After two print editions of the UNESCO
Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger of Disappering (1996 and 2001), the information collected on a large number of endangered languages in all parts of the world is now available online starting with the
map of the African continent.
The online edition has been developed as an interdisciplinary initiative (Culture Sector, Communication and Information Sector), in the framework of the
Endangered languages and
Multilingualism in Cyberspace programmes of UNESCO.
The
main objectives of the online
Atlas are to:
- Contribute to the safeguarding of languages in danger of disappearing with a view to contribute to the preservation of the world's linguistic and cultural diversity.
- Share knowledge on endangered languages through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).
- Promote public awareness and international debate concerning languages in danger of disappearing through the development of an interactive on-line tool.
- Foster intellectual cooperation with local, regional, national and international organizations in order to combine efforts to promote and preserve the world’s endangered languages.
Why preserve language diversity?
Language diversity is essential to the human heritage. Each and every language embodies the unique cultural wisdom of a people. The loss of any language is thus a loss for all humanity. Although approximately 6,000 languages still exist, many are under threat. There is an imperative need for language documentation, new methods, new policy initiatives and safeguarding strategies to enhance the vitality of these languages. The cooperative efforts of language communities, language professionals, NGOs and governments will be indispensable in countering this threat. There is a pressing need to build support for language communities in their efforts to establish meaningful new roles for their endangered languages.
How do languages become endangered?
A language is endangered when its speakers cease to use it, use it in an increasingly reduced number of communicative domains, and cease to pass it on from one generation to the next. Language endangerment may be the result of external forces such as military, economic, religious, cultural or educational subjugation, or it may be caused by internal forces, such as a community’s negative attitude towards its own language. Internal pressures often have their source in external ones, and both halt the intergenerational transmission of linguistic and cultural traditions.
According to the
Language Vitality and Endangerment Paper prepared by the UNESCO Ad Hoc Expert Group on Endangered Languages, the endangerment status of a language can be assessed by using a set of nine factors:
Factor 1: Intergenerational language transmission
Factor 2: Absolute number of speakers
Factor 3: Proportion of speakers within the total population
Factor 4: Shifts in domains of language use
Factor 5: Response to new domains and media
Factor 6: Materials for language education and literacy
Factor 7: Governmental and institutional language attitudes and policies, including official status and use
Factor 8: Community member’s attitudes towards their own language
Factor 9: Type and quality of documentation
Taken together, these nine factors are useful for characterizing a language’s viability and its function in society. No single factor alone can be used to assess the state of a community’s language and the type of support needed for its maintenance, revitalization and transmission. In addition, the need of ensuring access to digital local content adds an important new component for consideration in preserving languages.
The information given by the language profiles in the Atlas online and the references mentioned for further information are not yet complete. By making the African part of the Atlas available on-line, UNESCO intends to complete the information given in the printed version, to update it regularly, and also to add new languages by using research data and information coming from speaker communities, linguists and other specialists.
Researchers and native speakers all over the world are invited to comment on the existing information and to make available their research results for the users of the online Atlas.
Contact: ling.diversity@unesco.org
