GLOBAL LANGUAGE DIVERSITY AT RISK, ALARMING TRENDS IN SOME REGIONS

Mon 24 Apr 2023:

According to a study of 2,400 languages, half of global linguistic diversity, which refers to the number of languages in the globe as well as the various dialects, accents, and styles of speaking within each language, is under threat.

There are about 7,000 languages spoken in the world today, with some languages having millions of speakers and others having only a few hundred.

The diversity of languages is essential because it allows for cultural expression and communication among diverse cultures. Every language has its own distinct history, traditions, and way of thinking. We can ensure that these cultural nuances are not lost by maintaining and celebrating language diversity.

However, language diversity is threatened. In a new paper published in Science Advances, the authors of the study, Hedvig Skirgård, a Postdoctoral researcher at Australian National University and Simon Greenhill, an Associate Professor at the University of Auckland launched an extensive database of language grammars called Grambank.

With the help of this resource, the authors say they can respond to a variety of linguistic research queries and determine how much grammatical diversity we may lose if the problem is not resolved.

The research claims to show frightening trends. It suggests that we are losing languages and language diversity, and unless we take action, the shared past may disappear. The research team sought to comprehend what grammatical diversity would be lost in addition to the loss of specific languages.

The astonishing diversity of languages shown by the Grambank database is evidence of the human ability for change and variety. The researchers evaluated the type of loss we may anticipate if languages that are now threatened with extinction were to vanish. Using an ecological measure of diversity, it was found out that some areas would be struck more severely than others.

It is horrifying to think that some parts of the world, like South America and Australia, would eventually lose all of their native linguistic diversity due to the threat facing all of their indigenous languages, as per the study.

Even other areas with more secure linguistic environments, such as the Pacific, South-East Asia, and Europe, nonetheless exhibit a sharp decline of roughly 25%.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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