Where are the most endangered languages in the world? | Arts and Culture News
More Than 3,000 Languages Face Endangerment Globally
As of today, over 7,000 languages are spoken worldwide, with approximately 3,000 classified as endangered, according to the language catalog Ethnologue. This represents around 40 percent of all spoken languages.
English remains the most widely used language, boasting about 1.5 billion speakers across 186 countries. Roughly 20 percent of these speakers are native, while the majority—about 80 percent—speak English as a second or additional language.
Following English, Mandarin Chinese holds the position of the second most spoken language, with nearly 1.2 billion speakers. When considering native speakers, Mandarin is the largest language, largely due to China’s significant population. Hindi ranks third, with 609 million speakers, followed by Spanish with 559 million, and Standard Arabic with 335 million.
Scripts Used in Major Languages
The World’s Writing Systems, a comprehensive guide to global scripts, identifies 293 known scripts utilized for writing various languages. Among these, more than 156 scripts are currently active, while 137 historical scripts, including Egyptian hieroglyphs and Aztec pictograms, are no longer in use.
The Latin script, essential for languages such as English, French, and Spanish, is employed in at least 305 of the world’s 7,139 living languages. Remarkably, over 70 percent of the global population uses a language that employs the Latin script.
Overview of Endangered Languages
Out of the 7,159 languages spoken globally, 3,193—approximately 44 percent—are considered endangered. In contrast, 3,479 languages are categorized as stable, and 487 are classified as institutional, being utilized by governments, educational institutions, and media.
Languages become endangered when newer generations begin adopting more dominant languages, often passing them on to children as second languages. Ethnologue reports that 337 languages are classified as dormant, while 454 are now extinct. Dormant languages lack proficient speakers but still hold social significance, whereas extinct languages have no current speakers or social use.
Approximately 88.1 million individuals speak an endangered language as their first language. Breakdown by speaker count reveals:
- 1,431 languages with fewer than 1,000 first-language speakers
- 463 languages with fewer than 100 speakers
- 110 languages with fewer than 10 speakers
Geographic Distribution of Endangered Languages
Only 25 countries host about 80 percent of the world’s endangered languages. Oceania tops the list, with Asia, Africa, and the Americas following.
Notable endangered languages include:
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Oceania: In Australia, Yugambeh is an endangered Aboriginal language spoken by the Yugambeh people, concentrated in eastern Australia. Recent revitalization efforts, including community-led programs and educational apps, aim to make the language more accessible to younger generations.
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Asia: Ainu (Ainu Itak) in Japan is critically endangered. While the precise number of speakers is unclear, a 2006 survey indicated that only 304 out of 23,782 Ainu individuals knew the language.
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Africa: Ongota, spoken in Ethiopia, is critically endangered, with only a handful of elderly speakers remaining among around 400 community members.
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Americas: In North America, numerous Indigenous languages face endangerment. Louisiana Creole, a French-based Creole influenced by African and Indigenous languages, is severely endangered, primarily spoken by elderly individuals. Leco, also endangered, is spoken by just a few elders in Bolivia, with a total Leco population of approximately 13,500.
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Europe: Cornish (Kernewek), once classified as extinct by UNESCO, was revived and is currently regarded as endangered, with 563 speakers recorded in the 2021 England and Wales census.
The fate of these languages underscores the need for ongoing efforts to preserve linguistic diversity across the globe.
