top of page

Lesson 2: Languages around the World

Linguists create and use different types of maps to help gather information about languages.

Key Concepts

  • Static Map

  • Multimedia Map

  • Endangered Languages Project

  • Endangered Language Alliance

UNIT 1: LINGUISTIC MAP

Let’s dive deeper into the numbers and facts. There are about 7,000 languages spoken today. However, in 2022, the Endangered Languages Project (ELP) identified 2,450 of these as threatened. The area with the highest number of endangered languages is Oceania, which includes islands to the east and north of Australia, with 733 endangered languages. In Europe, 148 languages were listed as threatened in 2022. The forecasts do not look good. Scientists warn that by the end of the century only 50% of the currently 7,000 spoken languages will survive. 

 

The already mentioned organization ELP, documents languages and also fights for their protection and recognition. As mentioned above, the ELP is a website that aims to inform and show the current state of information and research on endangered languages. It’s a collaborative space where you can inform yourself and also share your knowledge about languages. This could be stories, songs in the specific language, or also vocabulary. 

 

Maps are an important tool for documentation. They present an overview of the endangered languages in the world or in certain areas. There are maps of different levels of complexity. Static maps are simple and there is little effort needed to create them. Dynamic or multimedia maps are those which are more complex. These maps are digital and provide a lot of information. You can click on specific parts and learn about the number of people speaking it, the history and find links to other websites about the language. The map that you can find on the ELP website is a multimedia map which offers a wealth of information in the form of audio, video and facts given.

 

To get a better sense of what ELP does, you can watch the provided video. Take some headphones and watch it.

lang doc 11.png

Activity 1: Working with

with a linguistic map

Go to their website: Endangered Languages Project and click on the “Map” option. You’ll see a world map on the screen. take a close look and explore it a bit. When you feel comfortable, try to answer these following questions:

​

  • What do the three severely endangered languages in Switzerland have in common? 

  • Which other language in Switzerland is endangered?

  • Go to South Africa and find the language which only has one native speaker on the world. How is it called? 

  • What is the problem with the one remaining speaker?

  • According to the map: How many languages are endangered in Algeria?

  • Find the severely endangered language in El Salvador. About how many people still speak the language?

  • Find Lesotho on the map. There is one vulnerable language documented in this country. What is special about the orthography of this language?

UNIT 2: LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK

Now you should have gained a little impression of some endangered languages learned that ELP shows. Let’s move our angle of view to the “Big Apple”. You probably all know the famous city of New York. The metropole in the United States is enormous concerning the size and its inhabitants. This city also holds the record for something you might not have guessed: New York is the city with the most languages spoken in the world! Around 800 different languages are spoken in the city, making it one of the most linguistically diverse places on the planet. Spanish is the second most spoken language after English. 

​

So, why is New York such a melting pot of languages? It’s because many immigrants have arrived in the city from all over the world. There are many reasons for this, including seeking refuge, pursuing trade, searching for political freedom, chasing economic opportunities and pursuing dreams of a better future. There are even neighborhoods in which specific communities from other countries live together. You can find a Spanish District or areas where Chinese, Nepali or Korean people live, and many more. 

​

In New York, some endangered languages are still spoken. That's why there’s another organization dedicated to preserving language diversity exactly in the jungle of languages. This organization is called Endangered Language Alliance (ELA) and it’s based in New York. It’s funded by a linguist called Daniel Kaufman. His team aim to document languages that are spoken around the city of New York. They have a unique opportunity because so many endangered languages are still spoken there. They are also working on many projects all over the whole world and visit communities and document languages.

​

​

Take a closer look at one of ELA’s projects. Go to their website or follow this link: Projects – Endangered Language Alliance (elalliance.org). 

 

​

Click on “Celtic Languages” and go for either Irish or Breton. Look at some videos of the people speaking it and read through the texts.

​


Write a short description about the chosen language (about five sentences). Include the information you find on the website including the videos and texts. Write about how many people still speak the language, in which region it is spoken and other important information. Share your short text with your neighbour and discuss it.

lang doc 12.png

Activity 2: Working with ELA

Final thought for this lesson

Did you know that many languages are spoken and we can learn about most of them? This is great to preserve them! Is there a particular language you’d like to learn?

Sources

Endangered Languages Alliance. Linguistics. Retrieved from https://www.elalliance.org/about/why-linguistic-diversity/linguistics. 

​

Endangered Languages Alliance. Projects. Retrieved form https://www.elalliance.org/projects. 

​

Endangered Languages Project. About the Endangered Languages Project. Retrived from https://www.endangeredlanguages.com.

​

Endangered Languages Project (2012, Juni 21). Introducing the Endangered Languages Project. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn2QbwcjmOI. Sochorek, Radim: (2012, Juli 10). 

​

New York beheimatet 800 Sprachen. Retried from https://sprachmittler.eu/2012/12/new-york-beheimatet-800-sprachen/. 

​

Pixabay.com (2017, March 22). Map [Photograph]. https://pixabay.com/es/photos/mapa-papel-madera-informaci%C3%B3n-2153535/ (14.11.2023).

​

Pixabay.com. (2017, Februar 17). New York [Photograph]. https://pixabay.com/de/photos/nyc-new-york-center-park-2057534/. (27.10.2023).

​

Statista. com (2022, Februar 18). 2.450 Sprachen vom Aussterben bedroht. https://de.statista.com/infografik/26872/anzahl-der-weltweit-als-bedroht-oder-gefaehrdet-eingestuften-sprachen/. (27.10.2023).

​

Ubl, Marc-Oliver: Teil 8 Weitere Methoden: Glossierung, Sprachkarten. Empirische Methoden der Sprachwissenschaft.  2020, November 5. Bern University. PowerPoint Presentation.

bottom of page