Language Death—Prognosis

There are many movements to revive dying languages, such as Welsh, Irish Gaelic, and Maori, but success is elusive. As speakers of indigenous languages come together in cities, it is unlikely that they will pass these on to their children. People often see their unwritten native language as less “legitimate” than written ones used on television, in radio, and in films. In addition, indigenous languages tend to be complex and quite unlike the usually European ones that dominate the world. Most likely, in the future, many languages will die, while others will live as “taught” languages, encountered in school and on the page rather than learned at home.