00:00

How does 'language extinction' happen, and can it be recovered?

It is believed that there are thousands of languages on Earth, but languages that are only spoken by a small number of people are at risk of extinction. Sociolinguist Erica Brozovsky explains when a language becomes extinct when there are no more speakers, and what can be done to protect languages from extinction.

How Languages Die | Otherwords - YouTube


According to Brozowski, 90 percent of the world's languages have fewer than 100,000 speakers, and some are estimated to have only one surviving speaker.

Languages that have speakers who are learning the language as their native language are called 'living languages.' On the other hand, languages that have no native speakers and are only used as a second language, or are only used as a written language, are called 'dead

languages .' One well-known example of a dead spoken language is Latin, which has no communities that use it as a native language today, but is often used in learning and research, and there are many researchers and teachers who specialize in it.

There are also languages classified as 'dormant languages.' A dormant language is a type of dead spoken language that has no native speakers but functions as a language that symbolizes a particular ethnic identity. One known example of a dormant language is

Eyak , whose last speaker died in 2008, but linguists have worked to pass on the language to future generations, and it has been revived as a living language in the community.

Spoken languages that are dead tend to become extinct or dormant because they have no native speakers, but Hebrew is a known exception. Hebrew has had no native speakers since the 2nd century AD and was only used in Christian ceremonies or literature. However, a large-scale revitalization effort began in the late 1800s, and the language has been so successful that as of 2020, there are more than 5 million native Hebrew speakers and the total number of speakers exceeds 9 million.

'Extinct languages' are languages that have no speakers and no written form remaining. In most cases, even if language fragments remain in the archives, the chances of reviving an extinct language are low.

Brozovski lists four patterns of why languages become extinct in the first place. The first common pattern is the process of the language used within a community changing to another language. The pattern of the language spoken by the parent generation not being passed on to the child generation, and the child acquiring a different language, is a phenomenon that often occurs with the children of immigrants.

In other cases, languages become extinct due to external pressures.

Cunxa, a language spoken in northern Chile, was replaced by Spanish in all areas of language education through government policies. Cunxa speakers were not only encouraged to speak Spanish, but were also punished for speaking Cunxa. In other cases, education shifts to more abundant, dominant languages, as minority languages struggle to maintain the resources to continue teaching activities without institutional support.

In other cases, migration of communities can result in language replacement, leading to the extinction of the language spoken by the original community.

Other ways in which a language may become extinct without being replaced by another language include the sudden death of all native speakers due to natural disasters, infectious diseases, or genocide.

Brozovsky said, 'A global society where people all over the world can speak the same language and communicate sounds great, but the extinction of a language is a big blow.' Research suggests that 3,000 of the world's languages may become extinct by 2100. It is believed that when a language is lost, valuable insights and ideas are lost, from cultural heritage such as songs and literature to knowledge of local ecosystems and geography. In fact, a study conducted by a research team at the University of Zurich showed that knowledge about the benefits of medicinal plants is often linked only to one language, and that knowledge about medicinal plants may disappear with the disappearance of the language.

Researchers point out that the disappearance of indigenous languages will lead to the loss of valuable medical knowledge - GIGAZINE

In addition, according to Brozovski, maintaining and continuing to use indigenous languages is believed to have a positive effect on health. Brozovski emphasized the importance of protecting endangered languages, saying, 'Maintaining and revitalizing languages is key to understanding the rich and diverse human experience on Earth, both historically and culturally.'