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The world's languages are dying

Thousands of minority languages are on the brink of extinction

The world鈥檚 rich linguistic tapestry is unravelling. Around a third of the world鈥檚 languages now have fewer than a thousand speakers left. The UN says more needs to be done and, to raise awareness, it declared 2019 the year of indigenous languages. The numbers of languages heading for extinction number in the thousands and are spoken by small tribes and ethnic groups scattered around the world. In September this year in Russia, a retired professor set himself on fire in protest against the disappearance of his own native language, Udmurt. His tragic death prompted a discussion about the ways of preserving minority languages. But are all indigenous languages worth saving - and at what cost? Which ones should we prioritise and how is that decided? Why do speakers of minority languages feel so deeply about preserving their mother tongue and their culture? Join Julian Worricker and his panel of expert guests as they discuss how we keep the thousands of minority languages alive in an era when just 23 languages accounts for half the world鈥檚 population.

Available now

53 minutes

Last on

Sat 7 Dec 2019 04:06GMT

Contributors

Alexander Savelyev聽- Linguist and Chuvash speaker from Russia

Rozenn Milin - Linguist and expert in endangered languages, Breton speaker聽

Barbra Meek - Professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbour

Also featuring:

Alexander Konstantinov - Ethnic Evenk musician from Russia

Photo

Alexander Konstantinov, an ethnic Evenk musician, herding reindeer, courtesy of Alexander Konstantinov<?xml:namespace prefix = "o" ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Broadcasts

  • Fri 6 Dec 2019 09:06GMT
  • Sat 7 Dec 2019 00:06GMT
  • Sat 7 Dec 2019 03:06GMT
  • Sat 7 Dec 2019 04:06GMT

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