The World Is Losing Its Languages

There are more than 7,000 languages in the world. Some, like English and Chinese, have millions of speakers. But many languages have only a few speakers. Often, old people speak the language, but young people do not. When the last speaker dies, the language dies too. The UN says one language disappears about every two weeks. Some people are working hard to save their languages. They teach children and make books and videos.

読み上げ ゆっくり

More than 7,000 languages are spoken in the world today, but many of them are in danger. According to Ethnologue, a well-known guide to the world's languages, roughly 44 percent of all languages are endangered, often with fewer than 1,000 speakers. A language usually becomes endangered when parents stop speaking it to their children. This often happens because another language is more useful for school, work or the internet. When the last speakers die, the language disappears, and so do the stories, songs and knowledge it carried. The United Nations warns that a language disappears about every two weeks. Japan is not an exception. UNESCO lists Ainu, the language of the Indigenous Ainu people of Hokkaido, as critically endangered. However, there is hope. In some places, communities are bringing their languages back through schools, apps and music.

読み上げ ゆっくり

Of the more than 7,000 languages spoken today, a small number dominate. Languages such as English, Mandarin Chinese, Hindi and Spanish each have hundreds of millions of speakers, while thousands of others are spoken by small communities. According to Ethnologue, roughly 44 percent of the world's languages are now endangered, often with fewer than 1,000 users remaining. The United Nations has warned that, on average, a language disappears every two weeks, taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage. Languages rarely vanish overnight. The process usually begins when parents decide that their children will have better opportunities in a more widely spoken language, the one used in schools, government and business. Each generation speaks the old language a little less, until only elderly people remember it. This loss matters for more than sentimental reasons. A language contains a community's history, humor and ways of seeing the world, as well as practical knowledge, such as names for local plants and animals that may not exist in any other language. Japan offers clear examples. UNESCO considers Ainu, the language of the Indigenous Ainu people of Hokkaido, critically endangered, and it also lists several languages of the Ryukyu Islands and the language of Hachijo Island as endangered. Still, decline is not inevitable. Since the 1980s, Hawaiian-language preschools and schools have helped a new generation grow up speaking Hawaiian. Elsewhere, communities record elders, publish dictionaries and create songs, apps and social media content in their languages. Whether these efforts succeed often depends on one simple thing: whether children use the language in their daily lives.

読み上げ ゆっくり