What Causes A Language To Die?

When it comes to languages, speakers come and go – but there are some factors that can lead to one language replacing another permanently. It is estimated that over 100 languages are in danger of disappearing forever. Many more are no longer in living use, such as Latin, which is still present in English grammar rules, but not spoken as a first language anywhere. All languages have a natural tendency towards change, migration and evolution, and it’s only when these processes are disturbed or spoken out of balance that a language can die.

Linguistic Death Through Migration

One of the most common causes of language death is the migration of its speakers to another place. Through displacement or colonization, communities of native speakers may be dispersed and absorbed by a new language. Language death then occurs when the new language suppresses or replaces the language of the migrated people. The effects of such linguistic displacement were seen in North America, where the United States’ assistance in forcibly moving native peoples in the 19th century led to the demise of multiple Native American languages.

Economic Pressure and Language Shift

The influence of the wider economy is often the cause of language death and extinction. Powerful economic institutions can encourage speakers to abandon their native language in favour of a lingua franca – usually English, French or Mandarin – in order to have economic success and prosperity. Business opportunities will become increasingly scarce if one is unable to communicate effectively in a market-dominant language. As a result, many will be compelled to abandon their native language and adopt the language of the majority in order to participate in the wider economy and access basic education and healthcare.

Cultural Damage and Language Suppression

A third cause of language death is suppression or censorship from political factions or other institutions. This is particularly evident in countries with a multi-lingual population, where the dominant language is favoured over minority languages. Historically, colonial powers have gone as far as outlawing local language use in schools, workplaces and other public settings in order to encourage a unified, exclusive linguistic culture. This has been seen in places such as Canada, where the French language, once abundant and widely respected, has been slowly diminished by the nation’s move towards a single, English-speaking majority.

Exposure to Media and the Internet

Finally, the wide accessibility and availability of media and the internet, while incredibly beneficial in many ways, has had a considerable impact on native languages. The march of technology has extended saturating influence over all world languages and even the smaller, more remote communities are now exposed to the internet “lingua franca”. This has led to an accelerated rate of language death and extinction, as native languages fail to keep up with the constant advance of technology. The internet further allows for a proactive “louder, stronger” side of language – increasing usage of certain tongues and intensifying the decline of others.

Though languages are always in flux and unable to be isolated from outside influence, we have seen that there are common factors behind language death. These include migration, economic pressure, cultural damage, and exposure to the internet. As citizens of the globalized world, it is important to understand and respect the linguistic diversity of our world in order to avoid the irreversible and unfortunate loss of uniqiue languages, cultures and perspectives.