Endangered Languages

The United Nations defines an endangered language as one that children are no longer learning, and its remaining speakers use it less frequently. In order to judge if a language is endangered, the number of speakers is less important than their age distribution. The U.N. considers 2,346 languages to face various levels of endangerment (Figure 5-40):

• 592 vulnerable languages.

• 640 definitely endangered languages are no longer taught to children as their principal language at home.

• 537 severely endangered languages are spoken by older generations, but parents do not speak them with their children or among themselves.

• 577 critically endangered languages are spoken only by older people, and only infrequently.

Levels of Endangered Languages

thnologue has a slightly different total of 2,447 endangered languages. Ethnologue classifies 916 of the 2,447 endangered languages as dying because the childbearing generation is not capable of teaching the language to their children, and the only remaining fluent speakers are older people.

Another 1,531 of the endangered languages are considered to be in trouble because parents who are fluent in the language are no longer teaching it to their children.

Regardless of the precise count and method of definition, by any measure, a large percentage of the world’s languages are endangered. Because parents are no longer able to teach them to children, these languages will survive only through concerted community efforts.

The world regions with the largest numbers of dying languages are the South Pacific, Latin America, and North America. The South Pacific and North America are regions dominated by only one widely used institutional language (English), and Latin America has only two widely used institutional languages (Spanish and Portuguese).

Languages in Trouble and Dying

Pause & Reflect 5.4.1

Asia has 60 percent of the world’s population but only 20 percent of the world’s dying languages. Why might Asia’s large population centers have relatively few dying languages?.

Endangered Languages in the South Pacific

English is the most widely used language in Australia and New Zealand as a result of British colonization during the early nineteenth century. Settlers in Australia and New Zealand established and maintained outposts of British culture, including use of the English language.

Though English remains the dominant language of Australia and New Zealand, the languages that predate British settlement survive in both countries. The two countries have adopted different policies with regard to preserving indigenous languages.

Australia

In Australia, 1 percent of the population is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. Many elements of their cultures are now being preserved, but education is oriented toward teaching English rather than maintaining local languages. English is the language of instruction throughout Australia, and others are relegated to the status of second language. As a result, Australia has 211 living indigenous languages in addition to English, but each of them has fewer than 10,000 speakers.

An essential element in maintaining British culture was restriction of immigration from non-English-speaking places during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Fear of immigration was especially strong in Australia because of its proximity to Asian countries. Under a “White Australia” policy, every prospective immigrant was required to write 50 words of a European language dictated by an immigration officer. The dictation test was not eliminated until 1957. The Australian government now merely requires that immigrants learn English.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, 14 percent of the population is Maori, descendants of Polynesian people who migrated there around 700 years ago. In contrast with Australia, New Zealand has adopted policies to preserve the Maori language. Most notably, Maori is one of New Zealand’s three official languages, along with English and sign language. A Maori Language Commission was established to preserve the language. Despite official policies, only 4 percent of New Zealanders are fluent in Maori, and most of them are over age 50. Preserving the language requires skilled teachers and the willingness to endure inconvenience compared to using the world’s lingua franca, English. Consequently, despite its official status, Maori is classified by Ethnologue as a threatened language.

Maori Language Week

Maoris participate in a parade in Wellington, New Zealand, to celebrate their language. The sign says “To keep the Maori voice alive.”

Although promoting language diversity through protecting Maori, New Zealand has imposed a language requirement for immigrants that is more stringent than the one in Australia. In most circumstances, immigrants must already be fluent in English, although free English lessons are available to immigrants for the exceptions.