Language Death

Redacted   Thursday, July 03, 2003, 14:59 GMT
Among the world’s 6,800 tongues, half to 90 percent could become extinct by the end of this century, linguists predict. One reason is because half of all languages are spoken by fewer than 2,500 people each, according to the Worldwatch Institute, a private organization that monitors global trends.

Languages need at least 100,000 speakers to survive, says UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. War and genocide, fatal natural disasters, the adoption of more dominant languages such as Chinese and Spanish, and government bans on language also contribute to their demise.
Dorian   Thursday, July 03, 2003, 16:57 GMT
There is a link for this topic :
http://www.ogmios.org/manifesto.htm
mike   Friday, July 04, 2003, 11:18 GMT
I suggest that we try to forget about the mind-boggling number of languages and let most of them die. Let's focus on the creation of a pefect and universal - perhaps even ideal - language based on English. I suppose the language will survive and we'll see gradual death of all the rest. Anyway the more languages the more difficult it is to understand each other. And the more understanding the fewer mistundestandings and wasting time on wars, conflicts, political bickering etc. Let's not weep over spilt milk and focus on teaching English to all people across the world for the sooner we do it the sooner we'll get the opportunity to change the face of the world. Language, as a communication means, could be a good beginning. Let's unite forces in a concerted effort to pull down the Babel tower.
Corey Graham   Friday, July 04, 2003, 14:28 GMT
In the 1870's or so a universal language was created it was called
"esperanto". It was a combination of most latin based languages to create a universal language with a wide appeal.

The league of nations officially made it the language of operation in every member country but France.

Prejeduce and genocide soon eliminated this language as it was seen to be "anti - nationalist" to speak a tongue other than the established.

Frankly we're too dumb to set aside our differences and unite any part of our culture with another.

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto_history
mike   Sunday, July 06, 2003, 15:20 GMT
Don't fret Corey, time will do the trick.
yuiop   Sunday, July 06, 2003, 19:03 GMT
>>Frankly we're too dumb to set aside our differences and unite any part of our culture with another. <<
Absolutely true Corey Graham ! I agree with you and sometimes for unimortant differences.
Super SagaSon   Sunday, July 06, 2003, 20:35 GMT
Portuguese language is already dead,
Dmitry Lovermann   Wednesday, July 09, 2003, 19:42 GMT
Hm, latin is oficially dead, but people speak it and write and read...
Clark   Wednesday, July 09, 2003, 22:46 GMT
An interesting note about countries using Espersanto. There was a country that was set after WWI who was going, or adopted, to adopt Esperanto as the national language. But with the rise of Hitler, and then the changing of national boundries, the country was incorporated into either France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany or Poland. I cannot remember the country's name, but it starts with an "M" and the flag looks like Estonia's flag, except the top is black, middle is blue and the bottom stripe is white.
To Clark   Thursday, July 10, 2003, 00:00 GMT
What you said about the "M" country is a whole mistry that intrigues me hugely.
Clark   Thursday, July 10, 2003, 00:22 GMT
I will try to find out more for you then.
mjd   Thursday, July 10, 2003, 01:05 GMT
Super SagaSon,

How is Portuguese dead?

Brazil is a huge country, not to mention Portugal itself, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, East Timor, etc.

Eu estou esperando sua explicação.
Clark   Thursday, July 10, 2003, 01:06 GMT
After a hard time searching for this place, here is a link to Wikipedia to tell you more about it:

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moresnet
Clark   Thursday, July 10, 2003, 01:07 GMT
I do not know why I thought WWI, but apparently it was a hundred years earlier when this little place was around.
Clark   Thursday, July 10, 2003, 21:33 GMT
I know that language death is not the most pleasant thing, but I have been thinking about it, and it is not that bad. Think about it, Latin has been dead for centuries, but there are still people who learn the language. So it is only dead because people do not use it as a national language. The same can be true for various other languages; if there is enough literature and enough resources in the language, then there will be something for generations in the future to learn.