What is an Endangered Language?

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Thousands of languages around the world are at risk of disappearing—and with them, entire cultures, histories, and systems of knowledge. Children no longer actively learn endangered languages or use them in daily life, often because of social, political, or economic pressures.

This guide explains what it means for a language to be endangered, why preserving languages matters, how many are currently at risk, and highlights global efforts to save them.

What is an endangered language?

An endangered language is at risk of falling out of use, often because its speakers shift to using another language. This can happen gradually, as younger generations stop learning or speaking it, usually due to social, political, or economic pressures. Once the last native speakers pass away, the language becomes extinct.

Languages become endangered for many reasons: colonisation, globalisation, migration, lack of institutional support, or even stigma against speaking a minority tongue. A few dozen people speak some endangered languages, while others still have thousands of speakers but lack official recognition or active intergenerational transmission.

Preserving these languages is about more than words. It’s about protecting cultural identity, ancestral knowledge, and the unique ways communities interpret them

What is the importance of preserving languages?

Preserving languages is vital because each language carries a unique worldview, cultural heritage, and system of knowledge. When a language disappears, we lose not just words, but centuries of stories and traditions.

For many communities, speaking their native language is an act of cultural resilience and pride. It strengthens intergenerational bonds and provides continuity between the past, present, and future.

From a global perspective, linguistic diversity enriches humanity. Every language offers insights into how people relate to nature, structure their societies, and solve problems. Many endangered languages contain ecological knowledge not written down anywhere. This can be about local plants, climate patterns, or sustainable living practices.

What is the current state of endangered languages globally?

Over 40% of the world’s approximately 7,000 languages face endangerment. Fewer than 1,000 people speak many of them, and in some cases, only a handful of older individuals keep them alive. UNESCO classifies these languages, ranging from vulnerable to critically endangered, with hundreds becoming extinct in recent decades.

Globalisation, language policies, urban migration, and lack of intergenerational transmission are driving this decline. While revitalisation efforts exist, through education, media, and digital tools, the pace of language loss still exceeds preservation progress.

How many endangered languages are there?

UNESCO reports that over 3,000 of the world’s approximately 7,000 languages are endangered. That means nearly half of all known languages are at risk of disappearing.

Criteria for Endangerment

Understanding how and why languages become endangered helps identify those at risk and reveals how to preserve them.

Organisations like UNESCO and linguists worldwide use specific criteria to assess the degree of endangerment a language faces. These criteria help prioritise efforts in documentation, revitalisation, and community support.

Factors that determine language endangerment

Several interlinked factors influence the vitality of a language. The more of these that are present, the more endangered a language is likely to be.

Number of speakers

The total number of fluent speakers, especially native or first-language speakers, is a key indicator. People often consider languages critically at risk when fewer than 1,000 speak them, especially if the number of speakers shrinks each year.

However, numbers alone don’t tell the full story; a language can still be endangered even if several thousand people speak it, especially when other vital conditions aren’t met.

Transmission to future generations

A language survives in the long term when people teach it to children. If families and communities stop using it in homes, schools, or daily conversations with younger generations, it starts to lose its role in society.

Without active communication, a language can shift from endangered to extinct within a single lifetime.

Sociolinguistic factors

Languages are shaped by social, cultural, and political forces. 

When speakers experience pressure to abandon their language, due to discrimination, lack of educational support, or the dominance of more widely spoken languages, they may switch to the dominant language for economic or social survival. This process, known as language shift, often marks the beginning of language decline.

Classifications of language endangerment

To better understand the urgency of language preservation, UNESCO developed a set of classifications of language endangerment. These categories help linguists, educators, and communities identify how at-risk a language is and prioritise revitalisation efforts. 

The five main stages are vulnerable, definitely endangered, severely endangered, critically endangered, and extinct. Each reflects the degree to which a language is spoken, taught, and transmitted to future generations.

Vulnerable

A vulnerable language is still spoken by most children, but its use may be restricted to specific contexts, such as at home or within certain communities. It is not used widely in public, education or the media. While not immediately at risk, a vulnerable language can shift quickly towards endangerment if not actively supported.

Definitely endangered

A definitely endangered language is no longer being learnt by children as a first language. Only the parental generation or older may be fluent. As daily use decreases, the language begins to lose its function. Without intervention, it can move rapidly towards a more severe classification.

Severely endangered

A severely endangered language is spoken by older generations, but very few members of the younger generation are fluent. Communication in the language is often limited to older people. The language is used only in restricted settings.

Critically endangered

A critically endangered language has only a few older speakers remaining. These individuals may use the language infrequently and often do not have regular conversations in it. The language is on the verge of extinction, with very little opportunity for revival unless urgent documentation and teaching efforts are made.

Extinct

An extinct language has no living speakers. Once the last fluent speaker dies, the language is considered lost. While some extinct languages may be partially reconstructed through records or archives, full revitalisation is rare without a living speaker base. Preventing extinction is a major goal of global language preservation efforts

Causes of Language Endangerment

Languages don’t disappear on their own—they become endangered due to a range of external pressures. The causes of language endangerment are often complex, involving political, economic, and social dynamics that marginalise minority and Indigenous languages.

Globalisation and language shift

Globalisation has made communication faster and more connected, but it has also accelerated language shift, where communities abandon their native language in favour of a more dominant one, such as English, Spanish, or Mandarin. This shift often occurs for access to education, jobs, and social mobility.

Cultural assimilation and loss of identity

Throughout history, many communities have been subjected to cultural assimilation, often through colonisation, forced schooling, or state-sponsored campaigns. 

When people are pressured or incentivised to adopt a dominant culture and abandon their own, their linguistic identity breaks down.

Socioeconomic factors

Poverty, lack of education, and rural isolation often force speakers of minority languages to migrate to urban areas or integrate into dominant-language economies. 

In such settings, local languages are rarely used in schools, workplaces, or media, making them less practical. This economic pressure drives younger generations to adopt more “useful” languages for survival and success.

Political policies affecting minority languages

Government actions can directly or indirectly endanger languages. Language policies that ban or exclude minority tongues from education, media, or official use contribute to their decline. In some cases, governments or institutions fail to recognise Indigenous or regional languages, leaving communities without the support they need to maintain or teach them.

Consequences of Language Loss

The disappearance of a language is more than the loss of words. It’s the erosion of culture, identity, and generations of knowledge. The consequences of language loss are far-reaching, affecting not just individual communities but also global cultural and ecological diversity.

Cultural implications

Language is a carrier of cultural identity, oral history, and worldview. When a language dies, so does a community’s connection to its past. 

This includes its stories, ceremonies, songs, and social norms. This loss weakens cultural continuity and often leads to diminished pride and cohesion within the community.

Loss of traditional knowledge and practices

Endangered languages often contain specialised knowledge that is not recorded elsewhere. This includes traditional medicine, farming techniques, spiritual beliefs, and survival skills passed down through generations.

When people lose a language, they also lose the intangible heritage encoded in its vocabulary, expressions, and metaphors.

Effects on biodiversity and ecological knowledge

Many Indigenous communities tie their languages closely to the natural environment, using specific terms for local species, weather patterns, and ecosystems.

Language loss can lead to the erosion of ecological knowledge, making it harder to preserve biodiversity. Studies have shown that areas rich in linguistic diversity often overlap with regions of high biological diversity.

Efforts in Preservation and Revitalisation

With thousands of languages at risk, global and local efforts to preserve endangered languages are more important than ever. From community-driven projects to digital tools, these initiatives aim to document, teach, and revive languages before they disappear.

Documenting endangered languages

One of the first steps in language preservation is language documentation. This includes recording vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and oral traditions. 

Linguists often work with native speakers to create audio recordings, dictionaries, and written resources. These are essential for future language learning and revitalisation efforts, especially when only a few speakers remain.

Revitalisation programs and educational initiatives

Schools, cultural centres, and families are introducing language revitalisation programmes to help younger generations reconnect with their heritage.

Bilingual education, community language classes, and immersion programmes have shown success in places like New Zealand (with Māori) and Wales (with Welsh).

Role of technology in language preservation

Modern tools have opened new possibilities for digital language preservation. Mobile apps, online dictionaries, tutorials, and AI transcription tools are helping to revive endangered languages. 

Free resources, such as language learning apps and open-access archives, make endangered languages more accessible, especially for diaspora communities.

Community involvement and activism

Successful preservation relies heavily on community engagement. When native speakers take the lead through storytelling, workshops, or local campaigns, language activism becomes more effective and culturally relevant and also speeds up the progress of enabling the revival of some of these endangered languages. Empowering communities to take pride in their language and identity is key to long-term revitalisation.

Case Studies of an Endangered Language

Real-world examples highlight the urgency of language loss and the hope offered by revitalisation efforts. These case studies of endangered languages show what is at stake – and even more importantly, what is possible.

Example of a critically endangered language

The Ainu language, once spoken widely by the Indigenous Ainu people of northern Japan, is now considered critically endangered. With only a handful of older native speakers remaining, the language has almost no presence in daily life. 

Years of assimilation policies and the dominance of the Japanese led to its steep decline. Today, communities and some government initiatives are working to preserve Ainu through documentation and community centres. However, without broader intergenerational transmission, its survival remains uncertain.

Successful revitalisation efforts in certain communities

The Māori language offers an example of language revitalisation success. By the 1980s, Māori was in severe decline, but activism led to the creation of Kōhanga Reo (language nests), early childhood centres where Māori was the primary language. 

New Zealand later established immersion schools, launched TV and radio stations, and officially recognised Māori as one of its national languages. Today, thousands of young people are learning Māori, and its status continues to grow

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