Endangered Language

So,

you think that your language or race are preserved? Think.

I am a Dusun Lotud but barely speaks my native language. It is so much like, I only understand them, but cannot speak it out. So, in that case, it is equally same as I understand Iban, English, little Mandarin, Melayu Sarawak, little Melayu Kelantan and Penang, and little Cantonese too. Understanding (only understand) Dusun doesn't make me Dusun in this case.

Language extinction is real.

Aboriginal Australia speaks some of the world's most endangered languages. Many languages in the south and east have been lost already; more will soon follow. Aboriginal groups are small and scattered because of a history of conflict with white settlers. A number of groups did not survive this contact, while others barely survived and struggle to maintain their own languages and cultures.


The Northwest Pacific Coast and Western Plateau is one of the most endangered language hotspots. No children and few to no young adults speak the indigenous languages in the American portion of the region. Languages farther north and west have more speakers, but near British Columbia's urban centers, many are abandoning their native languages for English.

After years of forced and necessary migration, the Yagnobi people of the former Soviet Republic of Tajikistan are faced with a dwindling knowledge of the Yagnobi language among its younger generations.

Eastern Siberia contains few languages compared to other hotspots. However, it holds ten "genetic units" (e.g. one genetic unit being Romance languages), with very few living languages in most of the genetic units. It is notable, therefore, for its genetic diversity, and for its extreme endangerment. Many Siberian languages have been lost in the last few generations due to government policies that force speakers of minority languages to use the national language, and many living languages in the area have only a few elderly speakers.

The Central South American hotspot—spanning the Andes Mountains and some of the Amazon Basin—may be the world's most endangered, with high language diversity, little documentation of remaining indigenous languages, and immediate threats to their continued use. Here, Spanish, Portuguese (in Brazil), and more dominant indigenous languages are replacing smaller ones.


The Central Siberia Language Hotspot boasts few indigenous languages compared with most. However, it holds six language families, two of which have only one remaining language, and almost all of the languages here are endangered. Russian-only government policies have extinguished a number of Siberian languages over the last few generations, and many living languages here have only a few elderly speakers.


Read More