The Tower of Babel Is Tumbling Down--Slowly
There are thousands of languages in the world, but most of them have few speakers compared with the major tongues. Some experts predict that between 50 and 90 percent of the world's languages will become extinct this century. Languages need at least 100,000 speakers to survive, a tall order as old cultures wane.
Languages with most speakers
French 125 million
Portuguese 184 million
Arabic 225 million
Russian 284 million
Spanish 392 million
Hindi 437 million
English 478 million
Chinese (Mandarin) 1.2 billion
Number of languages in world: about 6,800
Languages that are nearing extinction: 372
Languages that die out each year: 10
Percentage of world's languages spoken by 10,000 or fewer people: 50 pct.
By 1,000 or fewer: 25 pct.
Languages with fewer than 10 speakers: 184
Dying languages
Han The influx of outsiders during the Klondike Gold Rush
Canada of 1898 led to the language's decline.
Katukina Only one native speaker remains among the 300 or so
Brazil Katukina left in five villages.
Pawnee Population was reduced by war and disease in the 1800s.
United States Four speakers survive.
Taushiro Few speakers remain. It's one of the only languages
Peru without consonant sounds like "p," "b," or "m."
Sources: SIL, International; press reports; UNESCO
This story appears in the July 2, 2001 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.