Dying and Disappearing Languages

All over the world, hundreds of languages have begun to fade: bringing with them a piece of the rich culture of their people.

Terminology

Vulnerable: most children speak the language, but it may be restricted to certain domains (e.g., home)

Definitely endangered: hildren no longer learn the language as a 'mother tongue' in the home

Severely endangered: language is spoken by grandparents and older generations; whilethe parent generation may understand it, they do not speak it to children or among themselves

Critically endangered: the youngest speakers are grandparents and older, and they speak the language partially and infrequently

Extinct: there are no speakers left

Distribution of Degrees of Endangerment