Extinct language

An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers.^[1], or that is no longer in current use. Extinct languages are sometimes contrasted with dead languages, which are still known and used in special contexts in written form, but not as ordinary spoken languages for everyday communication. However, language extinction and language death are often equated.

Language loss

Normally the transition from a spoken to an extinct language occurs when a language undergoes language death while being directly replaced by a different one. For example, Native American languages were replaced by English, French, Portuguese, or Spanish as a result of colonization. The Coptic language, although retained for liturgical use in Coptic Christian churches, was replaced for the purposes of daily life by Arabic in its native Egypt.

By contrast to an extinct language which no longer has any speakers, a dead language may remain in use for scientific, legal, or ecclesiastical functions. Old Church Slavonic, Avestan, Coptic, Biblical Hebrew, Ge'ez, Latin, and Sanskrit are among the many dead languages used as sacred languages.

Sometimes a language that has changed so much that linguists describe it as a different language (or different stage) is called "extinct", as in the case of Old English, a forerunner of Modern English. But in such cases, the language never ceased to be used by speakers, and as linguist's subdivisions in the process of language change are fairly arbitrary, such forerunner languages are not properly speaking extinct.

A language that currently has living native speakers is called a modern language. Ethnologue records 7,358 living languages known.^[2]

Hebrew is an example of a nearly extinct spoken language (by the first definition above) that became a lingua franca and a liturgical language that has been revived to become a living spoken language. There are other attempts at language revival. For example, young school children use Sanskrit in revived language in Mathoor village (India).^[3] In general, the success of these attempts has been subject to debate, as it is not clear they will ever become the common native language of a community of speakers.

It is believed that 90% of the circa 7,000 languages currently spoken in the world will have become extinct by 2050, as the world's language system has reached a crisis and is dramatically restructuring.^[4][5]

Globalization, development, and language extinction

As economic and cultural globalization and development continue to push forward, growing numbers of languages will become endangered and eventually, extinct. With increasing economic integration on national and regional scales, people find it easier to communicate and conduct business in the dominant languages of world commerce: English, Chinese, and Spanish.^[6]

In their study of contact-induced language change, American linguists Sarah Grey Thomason and Terrence Kaufman state that in situations of cultural pressure (where populations must speak a dominant language), three linguistic outcomes may occur: first - and most commonly - a subordinate population may shift abruptly to the dominant language, leaving the native language to a sudden linguistic death. Second, the more gradual process of language death may occur over several generations. The third and most rare outcome is for the pressured group to maintain as much of its native language as possible, while borrowing elements of the dominant language's grammar (replacing all, or portions of, the grammar of the original language).^[7]

Institutions such as the education system, as well as (often global) forms of media such as the Internet, television, and print media play a significant role in the process of language loss.^[6] For example, immigrants from one country come to another, their kids go to school in the country, and the schools may teach them in the official language of the country rather than their native language.

Cultural anthropologist Wade Davis points to the dangers of "modernization" (often cited as reason for economic development^[8]) and globalization as threats to indigenous cultures and languages throughout the world.^[9] He argues that just as the biosphere is being eroded by these forces, so too is the "ethnosphere" - the cultural web of life.^[10]

Implications of language extinction

Estimates of future language loss range from half of more than 6000 currently spoken languages being lost in the next 200 years,^[11] to 90% by the year 2050.^[5] Wade Davis states that languages - as not simply bodies of vocabulary or sets of grammatical rules, but "old growth forests of the mind" - for the many and unique cultures of the world reflect different ways of being, thinking, and knowing.^[10]

As Davis puts it, language extinction effectively reduces the "entire range of the human imagination... to a more narrow modality of thought",^[10] and thus privileges the ways of knowing in dominant (and overwhelmingly European) languages such as English. Foucauldian ideas of power and knowledge, as both inseparable and symbiotic, are implicated in the universalizing of European knowledge as truth, and the rendering of other forms as less valid or false: mere superstition, folklore, or mythology.^[12] In the case of language extinction, those "voices" which are deemed to be inferior or secondary by colonizing, globalizing, or developing forces are literally silenced.

Davis also illustrates that languages are lost not because cultures are destined to fade away (as proponents of environmental or cultural determinism or Social Darwinism may contend), but rather that they are "driven out of existence by identifiable forces that are beyond their capacity to adapt to"; he further remonstrates that "genocide, the physical extinction of a people is universally condemned, but ethnocide, the destruction of peoples' way of life is not only not condemned, it's universally - in many quarters - celebrated as part of a development strategy."^[10]

Recently extinct languages

Main article: List of extinct languages

With last known speaker and/or date of death.

1. Adai: (late 19th century)
2. Aka-Bo: Boa Sr (2010)
3. Akkala Sami: Marja Sergina (2003)
4. entire Alsean family
   1. Alsea: John Albert (1942)
   2. Yaquina: (1884)
5. Apalachee: (early 18th century)
6. Arwi: (Early 19th Century)
7. Aruá: (1877)
8. Atakapa: (early 20th century)
9. Atsugewi: (1988)
10. Beothuk: Shanawdithit (a.k.a. "Nancy April") (1829)
11. entire Catawban family:
    1. Catawba: before 1960
    2. Woccon
12. Cayuse: (ca. 1930s)
13. Chemakum: (ca. 1940s)
14. Chicomuceltec: (late 20th century)
15. Chimariko: (ca. 1930s)
16. Chitimacha: Benjamin Paul (1934) & Delphine Ducloux (1940)
17. entire Chumashan family: Barbareño language was last to become extinct.
    1. Barbareño: Mary Yee (1965)
    2. Ineseño
    3. Island Chumash
    4. Obispeño
    5. Purisimeño
    6. Ventureño
18. Coahuilteco: (18th century)
19. Cochimí (a Yuman language): (early 19th century)
20. entire Comecrudan family
    1. Comecrudo: recorded from children (Andrade, Emiterio, Joaquin, & others) of last speakers in 1886
    2. Garza: last recorded in 1828
    3. Mamulique: last recorded in 1828
21. entire Coosan family
    1. Hanis: Martha Johnson (1972)
    2. Miluk: Annie Miner Peterson (1939)
22. all Costanoan languages (which make up a subfamily of the Utian language family): (ca. 1940s)
    1. Karkin
    2. Mutsun
    3. Northern Costanoan:
       1. Ramaytush
       2. Chochenyo
       3. Tamyen
       4. Awaswas
    4. Rumsen: last recorded speaker died 1939 in Monterey, California.
    5. Chalon
23. Cotoname: last recorded from Santos Cavázos and Emiterio in 1886
24. Crimean Gothic: language vanished by the 1800s
25. Cuman: (early 17th century)
26. Dalmatian: Tuone Udaina, (June 10, 1898)
27. Esselen: report of few speakers left in 1833, extinct before end 19th century
28. Eyak (a Na-Dené language): Marie Smith Jones, January 21, 2008^[13]
29. Gabrielino (an Uto-Aztecan language): elderly speakers last recorded in 1933
30. Galice-Applegate (an Athabaskan language):
    1. Galice dialect: Hoxie Simmons (1963)
31. Greenlandic Norse: (by the late 15th century (16th century at the latest))
32. Modern Gutnish (by the 18th century)
33. Jassic (17th century)
34. Juaneño (an Uto-Aztecan language): last recorded in 1934
35. Kakadu (Gagadju): Big Bill Neidjie (July 2002)
36. entire Kalapuyan family:
    1. Central Kalapuya:
       1. Ahantchuyuk, Luckimute, Mary's River, and Lower McKenzie River dialects: last speakers were about 6 persons who were all over 60 in 1937
       2. Santiam dialect: (ca. 1950s)
    2. Northern Kalapuya:
       1. Tualatin dialect: Louis Kenoyer (1937)
       2. Yamhill dialect: Louisa Selky (1915)
    3. Yonkalla: last recorded in 1937 from Laura Blackery Albertson who only partly remembered it.
37. Kamassian: last native speaker, Klavdiya Plotnikova died in (1989)
38. Karankawa: (1858)
39. Kathlamet (a Chinookan language): (ca. 1930s)
40. Kitanemuk (an Uto-Aztecan language): Marcelino Rivera, Isabella Gonzales, Refugia Duran (last recorded 1937)
41. Kitsai (a Caddoan language): Kai Kai (ca. 1940)^[14]
42. Kwalhioqua-Clatskanie (an Athabaskan language): children of the last speakers remembered a few words, recorded in 1935 & 1942
    1. Clatskanie dialect: father of Willie Andrew (ca. 1870)
    2. Kwalhioqua dialect: mother of Lizzie Johnson (1910)
43. Lower Chinook (a Chinookan language): (ca. 1930s)
44. Mahican: last spoken in Wisconsin (ca. 1930s)
45. Manx: Ned Maddrell (December 1974) (but is being revived as a second language)
46. Mattole-Bear River (an Athabaskan language):
    1. Bear River dialect: material from last elderly speaker recorded (ca. 1929)
    2. Mattole dialect: material recorded (ca. 1930)
47. Mbabaram: Albert Bennett (1972)
48. Miami-Illinois: (1989)
49. Mochica: ca. 1950s
50. Mohegan: Fidelia Fielding (1908)
51. Molala: Fred Yelkes (1958)
52. Munichi: Victoria Huancho Icahuate (late 1990s)
53. Natchez: Watt Sam & Nancy Raven (early 1930s)
54. Negerhollands: Alice Stevenson (1987)
55. Nooksack: Sindick Jimmy (1977)
56. Northern Pomo: (1994)
57. Nottoway (an Iroquoian language): last recorded before 1836
58. Pentlatch (a Salishan language): Joe Nimnim (1940)
59. Pánobo (a Pano–Tacanan language): 1991
60. Pochutec (Uto-Aztecan last documented 1917 by Franz Boas
61. Polabian (a Slavic language): (late 18th century)
62. Sadlermiut Died by disease in 1902.
63. Salinan: (ca. 1960)
64. entire Shastan family
    1. Konomihu
    2. New River Shasta
    3. Okwanuchu
    4. Shasta: 3 elderly speakers in 1980, extinct by 1990
65. Sirenik Last speaker died of old age in 1997.
66. Siuslaw: (ca. 1970s)
67. Slovincian (a Slavic language): (20th century)
68. Sowa (a language of Vanuatu): last fluent speaker died in 2000
69. Susquehannock: all last speakers murdered in 1763
70. Takelma: Molly Orton (or Molly Orcutt) & Willie Simmons (both not fully fluent) last recorded in 1934
71. Tasmanian: (late 19th century)
72. Tataviam (an Uto-Aztecan language): Juan José Fustero who remembered only a few words of his grandparents' language (recorded 1913)
73. Teteté (a Tucanoan language)
74. Tillamook (a Salishan language): (1970)
75. Tonkawa: 6 elderly people in 1931
76. Tsetsaut (an Athabaskan language): last fluent speaker was elderly man recorded in 1894
77. Tunica: Sesostrie Youchigant (ca. mid 20th century)
78. Ubykh: Tevfik Esenç (October 1992)
79. Most dialects of Upper Chinook (a Chinookan language) are extinct, except for the Wasco-Wishram dialect. The Clackamas dialect became extinct in the 1930s, other dialects have little documentation. (The Wasco-Wishram language is still spoken by five elders.^[15])
80. Upper Umpqua: Wolverton Orton, last recorded in 1942
81. Vegliot Dalmatian: Tuone Udaina (Italian: Antonio Udina) (10 June 1898)
82. Wappo : Laura Fish Somersal 1990
83. Wiyot: Della Prince (1962)
84. Yana: Ishi (1916)
85. Yola related to English (mid-19th century)

See also

Languages portal

• Endangered language
• Language death
• List of endangered languages
• List of languages by time of extinction
• Language revival
• Category:Extinct languages

References

1. ^ Lenore A. Grenoble, Lindsay J. Whaley, Saving Languages: An Introduction to Language Revitalization, Cambridge University Press (2006) p.18
2. ^ Ethnologue
3. ^ Times of India.
4. ^ Study by language researcher, David Graddol
5. ^ ^{a b} Research by Southwest University for Nationalities College of Liberal Arts
6. ^ ^{a b} Malone, Elizabeth. "Language and Linguistics: Endangered Language." National Science Foundation. 28 Jul 2008. National Science Foundation, Web. 23 Oct 2009. <http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/linguistics/endangered.jsp>.
7. ^ Thomason, Sarah Grey & Kaufman, Terrence. Language contact, creolization, and genetic linguistics, University of California Press (1991) p. 100.
8. ^ Timmons Roberts, J. & Hite, Amy. From Modernization to Globalization: Perspectives on Development and Social Change, Wiley-Blackwell (2000)
9. ^ Davis, Wade. The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World, House of Anansi Press (2009).
10. ^ ^{a b c d} Davis, Wade. ""On endangered cultures"." TED Talks. Monterey, CA. Feb 2003. Lecture. 22 Oct 2009. <http://www.ted.com/talks/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures.html>
11. ^ "Linguistic Expert Warns of Language Extinction." Science Daily 4 Mar 2007: n. pag. Web. 23 Oct 2009. <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070218140348.htm>.
12. ^ Sharp, Joanne. Geographies of Postcolonialism, chapter 6: Can the Subaltern Speak?. SAGE Publications, 2008.
13. ^ "When nobody understands". The Economist. October 23, 2008. http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12483451&fsrc=rss. Retrieved 2008-10-25. "The electronic age drives some languages out of existence, but can help save others" 
14. ^ Science: Last of the Kitsai. Time. 27 June 1932 (retrieved 6 Sept 2009)
15. ^ Culture: Language. The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. 2009 (retrieved 9 April 2009)

Bibliography

• Adelaar, Willem F. H.; & Muysken, Pieter C. (2004). The languages of the Andes. Cambridge language surveys. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521362757.
• Brenzinger, Matthias (ed.) (1992) Language Death: Factual and Theoretical Explorations with Special Reference to East Africa. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-013404-9.
• Campbell, Lyle; & Mithun, Marianne (Eds.). (1979). The languages of native America: Historical and comparative assessment. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292746245.
• Davis, Wade. (2009). The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World. House of Anansi Press. ISBN 0887847668.
• Dorian, Nancy C. (1978). Fate of morphological complexity in language death: Evidence from East Sutherland Gaelic. Language, 54 (3), 590-609.
• Dorian, Nancy C. (1981). Language death: The life cycle of a Scottish Gaelic dialect. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812277856.
• Dressler, Wolfgand & Wodak-Leodolter, Ruth (eds.) (1977) Language death (International Journal of the Sociology of Language vol. 12). The Hague: Mouton.
• Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (Ed.). (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the world (15th ed.). Dallas, TX: SIL International. ISBN 1-55671-159-X. (Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com).
• Harrison, K. David. (2007) When Languages Die: The Extinction of the World's Languages and the Erosion of Human Knowledge. New York and London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195181920.
• Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X.
• Mohan, Peggy; & Zador, Paul. (1986). Discontinuity in a life cycle: The death of Trinidad Bhojpuri. Language, 62 (2), 291-319.
• Sasse, Hans-Jürgen (1992) 'Theory of language death', in Brenzinger (ed.) Language Death, pp. 7–30.
• Schilling-Estes, Natalie; & Wolfram, Walt. (1999). Alternative models of dialect death: Dissipation vs. concentration. Language, 75 (3), 486-521.
• Sebeok, Thomas A. (Ed.). (1973). Linguistics in North America (parts 1 & 2). Current trends in linguistics (Vol. 10). The Hauge: Mouton. (Reprinted as Sebeok 1976).
• Sharp, Joanne. (2008). Chapter 6: Can the Subaltern Speak?, in Geographies of Postcolonialism. Glasgow, UK: SAGE Publications Ltd. ISBN 9781412907798.
• Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove. (2000). Linguistic genocide in education or worldwide diversity and human rights? Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 0-8058-3468-0.
• Thomason, Sarah Grey & Kaufman, Terrence. (1991). Language contact, creolization, and genetic linguistics. University of California Press. ISBN 0520078934.
• Timmons Roberts, J. & Hite, Amy. (2000). From Modernization to Globalization: Perspectives on Development and Social Change. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 9780631210979.

External links

• The Dodo's Fate: How languages become extinct
• Linguist List - List of Ancient and Extinct Languages&A list of ancient and extinct languages with temporary codes
• The Foundation of Endangered Languages
• Endangered Languages
• Photos of letters/characters from ancient and living languages featured on exterior walls of Library of Alexandria