What are the next lost lanuages?

[gangleri2001]

English isn't going to die; it'll evolve, taking elements of many languages with it, but it won't die. You'll get localized hybrids and dialects retaining part of the native language (think of English with Catalan inflections / words mixed in).

"English CANNOT become extinct. English CANNOT evolve into other languages. English CANNOT have hybrids like Spanglish, only minority languages like Catalan do (even though it doesn't). Instead of this, English MUST be everywhere, including other languages, even though in most of them there's not a single word borrowed from English. English is above all other languages!

ENGLISH IS THE BEST!!!!"

Have you ever heard about latin and celtic languages surviving its hegemony?

 

[Thorbal]

Hm, I really can´t see German dying out soon, being the most widely spoken mother tongue in the EU. I mean, it´s the 10-11th biggest language in the world with approximately 100 mil. native speakers and +60-100 million speaking it as a second language. English is getting increasingly important, but learning German is on the rise in some countries in central and eastern Europe as well.

 

[Mad Man]

"English CANNOT become extinct. English CANNOT evolve into other languages. English CANNOT have hybrids like Spanglish, only minority languages like Catalan do (even though it doesn't). Instead of this, English MUST be everywhere, including other languages, even though in most of them there's not a single word borrowed from English. English is above all other languages!

ENGLISH IS THE BEST!!!!"

Have you ever heard about latin and celtic languages surviving its hegemony?

Just as long as your willing to admit it now.

 

[LucyDuke]

Then why is almost everybody obssesed with minority languages dying before "majority" languages? The opposite case is also probable: English dying before Catalan. That would be so cool

Because it's more likely? Asian elephants are probably going to go extinct before housecats? The opposite is not very probable. Your nationalist underpants are showing.

 

[emzie]

"English CANNOT become extinct. English CANNOT evolve into other languages. English CANNOT have hybrids like Spanglish, only minority languages like Catalan do (even though it doesn't). Instead of this, English MUST be everywhere, including other languages, even though in most of them there's not a single word borrowed from English. English is above all other languages!

ENGLISH IS THE BEST!!!!"

I think you're confusing English with the language spoken in that country to the north of you.

 

[TheLastOne36]

It is inevitable with globalization that language barriers will increasingly be breached, and as peope learn multiple languages for use on a regular basis some will gain precidence over others to the point of making many irrelevant.

Which languages in the next 150 years do you see disappering or being reduced to legacy languages such as Latin?

Personally I see some of the less prolific European languages being the first on the chopping block such as Dutch and eventually ones like German and Polish.

I doubt that German and Polish would become lost due to the big population, but languages like Slovene, Albanian, etc. might have to worry about their future.

 

[gangleri2001]

Because it's more likely? Asian elephants are probably going to go extinct before housecats? The opposite is not very probable. Your nationalist underpants are showing.

And I state that likelyhood means nothing. It was not likely that Basque would survive all these centuries of Latin/French/Spanish hegemony, but it has survived.

PS: I always show my nationalist underpants, just take a look at my sig.

I think you're confusing English with the language spoken in that country to the north of you.

In fact, I've only replaced French with English

Ok, let's speak seriously. All I'm saying is that being a international language or a regional language means nothing. Languages die when they die. Sometimes it takes a long time, sometimes it becomes extinct in a brief period of time. History shows that neither its cultural hegemony nor the total amount of its speakers is relevant.

 

[Mad Man]

I doubt that German and Polish would become lost due to the big population, but languages like Slovene, Albanian, etc. might have to worry about their future.

Maybe Slovene but languages like Albanian and Hungarian have strong national identities.

 

[LucyDuke]

And I state that likelyhood means nothing. It was not likely that Basque would survive all these centuries of Latin/French/Spanish hegemony, but it has survived.

Well, if you don't think that facts have meaning, I don't think I can tell you anything.

 

[TheLastOne36]

Maybe Slovene but languages like Albanian and Hungarian have strong national identities.

Yes but when Albania starts to westernize then i can see the majority of the population's youth knowing a second language. (English or Italian or something)

 

[Patroklos]

I doubt that German and Polish would become lost due to the big population, but languages like Slovene, Albanian, etc. might have to worry about their future.

I picked German and Polish because unlike say English or Spanish they have absolutely zero relevance outside the immediate vicinity of their mother country. I am not disparaging the language, it is just a circumstance of history, but German will never be a universal language of international buisness for instance. So even if it continues to be spoken in the home country, Germans will eventually all know some other language to operate in an integrated world and thus German will lose its significance.

French has an up on German, but we all know the relevance of French as an international language has been in decline for a long time.

 

[TheLastOne36]

I picked German and Polish because unlike say English or Spanish they have absolutely zero relevance outside the immediate vicinity of their mother country. I am not disparaging the language, it is just a circumstance of history, but German will never be a universal language of international buisness for instance. So even if it continues to be spoken in the home country, Germans will eventually all know some other language to operate in an integrated world and thus German will lose its significance.

French has an up on German, but we all know the relevance of French as an international language has been in decline for a long time.

Maybe it's different in America, but i remember in Canada, they offered tons of courses on German. German is a common language throughout europe to learn in school as second/third language. Polish not so much

 

[Algeroth]

Which languages in the next 150 years do you see disappering or being reduced to legacy languages such as Latin?

Upper Sorbian

 

[Mowque]

Maybe it's different in America, but i remember in Canada, they offered tons of courses on German. German is a common language throughout europe to learn in school as second/third language. Polish not so much

Same in my area of the USA, although i believe they just canceled the German class in my high school.

 

[Mad Man]

@lastone I might be wrong but i think it's already happening.

 

[gangleri2001]

Well, if you don't think that facts have meaning, I don't think I can tell you anything.

I gave you a fact. Now it's time you give me one.

 

[Grisu]

I picked German and Polish because unlike say English or Spanish they have absolutely zero relevance outside the immediate vicinity of their mother country. I am not disparaging the language, it is just a circumstance of history, but German will never be a universal language of international buisness for instance. So even if it continues to be spoken in the home country, Germans will eventually all know some other language to operate in an integrated world and thus German will lose its significance.

French has an up on German, but we all know the relevance of French as an international language has been in decline for a long time.

that may well be true, but it'll take a whole lot longer than 150 years. just due to its large speaker base it'll be one of the last european languages to vanish (i'd say second-last, french being last)

languages that will vanish much sooner are those that are already minor today, such as Rumantsch

 

[philippe]

Sorry, Phillipe. Your descendants will speak French

just like how the language survived under a french speaking reign for hundreds of years, right? I re ad a book on languages, and it's mostly going to be regional languages with no support ineducation that are going to completely dissapear.

 

[Dachs]

Sorry, Phillipe. Your descendants will speak French German.

Fixed it for you.

 

[Arwon]

I picked German and Polish because unlike say English or Spanish they have absolutely zero relevance outside the immediate vicinity of their mother country. I am not disparaging the language, it is just a circumstance of history, but German will never be a universal language of international buisness for instance. So even if it continues to be spoken in the home country, Germans will eventually all know some other language to operate in an integrated world and thus German will lose its significance.

French has an up on German, but we all know the relevance of French as an international language has been in decline for a long time.

I'm with Gangleri here. There's no reason why a language has to be a kill-all "international language" in order to not die. Mother tongues are very resilient and stable, as long as parents keep speaking them with their children.

Language evolution is not Highlander. There can be more than one.

Most indigenous languages will be dead in 50 - 100 years, however. Lucy is right, documenting these languages should be the highest priority of linguistics right now.