Written by: Andika Pratama

What happens when a language no longer has speakers within a speech community and is no longer used for a long period of time, gradually fading away? From an existential perspective, can such a language still be considered to exist, or does it simply disappear?

In fact, one language dies somewhere in the world approximately every two weeks, making the rate of language extinction a real yet often overlooked global crisis. Many people are aware of the threat posed to biodiversity by modernization. However, the same awareness is rarely applied to the diversity of human communication. Thousands of languages are currently on the verge of extinction because younger and future generations no longer speak them at home, let alone in the wider community. This is particularly evident in many local languages that are gradually being abandoned because they are considered irrelevant to contemporary life. Such a situation results in the loss of irreplaceable cultural heritage.

The number of languages spoken around the world today is estimated to be as high as 7,000. Ironically, the distribution of their speakers is highly uneven across continents. Approximately 96 percent of the world’s languages are spoken by only four percent of the global population. Consequently, most of the world’s languages have very small numbers of speakers. Around a quarter of these languages are spoken by fewer than 1,000 people, often in remote areas. When a language is spoken by a very small community, the threat of extinction becomes increasingly real and difficult to avoid.

Factors Triggering Language Loss

The first factor is natural disasters, which are beyond human control. Catastrophic natural disasters can instantly destroy a small community. In addition, deadly diseases introduced from outside a community have often wiped out a significant portion of indigenous populations. Severe famine and extreme drought can also force people to migrate away from their ancestral habitats in search of food. Environmental degradation caused by economic exploitation can deprive communities of their independence and eventually disperse them across different regions.

The second factor is cultural assimilation. A community may continue to live and remain healthy, yet its language can still die as a result of cultural assimilation. Rural populations often migrate to cities in search of better employment opportunities. Once they move into urban environments, they inevitably have to adapt to the dominant local culture. In order to survive, their use of their mother tongue gradually declines. Eventually, some parents may even feel ashamed of teaching their native language to their children because they fear that it will make them appear outdated or out of touch with modern times.

In addition to the influence of urban cultures that place greater emphasis on modernity and cultural diversity, the influence of majority languages has become stronger with the rapid development of information technology. Television and social media bring national and dominant languages into family spaces every day. Because of this constant exposure, young people may become more familiar with foreign languages than with the languages of their ancestors. When public facilities and services use only official or dominant languages, local languages are gradually pushed to the margins. Eventually, regional languages lose their functions within society.

The Profound Impact

A language inevitably reflects the collective identity of the community that speaks it. Losing a language therefore also means losing an important part of that community’s identity.

Historical records have shown that many indigenous languages contain specific vocabulary for plants that remain unknown to modern biological science. Traditional healing practices, thousands of names for rare plants and local animals, as well as agricultural methods that may contain valuable knowledge, can all be encoded and preserved through language.

When a language is allowed to disappear, the knowledge embedded within it may also disappear forever. This happens partly because equivalent terms may not exist in more widely spoken languages, and because there is often insufficient awareness or effort to develop local languages for use in scientific and academic contexts.

Given the seriousness of the situation, does this mean there are no practical solutions? Certainly not. There is still hope.

A language can survive if civil society recognizes the importance of preserving its cultural identity. Bilingualism should be continuously encouraged so that dominant or global languages and local languages can be used side by side. Local languages also need to be restored to public spaces and reintegrated into early childhood education curricula.

These efforts are essential for creating a heterogeneous linguistic ecosystem and a diverse society that does not rely exclusively on Western-oriented perspectives. If all elements of society work together, the rate of language extinction can be reduced and, in some cases, prevented, helping preserve the intellectual heritage of humanity on Earth.

References

Crystal, D. (2002). Language Death. Cambridge University Press.

Wurm, S. A. (1991). Language death and disappearance: Causes and circumstances. Diogenes, 39(153), 1–18.

Photo source: https://64.media.tumblr.com/5795ed18b8f45e17a263e9c5c6387cf0/tumblr_o9jsqbgPha1rwewyj_og_1280.jpg