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The Global Extinction of Languages and Its Consequences for Cultural Diversity

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Cultural and Linguistic Minorities in the Russian Federation and the European Union

Part of the book series: Multilingual Education ((MULT,volume 13))

Abstract

Most people are aware that global biodiversity in the early 21st century is experiencing mass extinction. Yet few are aware of a parallel crisis for languages, with predicted extinction rates ranging from 50 to 90 % of the world’s some 7,000 languages by the end of this century. Many regard languages as a benchmark for cultural diversity because virtually every major aspect of human culture ranging from kinship classification to religion is dependent on language for its transmission. This chapter focuses primarily on the consequences of the global loss of linguistic diversity for cultural diversity. Discontinuities in transmission of culture and language are frequently accompanied by large human and social costs. Maintaining the world’s languages can be seen as part of a larger strategy of cultural survival providing an indispensable foundation for well-being and resilience.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005 http://www.maweb.org.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Suzanne Romaine

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  1. Suzanne Romaine
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Correspondence to Suzanne Romaine .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of German, Tallinn University, Tallinn, Estonia

    Heiko F. Marten

  2. Department of Scandinavian Studies, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

    Michael Rießler

  3. Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Janne Saarikivi

  4. The Erik Castrén Institute, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Reetta Toivanen

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Romaine, S. (2015). The Global Extinction of Languages and Its Consequences for Cultural Diversity. In: Marten, H., Rießler, M., Saarikivi, J., Toivanen, R. (eds) Cultural and Linguistic Minorities in the Russian Federation and the European Union. Multilingual Education, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10455-3_2

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