by --Rodger Doyle

The vanishing of languages, like those of living species, is an event that has been repeated many times in history. Localized disasters such as a volcano eruptions, great floods or warfare have played a part, but in the modern era the spread of Europeans--and European diseases--has greatly accelerated the pace of destruction. Local or regional language communities may be overpowered by a dominant metropolitan language, which increases the pressure to neglect the ancestral tongue in favor of the new one and is seen as the key to prospering in the dominant culture. Children may be forbidden to use their mother tongue in the classroom, as has occurred to many groups, including the Welsh, Native Americans and Aboriginal Australians. Speakers of minority languages have been forcibly relocated
and combined with speakers of other languages, as happened when Africans were brought to the Americas as slaves. Practices such as these have made Native American languages the most imperiled of any on the earth.

The death of a language is not only a tragedy for those directly involved but also an irretrievable cultural loss for the rest of the world. Through language, each culture expresses a unique worldview. Thus, any effort to preserve linguistic variety implies a deep respect for the positive values of other cultures. For these reasons, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has officially taken an interest in the preservation of endangered languages and in 1996 published the Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger of Disappearing.

In addition to languages known to have become extinct during the past 400 years, the map shows two categories of imperilment: endangered, meaning those in which a majority of children no longer learn the language and in which the youngest speakers are mostly approaching middle age; and moribund, referring to languages spoken only by the elderly. The map is by no means complete: it is impractical to study all endangered languages, particularly those in remote areas. But the point is that every region, including Europe itself, is prone to language disappearance. Languages such as Manx and Norn (once spoken in the Shetland Islands) have succumbed to English, whereas in France, Breton and Provencal are seriously endangered.

To save the world's language heritage, linguists are following a twofold approach: for moribund languages, they attempt to preserve vocabulary, grammar, sounds and traditions so that scholars and descendants of the
speakers can acquire a knowledge of the language. Many linguists--such as Stephen A. Wurm of Australia National University, the editor of the UNESCO atlas--believe moribund languages should be given priority because they are in imminent danger of disappearing.

In the case of endangered languages, linguists can give advice on language maintenance and teach the language to young people. According to one estimate, 50 to 60 percent of languages now spoken--about 3,000--are threatened with extinction. About half these have been adequately studied, and several hundred additional languages may be analyzed over the next decade. Given the low cost of doing a solid study of an imperiled language--often well under $100,000--the worldwide effort to preserve languages would seem to be a cost-effective cultural investment.