DiscoverWhose Century Is It?: Ideas, trends & twists shaping the world in the 21st centuryWhy half the world's languages may disappear in this century
Why half the world's languages may disappear in this century

Why half the world's languages may disappear in this century

Update: 2018-04-08
Share

Description

Embedded in each language is a reflection of life as lived by its speakers, over thousands of years. And when a language disappears, that embedded knowledge is lost. As the world grows more connected, and as dominant cultures push their own languages for wider use – think English, Chinese and Arabic, for starters -- languages are disappearing. As many as half the world's 7,000 languages may be gone by the end of the century. The good news is that linguists are on it, like this episode’s guest Laura Welcher, who oversees the Long Now Foundation’s Rosetta Project in San Francisco.

Comments 
00:00
00:00
x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

Why half the world's languages may disappear in this century

Why half the world's languages may disappear in this century

Mary Kay Magistad