Languages have disappeared throughout history, but the scale of language death in modern times is unprecedented. Linguists estimate that about half the world’s languages died out in the 500-year period from 1490 to 1990. A variety of factors contributed to this trend of language extinction.
Historically, the main cause of language extinction has been the movement of people from one region to another. Humans have always migrated, seeking more favorable lands or fleeing adverse conditions, and they often move into territories already occupied. In some cases, as in India, distinct linguistic and cultural groups coexist for centuries. More typically, the dominant group displaces the weaker one, either by making the people move, by forcing them to use the new language, or by killing them off.
In Western Europe, for example, all languages are related with the exception of Basque, which is spoken in north central Spain and southwestern France. Linguists believe Basque is the last of many languages that once existed across Europe and were forced out by the arrival of Indo-Europeans beginning about 2000 BC. Indo-European languages adopted few Basque words, if any, suggesting that the groups did not peacefully coexist for any length of time.
Government policies have also contributed to the decline or death of many minority languages by restricting their use. For example, the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries often took children away from their Native American parents and sent them to boarding schools, where they were forced to learn English. Children from different tribes were typically grouped together so English would be their only common language. Only about half of the 300 indigenous languages spoken in North America when the Europeans first arrived are still in use. Australia enacted similar policies to assimilate Aboriginal peoples. In the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), many indigenous populations across the nation’s vast expanse were subjected to Russification programs during the 1940s and 1950s. These programs sought to teach children the Russian language and Russian cultural norms at the expense of their native languages and identities.
Efforts to limit language diversity are still common in some parts of the world. For example, the southeastern African nation of Tanzania encourages people to abandon their local languages for Swahili, which is widely spoken and officially sanctioned. This policy, like others in place in East Africa, is designed to encourage a sense of national identity in an ethnically and culturally diverse country.
Even nations that do not actively seek to hasten the demise of local languages typically implement a range of policies that encourage language uniformity. All nations, for example, limit the number of languages that may be used in official proceedings. In India, where more than 350 languages are spoken, only 2 are nationally sanctioned: English and Hindi. Only a few hundred languages receive official recognition around the world.
One reason most nations officially sanction just one or two languages is cost. It is simply less expensive to raise armies, collect taxes, and provide basic social services using a few languages, rather than many. Even when the will to preserve minority languages is present, the cost of providing government services or educational materials in multiple languages can be significant.
The extended reach of mass media, such as satellite television beamed to the most remote corners of the globe, encourages the spread of a few chosen languages. The Internet offers people around the world information and entertainment, but most materials are available only in the most common languages. Minority language communities must therefore adopt the language of the majority to learn about the world.
Perhaps the most important cause of language extinction is the decision of native speakers to shift to a majority language because it offers more prestige and economic opportunities. Immigrants in the United States are often proud of their ability to speak English and even prouder of their children’s native command of the language. Seeking a better life, some Native Americans in Latin America are discarding their local tongues for Spanish, and indigenous peoples of Africa are adopting French, English, or Swahili.
Historically, the main cause of language extinction has been the movement of people from one region to another. Humans have always migrated, seeking more favorable lands or fleeing adverse conditions, and they often move into territories already occupied. In some cases, as in India, distinct linguistic and cultural groups coexist for centuries. More typically, the dominant group displaces the weaker one, either by making the people move, by forcing them to use the new language, or by killing them off.
In Western Europe, for example, all languages are related with the exception of Basque, which is spoken in north central Spain and southwestern France. Linguists believe Basque is the last of many languages that once existed across Europe and were forced out by the arrival of Indo-Europeans beginning about 2000 BC. Indo-European languages adopted few Basque words, if any, suggesting that the groups did not peacefully coexist for any length of time.
Government policies have also contributed to the decline or death of many minority languages by restricting their use. For example, the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries often took children away from their Native American parents and sent them to boarding schools, where they were forced to learn English. Children from different tribes were typically grouped together so English would be their only common language. Only about half of the 300 indigenous languages spoken in North America when the Europeans first arrived are still in use. Australia enacted similar policies to assimilate Aboriginal peoples. In the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), many indigenous populations across the nation’s vast expanse were subjected to Russification programs during the 1940s and 1950s. These programs sought to teach children the Russian language and Russian cultural norms at the expense of their native languages and identities.
Efforts to limit language diversity are still common in some parts of the world. For example, the southeastern African nation of Tanzania encourages people to abandon their local languages for Swahili, which is widely spoken and officially sanctioned. This policy, like others in place in East Africa, is designed to encourage a sense of national identity in an ethnically and culturally diverse country.
Even nations that do not actively seek to hasten the demise of local languages typically implement a range of policies that encourage language uniformity. All nations, for example, limit the number of languages that may be used in official proceedings. In India, where more than 350 languages are spoken, only 2 are nationally sanctioned: English and Hindi. Only a few hundred languages receive official recognition around the world.
One reason most nations officially sanction just one or two languages is cost. It is simply less expensive to raise armies, collect taxes, and provide basic social services using a few languages, rather than many. Even when the will to preserve minority languages is present, the cost of providing government services or educational materials in multiple languages can be significant.
The extended reach of mass media, such as satellite television beamed to the most remote corners of the globe, encourages the spread of a few chosen languages. The Internet offers people around the world information and entertainment, but most materials are available only in the most common languages. Minority language communities must therefore adopt the language of the majority to learn about the world.
Perhaps the most important cause of language extinction is the decision of native speakers to shift to a majority language because it offers more prestige and economic opportunities. Immigrants in the United States are often proud of their ability to speak English and even prouder of their children’s native command of the language. Seeking a better life, some Native Americans in Latin America are discarding their local tongues for Spanish, and indigenous peoples of Africa are adopting French, English, or Swahili.
