What are the next lost lanuages?

[a_propagandist]

Yeah, most regional dialects will start to die off or something. However, I see an increase in cross-cultural language development. We'll have kids speaking native tongues and learning English and other languages. I believe that, for the major languages like Chinese, English, French, German etc., we'll see growth as wealth spreads more equitably.

 

[Dachs]

we'll see growth as wealth spreads more equitably.

I don't understand why this is a given.

 

[classical_hero]

I will say French, since this guy made an invention that translated into this gibberish.

Good news indeed.

 

[Godwynn]

I will say French, since this guy made an invention that translated into this gibberish.

Good news indeed.

An extinct indecipherable language!

"Hello."

"Bonjour!"

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

"Crazy gibberish."

(They used German as the "crazy gibbberish" in the French translation.)

 

[Bast]

No one's mentioned languages like Yiddish and Ladino, although there are attempts to keep these languages alive in Israel. There are many languages that we don't even know about that are doing extinct with the tribes in South America and Indonesia.

French? German? I can't see them going out for a long time. Mostly because of the literature and culture surrounding the languages. The new generations will be bilingual at least and will use English most of the time but they will definitely keep their French and German.

I don't know a lot about Australian Aboriginal languages. Anyone? They could go.

 

[RedRalph]

French and German arent going anywhere, no idea why the OP mentioned them.

Irish is pretty strongly supported by the state, so wont die out any time soon.

 

[Winner]

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.

What?

Slovaks have preserved their language for 1000 years under constant Hungarian oppression and attempts to stamp it out. Czech survived for 500 years, despite all the Germanization attempts by the Hapsburgs. Similar examples could be found almost everywhere.

I see no reason why should people stop speaking their native tongue all of a sudden, just because there are more global influences in their countries.

It's more likely that most people will become bilingual or trilingual, especially if Europe becomes some sort of a federal state.

 

[Bast]

Welsh? Breton? Don't forget there are many languages in places in Burma and Thailand where people may think Burmese and Thai are the only languages spoken but in fact are not.

Irish should be fine.

 

[RedRalph]

Welsh? Breton? Don't forget there are many languages in places in Burma and Thailand where people may think Burmese and Thai are the only languages spoken but in fact are not.

Irish should be fine.

No mention to mention PNG

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

PNG has the highest density of languages of anywhere in the world.

 

[RedRalph]

PNG has the highest density of languages of anywhere in the world.

And looses loads every year, thats why I mentioned it. 5,000 IIRC

 

[Arwon]

More like 800ish.

5000 is the total number of languages in the world, give or take.

 

[Bast]

More like 800ish.

5000 is the total number of languages in the world, give or take.

I kinda puts things into perspective doesn't it? If you hear about someone being able to speak about five languages, you'd think wow they know a lot of languages. And then when you put into perspective like this, it's actually not a lot.

Not to mention all the dead languages.

 

[Cannae]

We need to preserve dying languages because one they can help us understand ourselfs but also they can and often do hold knowledge that could somehow and in someway really help us out. Plus if you save a language the culture that it's a part of will often survive.

It's important to note though that some south american indigenous languages have survived and thrived and Quechea has around 7 million or so speakers. I froget what indigenous language it is but it has more non-native speakers than natives.

But as for the rest of the world's indigenous languages they are in large part are and/or going to be goners. That is unless if we started to protect them now and have them taught and promoted in society.

 

[HannibalBarka]

Unless it is forcibly done by the State (like with regional languages in France) or done because of a massive and abrupt influx of immigration (like the frankish invasion of France or the arrival of arab tribes to North Africa in the 11th century) languages that are spoken by a population big enough to regenerate itself without needing external influx (so basically above a million speaker is largeley enough) won't disappear. Learning a second language does not in any way change that fact. People in the northern european countries (Sweden, Norway, NL, Denmark) very often if not always speak English, I don't see any trend for the local languages disappearing (as people still speak swedish in Sweden). German and French would need a nuclear cataclysm or a sudden invasion of France and Germany by tens of millions of Arabs, Indians or Chineze to see those two languages disappear.

 

[RedRalph]

More like 800ish.

5000 is the total number of languages in the world, give or take.

thats obviously what I meant

 

[Patroklos]

French and German arent going anywhere, no idea why the OP mentioned them.

Because they will eventually become legacy languages as global phenomenon like the interent expand our horizons to the point that our everyday life does not restrict us the town/city or even country. It will eventually be essential to your everyday life to have to talk to people in Russia/Brazil/China every day, and this will be done via languages already adopted as international.

i.e mot German or Polish, which even now are barely relevant outside their own borders let alone worldwide. I think they will both be "house" languages in 150 years.

Slovaks have preserved their language for 1000 years under constant Hungarian oppression and attempts to stamp it out.

In that time did any serious aspect of their every day life require them to talk to anyone who didn't speak Slovak? No.

Today, how resticted is someone who only speaks Slovak as far as internet usage? This site is a case in point, truely international boards/website are going to use an international language just like this one, and people who want access to them are going to have to learn one of those languages.

Every year the influence of things like the internet will grow, and our need for common communication methods for more and more basic needs will grow with it.

 

[theskald]

"Crazy gibberish."

(They used German as the "crazy gibbberish" in the French translation.)

That... That is absolutely fantastic.

Anyway, Pat, what's this about German being completely irrelevant outside its own sphere? False.

P.S. Catalonians would sooner kill every single person in Spain than let their precious language die.

 

[RedRalph]

Because they will eventually become legacy languages as global phenomenon like the interent expand our horizons to the point that our everyday life does not restrict us the town/city or even country. It will eventually be essential to your everyday life to have to talk to people in Russia/Brazil/China every day, and this will be done via languages already adopted as international.

i.e mot German or Polish, which even now are barely relevant outside their own borders let alone worldwide. I think they will both be "house" languages in 150 years.

I think you are underestimating nationalism. I'd be all for one world language, but its not going to happen for 1000s of years