Are African languages dying?
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Are African languages dying?
There are hundreds of languages in Africa — some spoken only by a few dozen elders — and they are dying out at an alarming rate. Unesco estimates that 90 percent of the world’s 6,000 languages are not represented on the Internet, and that one language is disappearing somewhere around the world every two weeks.
Why African countries are experiencing high rates of extinct and threatened languages?
Africa, like many other parts of the world, is faced with language endangerment. Other languages such as El Molo, Okiek, Watwa, Hansa and Rendille are not only spoken by few people but also have low intergeneration transmission. They are, therefore, endangered.
Why are there so many Asian languages?
Languages spoken by billions of people across Europe and Asia are descended from an ancient tongue uttered in southern Europe at the end of the last ice age, according to research. These in turn split into languages now spoken all over Eurasia, from Portugal to Siberia.
How many languages are extinct in Africa?
Of the 230 languages around the world that have gone extinct since 1950, 37 were in Africa….Only seven people in the world speak this Kenyan language—and now they are trying to save it.
| Language | Status |
|---|---|
| Burji | Vulnerable |
| Dahalo | Severely endangered |
| Elmolo | Extinct |
| Kinare | Extinct |
Why are languages disappearing?
Most languages, though, die out gradually as successive generations of speakers become bilingual and then begin to lose proficiency in their traditional languages. This often happens when speakers seek to learn a more-prestigious language in order to gain social and economic advantages or to avoid discrimination.
Why are indigenous languages less threatened in Africa?
In Africa, there is better support from local government, community and cultural groups, whereas in the Americas, fewer public and private institutions support indigenous language use.
Why does Africa have so many languages?
One of the reasons for the continent’s rich linguistic diversity is simply down to time – people in Africa have had more time to develop languages than peoples elsewhere in the world. But the development of Africa’s languages is also due to cultural and political factors.
Is Swahili going extinct?
With no other fluent speakers in the world apart from this family, the language is recognised by the UN as “critically endangered”.