An indigenous language is one that developed in a particular location; it was not brought to the area from “outside.” Indigenous languages are usually associated with Indigenous peoples around the world and, like those peoples, these languages are often under pressure for survival. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) notes that the vast majority of the world’s languages are spoken by a very small number of the world’s people (Foundation for Endangered Languages, 2016, para. 2). “At the other end of the scale, 10 major languages, each spoken by over 109 million people, are the mother tongues of almost half (49%) of the world’s population” (Foundation for Endangered Languages, 2016, para 4).
UNESCO estimates that “in most world regions, about 90% of the languages may be replaced by dominant languages by the end of the 21st century” (UNESCO, 2003, p. 2). This pressure is due to many factors, including external economic and religious pressures, educational subjugation, or even the community’s own negative attitudes to their own language (for example, feeling that it does not help them “get ahead” economically or that it identifies them with a group subject to discrimination) (UNESCO, 2003, p. 2).
In some cases, languages are endangered or have gone extinct. This occurs when no one can speak or remember the language. It is a one-way process: an extinct language cannot be revived unless it has been adequately documented. Scientists and anthropologists around the world recognize that the loss of linguistic diversity is a serious problem. With the loss of a language, we also lose the ability to communicate vital knowledge.
Organizations that work to preserve the world’s indigenous languages have developed plans of action to support and sustain these languages. For example, UNESCO (2010) has developed the UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, and a system to measure the degrees of endangerment of those languages, in six degrees from safe to extinct. The Foundation for Endangered Languages (2016) has developed a Manifesto that sets out its aims and objectives. It is hoped that taking various measures will prevent the loss of indigenous languages, but if nothing else, appropriate documentation can help to revitalize languages that have been lost.
