How do language die?

Many language are rapidly becoming extinct. Of the almost 7000 language now in existence, only half may still be spoken by the end of this century.Language such as Urarina (spoken by fewer than 3000 people in the Amazon), Holkomelem(spoken by 200,in Canada) and Tofa (Spoken by no more then 25 people, in siberia) face a precarious and uncertain future.

Native speakers stop using their original language for a variety of reasons. They may favor a different language because it is more dominant, more language, more prestigious, or more widely known. They may be motivated by official state policies to suppress speech or by social pressure to speak differently. Children worldwide experience subtle and overt pressures to switch to globally dominant language.

When a language dies, much is lost: a unique knowledge of the planet and its creature, a treasury of myths and poetry, and a window into the workings of the human brain. Language conservationists are working to revive those tongues that can still be saved and document those that can not before they vanish forever.

THE RATE OF LANGUAGE LOSS has picked up speed around then world in recent decade as influences associated with globalization make for a more homogeneous human experience.