Preserving Diversity: The Fight to Save Endangered Languages

Commentary On Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues in New York (2024) (Ross Perlin)

Abstract

Language serves as a medium for conveying meaning. It is perpetually altered by speakers in every speech at all times. In the contemporary global landscape, multilingual individuals traverse the world and engage in diverse linguistic exchanges. These speakers often possess distinct cultural values, supplemented by various aspects from diverse languages and cultures. In a certain community, a singular standard language is predominantly spoken and is likely extensively taught within the educational system. In addition to the predominant language, a country may possess a limited number of languages that are not taught in schools and lack trained instructors for their instruction. Merely 4% of the global population currently communicates in 96% of the world's languages. A multitude of complete language families is likely to be eradicated. Language transitions are occurring with regularity. A language is deemed endangered when it is in risk of extinction, typically due to a dwindling number of speakers.