Language death

In the field of linguistics, language death occurs when a language loses its last native speaker. A native speaker is someone who learns a language as their primary way of communicating during childhood. When a language is no longer known by anyone, including second-language speakers, it is considered extinct. A language may be described as moribund if it has reached a highly reduced stage of use. This often happens when only a few elderly people remain who use the language for communication. Language death is rarely a sudden event for most speech communities. Instead, it is usually a slow process where each new generation learns less of the language. Eventually, the transmission of the language from adults to children is interrupted. Once children are no longer socialized into it as their primary language, the language cannot survive past the current generation.

There are several distinct ways that a language might disappear. The most common method is gradual language death. This occurs when speakers interact with a group that has a higher-prestige language. These people often become bilingual, meaning they speak two languages. Over time, their proficiency in the original language decreases until no native speakers remain. Another type is bottom-to-top language death. In this scenario, the language is used only for ceremonial, literary, or religious purposes. It is no longer used in casual, everyday contexts, similar to how Latin was used. Conversely, top-to-bottom language death begins in high-level environments like government. However, the language continues to be used in casual settings for a time.

Some forms of language death are much more sudden or forced. Radical language death happens when speakers cease using a language due to pressure, persecution, or colonization. In these cases, the community skips the semi-speaker phase where structural changes usually occur. Instead, the languages simply disappear. A related and more severe term is linguicide, which refers to the forced death of a language. This is often associated with attempts to destroy the identity of a specific group of people. There is also a process called language suicide. This occurs when linguistic structures are steadily loaned from a similar, higher-prestige language. Eventually, the original language becomes so similar to the other that it is no longer distinct.

External factors often drive these shifts in how people communicate. Changes in the land of a speech community can trigger language loss. For example, young men in a New Guinea community might move to towns for economic opportunities. This movement makes it harder for children to be raised with the native language. Cultural contact and clash also play a major role. Contact with different economic or political systems can alter how a community feels about its own tongue. In the modern period, the rise of colonialism has led to widespread cultural assimilation. This often results in a language shift toward a foreign lingua franca, which is a common language used between different groups. Many people choose to abandon minor languages for those with greater perceived utility or prestige.

As a language undergoes this process of loss, its very structure can change. This is sometimes called language obsolescence. Speakers may replace elements of their heritage language with features from the language they are shifting toward. They might also drop elements that the new language does not possess. This can lead to morphological loss, which is the loss of the way words are formed. For instance, in East Sutherland, Scotland, fluent Scottish Gaelic speakers used historic plural formations. However, semi-speakers used simple suffixation or omitted the plural entirely. Other changes include shifts in word order, the loss of ritual speech styles, and changes in phonological contrasts. These shifts represent the gradual fading of a unique linguistic system.

Statistics show that the loss of linguistic diversity is a significant global issue. The publication Ethnologue recorded 7,358 living languages in 2001. By February 2016, that number had fallen to 7,097. The United Nations estimates that one language is lost every two weeks. Many of these languages are at high risk because they have very few speakers. More than half of the world's languages have fewer than 10,000 speakers. One quarter have fewer than 1,000 speakers. A 2004 estimate suggested that 90% of currently spoken languages could be extinct by 2050. This massive loss of diversity is why many people view language as a unique cultural treasure.

Language death also has deep consequences for the well-being of Indigenous communities. Language is a vital part of identity and is linked to both physical and mental health. In Canada, studies have found links between language and community health. One study of Aboriginal youth found that communities with a majority of traditional language speakers had low suicide rates. In contrast, groups where less than half spoke their ancestral language had suicide rates six times higher. Another study in Alberta, Canada, found a link between traditional language knowledge and lower rates of diabetes. These findings suggest that maintaining a language is essential for the sovereignty and health of a community.

To combat these trends, many groups participate in language revitalization. This is the attempt to slow or reverse the death of a language. The revival of Hebrew in Israel is a notable example. It was once used only as a liturgical language, but it has since gained new native speakers. Other successful examples include Welsh, Basque, Hawaiian, and Navajo. Revitalization can be motivated by the need to protect against cultural or political danger. Organizations like the Google Endangered Languages Project help by compiling research to preserve at-risk languages. Anthropologist Akira Yamamoto suggests several factors can prevent language death. These include strong ethnic identity, bilingual school programs, and the creation of new language materials.