Which languages ​​of the world will disappear. Dying languages. Which group does a particular language belong to?

Just because almost no one speaks them doesn’t mean they should be forgotten.

You never know, maybe some of you, after reading this article, will want to become better acquainted with one of the languages ​​listed below. There is something mysterious and enigmatic about them, something that will attract any polyglot.

10. Akkadian

When appeared: 2800 BC

Disappeared: 500 AD

General information: lingua franca of ancient Mesopotamia. The Akkadian language used the same cuneiform alphabet as Sumerian. The epic of Gilgamesh, the myth of Enuma and Elisha and many others are written on it. The grammar of a dead language resembles the grammar of classical Arabic.

The advantages of studying it: people will be very impressed when they see that you can easily read these strange icons for them.

Disadvantages of studying it: It will be difficult for you to find an interlocutor.

When appeared: 900 BC

Disappeared: 70 BC

General information: The Old Testament was written on it, which was later translated into ancient Greek or, as it is commonly called, the Septuagint.

The advantages of studying it: Biblical is very similar to modern spoken Hebrew.

Disadvantages of studying it: It won't be easy to talk to someone on it.

8. Coptic

When appeared: 100 AD

Disappeared: 1600 AD

General information: it contains all the literature of the early Christian church, including the Nag Hammadi library, which contains the famous Gnostic Gospels.

The advantages of studying it: it is the basis of the Egyptian language, created using the Greek alphabet, and it sounds absolutely amazing.

Disadvantages of studying it: alas, no one speaks it because Arabic has supplanted it.

When appeared: 700 BC

Disappeared: 600 AD

General information: for centuries it has been the lingua franca of much of the Middle East. Aramaic is commonly identified with the language of Jesus Christ. The bulk of the Talmud, as well as the biblical books of Daniel and Ezra, are written on it.

The advantages of studying it: it is not very different from biblical Hebrew, and therefore, by studying it, you can kill two birds with one stone. If this interests you, just imagine speaking the language of Jesus.

Disadvantages of studying it: No one speaks it, except for a few Aramaic communities.

When appeared: 1200 AD

Disappeared: 1470 AD

General information: on it you can read the works of the “father of English poetry” Geoffrey Chaucer, the Bible translated by Wycliffe, as well as the children’s ballads “The Exploits of Robin Hood,” which are considered early tales about the hero of the same name.

The advantages of studying it: it is the basis of modern English.

Disadvantages of studying it: you can't find anyone who can use it fluently.

5. Sanskrit

When appeared: 1500 BC

General information: still exists as a liturgical or ecclesiastical language. The Vedas and most of the scriptures are written on it. For three thousand years, Sanskrit was the lingua franca of the Indian subcontinent. Its alphabet consists of 49 letters.

The advantages of studying it: Sanskrit became the foundation of the religious texts of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

Disadvantages of studying it: only priests and residents of some village settlements can speak it.

When appeared: 3400 BC

Disappeared: 600 BC

General information: It was in this language that the Book of the Dead was written, and the tombs of Egyptian rulers were also painted.

The advantages of studying it: this language is specifically for those who love difficult-to-understand hieroglyphs

Disadvantages of studying it: no one speaks it.

When appeared: 700 AD

Disappeared: 1300 AD

General information: The main work of German-Scandinavian mythology, the Edda, and a whole series of old Icelandic myths are written on it. This is the language of the Vikings. It was spoken in Scandinavia, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and in some areas of Russia, France, and the British Isles. It is considered a kind of predecessor of modern Icelandic.

The advantages of studying it: Once you learn Old Norse, you can pretend to be a Viking.

Disadvantages of studying it: Almost no one will understand you.

When appeared: 800 BC, which is also called the Renaissance. 75 BC and 3rd century AD It is considered to be the “golden” and “silver” periods of classical Latin. Then the existence of the era of medieval Latin began.

General information: in the original language you can read Cicero, Julius Caesar, Cato, Catullus, Virgil, Ovid, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Augustine and Thomas Aquinas.

The advantages of studying it: Among dead languages, it is considered the most popular.

Disadvantages of studying it: Unfortunately, you can’t communicate on social networks or in real life. Although in societies of Latin lovers and in the Vatican you will have someone to talk to.

When appeared: 800 BC

Disappeared: 300 AD

General information: Knowing ancient Greek, you can easily read the works of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Homer, Herodotus, Euripides, Aristophanes and many others.

The advantages of studying it: you will not only expand your vocabulary and expand your consciousness, but you will also be able to read the ancient scripture on sex, written by Aristophanes.

Disadvantages of studying it: almost no one is fluent in it.

Linguistic scientists came to such disappointing conclusions after analyzing a study conducted by the Institute of Living Languages ​​with the support of the National Geographic Society. According to an assistant professor at Smarthmore College David Harrison, about half of languages ​​exist only in oral form and can be easily forgotten. Some endangered languages ​​disappear overnight after the death of their last speaker. It is estimated that 80% of the world's population are native speakers of 80 major languages, while 3.5 thousand minor languages ​​are native to only 0.2% of earthlings.

“The rate of language extinction that we are seeing is unprecedented in human history,” says Harrison. – More than 40% of the world’s languages ​​can be included in the linguistic Red Book. As for flora and fauna, 8% of plant species and 18% of mammal species are threatened with extinction - not so much compared to languages!

According to Harrison and Anderson, the main culprits are globalization and migration. Economic reasons force people to leave their native villages and go to cities, where they lose the habit of their native speech, using generally accepted languages ​​in their work. Responsibility for the disappearance of languages, according to scientists, partly lies with children. In particular, a child who speaks Mayan and Spanish will end up choosing the Spanish he hears at school and on TV.

Thus, small languages ​​are crowded out and absorbed by such giant languages ​​as English, Chinese and Russian. Scientists have named five “hot spots” where languages ​​are at risk of extinction: northern Australia, Central America, the southwestern United States, British Columbia and Eastern Siberia. Anderson estimates that it will take three to four years and up to £200,000 to complete a full scientific recording of the language. “There are people and communities who ask us for help to save their languages,” he notes. “If we had money, we don’t have enough money.”

The problem of endangered languages, of course, did not arise this week. As a professor at the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian State University for the Humanities told Expert Online Yakov Testelets, back in the 19th century, scientists were interested in this issue. Serious attention to the topic was attracted in the last decades of the last century. With the question of why languages ​​are disappearing and how to deal with it, Expert Online turned to professional linguists.

According to experts, languages ​​have always disappeared - this is a constant phenomenon. However, in parallel, new ones appeared - from the interaction of peoples and tribes. Now, under exactly the same circumstances, new languages ​​do not appear, but old ones are disappearing at a catastrophic rate. “Most often this happens because speakers of such rare languages ​​do not value them; at best, it is used only in the family. Such language is seen as a hindrance to a career, social life, and personal growth. Everyone is now trying to learn prestigious languages ​​that contribute to vertical mobility,” Yakov Testelets explains to Expert Online the factors behind the disappearance of languages. According to him, healthy languages ​​are those that children speak. “If children understand, but no longer speak, this is the first call. If only old people speak, then this is most likely the end,” the professor notes. Our country now has the most difficult situation with endangered languages ​​in Siberia and the Far East.

These trends are confirmed by a senior researcher at the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences Tatiana Agranat.“In the era of globalization, it is impossible to use only your regional language - you simply won’t survive,” says the specialist. According to her, if this continues, many more languages ​​will disappear - about 80%. “However, if you put in the effort, perhaps not that much will disappear—about 50%,” she believes. Now, according to Agranat, there are from 3.5 thousand to 5 thousand languages ​​on Earth.

The question is, is it worth fighting for the survival of such languages? After all, there is a point of view that if a language disappears, it means that it is not in demand by people, and therefore there is no need to save it. However, professional linguists strongly disagree. “Every language is a unique way of expressing human thoughts. With the disappearance of languages, a certain way of expressing thoughts disappears, thus our cultural heritage is impoverished,” says Tatyana Agranat. “From the point of view of linguistics, culture, ethnology, the disappearance of languages ​​is a disaster,” Testelets confirms.

However, the efforts of specialists alone cannot help save languages. If the language is not prestigious, then it will not be taught anyway. “Efforts must be made from all sides, including from native speakers. When we go on expeditions to small nations, we tell them: don’t forget the language, teach your children, sometimes it bears fruit,” says Agranat.

What languages ​​dominate the world today and what are the forecasts for the future? As the scientific director of Runov School told Expert Online Mikhail Gorelik, English will retain leadership for a long time, which is not surprising. “It is spoken by 450 million people, although many more people speak Chinese, which is also becoming a popular language. According to some reports, Spanish comes next, followed by French and German - they are spoken by approximately the same number of people (about a hundred million each). Although, according to my observations, lately people have started asking for French more often,” says the philologist. And yet, English will retain its leadership as an international language for a long time - as long as the American and English economies are strong.

All other languages, according to Gorelik, are unlikely to gain such powerful popularity as languages ​​of international communication. “Now the Chinese are rapidly rushing forward. There are even general education schools that teach Chinese. As for the rest, Japanese enjoys some popularity. But this is rather exotic. That is, people study it because they like it, and not because they are trying to use it for wide international communication,” the scientist is convinced.

Russian is also popular as a foreign language. “Mostly, interest is shown by former compatriots who, in the first or second generation, forgot the language and would like to restore it. As for popularity among foreigners, in large cities there are more and more Englishmen, Americans, and Germans working here. They also want to know Russian. However, I don’t yet see a boom in Russian as a foreign language. Although the Russian-speaking diaspora can seriously influence the growth of demand,” says the linguist.

In the long-term future, the balance of linguistic forces will largely depend on the political situation. “For example, English took off only after the Second World War; before that, French and German were in the lead. And then everything will be determined by the political situation. On the territory of the former USSR, the primacy of the Russian language will remain for a long time,” says Testelets. “Most likely, the balance will remain. Practical considerations come into play here,” agrees Agranat. However, according to her, such a trend is already observed in Europe - with the dominance of “big” languages, small ones are being revived. Including in Russia.

As Oliver Holmes said: “A language is like a temple that preserves the souls of those who speak it.” But it may collapse as soon as people stop using it. The appearance of the metaphor “living and dead languages” is far from accidental. A people disappears, followed by its culture, traditions and values. When all this does not exist, a dead language appears, which is stored only in written sources.

How and why they die

The disappearance of languages ​​has been observed at all times, but this has begun to happen most actively in recent centuries. According to scientific research, a dead tongue appears every 2 weeks. Many of them are unwritten, and they disappear as soon as death takes the last carrier. This situation occurs when three main reasons occur:

1. The people who speak this language are disappearing. This fate affected the residents of Tasmania, who were expelled from their native land.

2. People learn new languages, while forgetting old ones. This process can be explained as people switching to another culture. Such people are divided into 3 categories:

2.1 The generation knows only its native language.

2.2 Native people are used at home, but on the street they speak the main language.

2.3 They do not know their native language, but have an excellent command of the basic language.

The third generation is often subject to difficulties. For example, a family lives in America, and the children speak the main language, but do not know their native language. But older relatives do not know English, but speak their native language. This is where a communication barrier between relatives arises.

Expanding the meaning of the term

A dead language is one that does not exist in use and is known only through writing or is used in another form. For example, not many people know that Arabic used to be Coptic, and the native American language was replaced by French, English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Dead languages, a list of which will be presented below, help continue the evolution of others. For example:

Latin is the ancestor of the Romance language;

Old Church Slavonic gave the basis to our Russian;

Ancient Greek exists only in dialects.

Sometimes dead languages ​​of the world continue to exist in religion and science. But there have been cases when a dead language came to life. An example of this event was Hebrew.

The same can be said about Turkish speech, which was formed from Ottoman speech. The latter at the beginning of the 20th century was used only in office work. This case clearly demonstrates how the literary language is separated from the spoken language, which over time passes into a new form, thereby turning the main one into a dead one.

Dead languages. List

Tamboran - used for 1000 years by the people of southern Indonesia. But in 1815, after a powerful volcanic eruption, not only the people died, but also their language.

Frisian was a competitor to German, where the latter turned out to be stronger. Today it exists only in the everyday life of a small town called Saterland.

Azeri - ended its existence in the 17th century, when the Persians attacked the city where they spoke this language. After that, everyone switched to Turkish-Azerbaijani speech.

Shuadit - spoken by French Jews in the 11th century. Due to religious lack of freedom, they created their own communities, where all speech was in this language. With the attainment of religious independence, Jews dispersed to different countries, and Shuadit eventually became a dead language.

Greek. More than 15 million people spoke it. The development of the language occurred together with the people of the Mediterranean countries. It was this that Aristotle and Plato used to write their works. It is considered to be a scientific language. More than 1 million English words are taken from Greek.

Latin is a dead language that originated in 1000 BC. e. Today, the residents of the Vatican (100 thousand people) are considered carriers. Latin is the language of medical terminology. It was he who played one of the main roles in the spread of the religion of Christianity.

Dead or alive

We will talk about Latin, the alphabet of which became the basis for the creation of writing for many modern languages. From the very beginning of its inception, it was spoken only by the population of the small region of Latium. The city of Roma (Rome) became the center for this people, and the inhabitants began to call themselves Romans. This stage in the development of Latin was called archaic.

The next period was called the classical period and appeared when the territory of Rome became the largest slaveholding land. Latin of this period was considered a literary language in which prose works and poetic works were written.

The last stage is medieval. The Latin of this period was expressed in prayers, songs and hymns. Saint Jerome, by translating the Bible into it, made it as sacred as Hebrew and Greek.

To summarize, we can say that Latin is not a dead language, but to some extent a living one. At least 1,000,000 people on our planet know it, although no one speaks it as a native language. He can be considered dead because many words and dialects have not reached us, and we do not know the correct pronunciation of sounds.

Revival of Hebrew

This language is the most popular example of how a dead language became alive again. After the Great Patriotic War, Jews united in Israel and contributed to the revival of their language. Thanks to the people who used it as a cult, and the efforts of scientists, Hebrew came to life again. It was this example that became the basis and impetus for the revival of such dead languages ​​as Gascony (France) and Manx (Britain).

1. The most common languages ​​in the world are English, Chinese, and Arabic.

2. The world's population speaks 7,000 languages. 2,500 of whom may soon join the list of dead.

4. The rate of development of English is so fast that a new word appears every 98 minutes.

5. The smallest alphabet of the Rotokas (population of Papua New Guinea) consists of 12 letters.

6. Lebanese was added to the list of dead languages ​​when its last speaker, Griselda Christina, died.

7. The Google search engine operates in 124 languages, 2 of them are artificial - Esperanto and Klingon.

Language is the most necessary tool in our life. Today there are about six thousand languages ​​in the world. According to UNESCO, in the near future, approximately half of them may lose their last carriers, and therefore completely disappear. It is important to note that languages ​​disappear not only in the modern world, because even in ancient times it happened that they did not leave a trace.

Classification of underused languages

What languages ​​are considered endangered? Of course, those that are still used in society, but may disappear in the near future. Thus, scientists have developed a fairly clear classification dividing little-used languages ​​into the following groups:

• characterized by the absolute exclusion of carriers.
• Languages ​​on the verge of extinction are the rarest in the whole world, so the number of their speakers is extremely small (usually no more than a dozen). In addition, older people living in rural areas speak such languages.
• Endangered languages ​​are characterized by a sufficient number of speakers (from several hundred to tens of thousands) of advanced age. Children and teenagers are strictly not taught such languages.
• Unfavorable languages ​​that are used by about a thousand people. However, children still learn these languages, but to a minimal extent.
• Unstable languages ​​that can move to another group at any time. It is important to note that they are used by people of absolutely all ages and statuses, even though the languages ​​do not have official recognition.

Which group does a particular language belong to?

For joy or regret, list of endangered languages quite rich, which suggests the need for their classification. It should be noted that to determine a specific language, it is not how many speakers use a particular language that is important, but the tendency of its transmission to subsequent generations. If children are not taught a language, then it can easily move from the final group to “extinct languages” in the shortest possible time.

In 2009, the newest edition of the “Atlas of Endangered Languages ​​of the World” was developed, which contains disappointing information that today about 2,500 languages ​​of the world are under threat of extinction (in 2001, this figure was almost three times less, then only 900 languages ​​were in similar situation). It is important to note that the endangered languages ​​of the peoples of Russia today number 131 units in their group. In addition, census data indicate that the number of small nationalities is decreasing by a couple of dozen every year. But nationality also includes the corresponding language!

Endangered languages ​​of Russia: Kerek

With the advent of modern civilization, active assimilation of people of different cultural backgrounds is taking place. Thus, many nationalities are gradually being eradicated from the face of the earth. Of course, their rare representatives try to preserve and even pass on the traditions and customs of their people to future generations, which does not always work out.

Today, only two people speak Kerek (according to the latest census). Kereks (they often call themselves Ankalgakku) are a very small ethnic group of the North who live in the Bering region of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The language in question never had a written language - it was spoken exclusively in family circles. Today, almost five thousand Kerek words have been preserved. The history of this people has a 3000-year history. It all started with living in conditions of natural isolation, followed by relocation to logged areas (twentieth century). Kereks formed separate families in some villages of Chukotka. In addition, they underwent assimilation with another small people - the Chukchi.

Udege language as one of the smallest

Every year, the extinct languages ​​of Russia actively replenish their ranks. So, today no more than a hundred people speak the Udege language. This language is widespread in the Khabarovsk and Primorsky territories of the Russian Federation. It has some features of the languages ​​of the northern group, so it is very similar to Orochi. The Udege language in our time is used only by older people and exclusively for the purpose of everyday communication with each other. It is important to note that young people do not know their native language (this should include all people under 40 years of age). Currently, several of its dialects are distinguished, among which the more famous are Khorsky, Bikinsky, and Samarga. Thus, the nature of their grammar and syntax is similar, but in terms of vocabulary and phonetics, significant differences can be observed. However, during the migration process they are leveled. It is important to note that the language in question has a written language, which can be proven by the formation by E. R. Schneider of the corresponding alphabet based on the Latin alphabet.

Votic language

Which languages ​​are extinct?, and which ones are on the verge of extinction? Over time, this issue worries society more and more. And this is not surprising, because the human desire to preserve the native language for as long as possible is an adequate reaction to the situation of our time.

The Votic language, which belongs to the Baltic-Finnish group of the Uralic language family, is endangered, because today there are no more than twenty of its speakers. One of the language classifications provides information that the Votic language, together with Estonian and Livonian, forms a southern subgroup. The dialect in question is represented by several types of dialects, divided into western, common in the rural settlements of Krokolye, Luzhitsy and Peski, and eastern, occurring in the Koporye region. It should be noted that the differences between the given dialects are minor. The first grammar of the Votic language was formed back in the 19th century, and another century later, from the village of Krakolie, he created a Votic grammar in his native language.

Sami languages

Today endangered languages ​​of the world have many elements in their series, which should also include the group of Sami languages, also called Lapp and related to the Finno-Ugric. Their bearers are the Sami, or Lapps (the first definition, as a rule, sounds a little differently among different groups of Sami and serves as a Russified term, and the second is one of the variant names). Among the totality under consideration, languages ​​such as Uume, Piite, Luule, Inari, Skoldsky, Babinsky, Kildinsky, Terek and many others are distinguished. It is worth noting that the number of carriers around the world is very significant (more than 53,000 people). However, on the territory of the Russian Federation no more than twenty people practice such an original dialect. In addition, these people, as it turned out, mostly speak Russian. The phonetics and phonology of the Sami language group is characterized by an increased level of complexity, because words often contain long and short vowels and consonants, as well as diphthongs and triphthongs.

What is the reason for the disappearance of languages ​​and how to preserve your native language?

As it turned out, in the modern world, extinct languages ​​constitute a significant problem that receives increased public attention. In addition, forecasts show that the trend of language extinction will only intensify, because the emergence of innovative technologies is rapidly leading to a disappointing conclusion: more and more efforts are being made to recognize their native languages, but often to no avail. This is due to the active development of the Internet. Naturally, a person is unlikely to take seriously a language that is not represented on the World Wide Web.

Thus, in order to preserve and prosper one’s native language, it is necessary to pay great attention to it, because it is it that serves as an instrument of communication, reflection and perception, and also fully characterizes the vision of the overall world picture. The native language fully reflects the relationship between the past, present and future, moreover, it is a means of expressing creativity. All of the above facts serve as maximum motivation for society in relation to the desire for active use, preservation for the longest possible period, as well as high-quality transmission of their native language to the next generation.

Which languages ​​are considered endangered? Those that are still in use, but which may disappear in the very near future.

There is a fairly clear classification of endangered and already extinct languages. It divides underused languages ​​into the following groups:

Extinct languages ​​are languages ​​for which there is no living speaker left.

Languages ​​that are on the verge of extinction, in fact. There are still speakers for these languages, but they are all elderly and there are few of them, usually several dozen.

Endangered languages. There are quite a lot of native speakers, from several hundred to tens of thousands, but all the native speakers are adults and elderly; children are practically not taught the language.

Disadvantaged languages ​​spoken by thousands of people. Children are still taught the language, but less and less.

Unstable languages ​​that can move to another group at any time (usually towards the extinction of the language). The language is used by people of all ages and statuses, but the language itself has no official status, or it is spoken in 1-2-3 settlements.

As a rule, to determine which group a language belongs to, it is important not how many people speak it, but how it is passed on to subsequent generations and whether children are taught it.

In 2009, a new edition of the Atlas of the World's Endangered and Endangered Languages ​​was released. It says that about 2,500 of the world's languages ​​are now under threat of extinction (in 2001, this figure was much lower, only 900). At the same time, 131 languages ​​are at risk in Russia.

According to the population census, in Russia, every time, with each census, the number of small nationalities to which Russians consider themselves is reduced by several dozen. But nationality also includes language. Linguists believe that if the rate of extinction of languages ​​does not decrease, then in this century we may lose 90% of the world's languages.

Unfortunately, with the loss of a language, with the loss of their “original” nationality, people begin to approach life differently. Linguistic expeditions to the regions of Russia report that people who have lost their “ethnic” core, their language, feel unnecessary and often become drunkards. In addition, small nations, along with their language, are losing their traditional cuisine, ritual traditions, and knowledge. For example, recently the cuisine of the small peoples of the North is very similar to what they eat everywhere. This can negatively affect people’s health, because the transition from traditional food (meat of marine animals, local fish containing specific vitamins) to globalized food, a person loses the support provided by nature itself.

Why do languages ​​disappear?

Why do languages ​​constantly disappear in the world? Because people stop using them and teaching them to children, giving preference to more common and “prestigious” languages.
All languages ​​live in close proximity, constantly mixing and changing, but today this process has gained enormous momentum - largely due to the fact that the world is turning into a single information space.

But the main danger is not even this, but linguistic inequality. That is, some languages ​​turn out to be more important, more prestigious, they can influence a person’s position in society. Naturally, people will choose for themselves and their children the language that will give them social advantages. Usually this is a “big” language, taught in schools and universities, the knowledge of which is necessary for a successful career. Thus, “small” languages ​​turn out to be not needed in full or not needed at all. Multilingualism is not valued, only knowledge of the “main” language is required.

Of course, there are languages ​​that few people speak, but at the same time people live relatively isolated, they do not need to know and use the common language of the country. The existence of such languages ​​is quite stable. But as soon as the isolation disappears, people begin to choose which language is more profitable.

When a language is no longer taught to children, it is in danger. And if, at the same time, younger native speakers of the language are 60 years old or older, then the language has practically no chance; the transition to the language of a neighboring ethnic group can be considered complete.