The world is getting smaller, at least when it comes to language. More and more people speak the three most common languages: English, Spanish, and Mandarin. As a result, local languages are being forgotten. As cultures adjust to these changes, and languages aren't taught to children or spoken at home, these local languages are slowly disappearing.
A language is said to be in trouble when less than 30 percent of children in the community speak it. It is considered a dying language. If children no longer learn to use a language, it will have fewer and fewer speakers over time and, eventually, the language will be gone. Why keep languages alive? Languages hold the key to understanding a culture's beliefs and values. According to Dr. Cumberland, who is working to save Assiniboine, a Native American language, a dying language needs a dictionary and people to understand and record its grammar. Most importantly, you need to listen to those who still speak the language. This can be very difficult, especially if there are very few speakers of the language left. For example, when researchers were working to save the language Ayapaneco in Mexico, it was hard for them to record anything because the last two people on Earth who could speak the language refused to speak to each other! Today, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) lists more than 3,000 languages that may disappear by the end of this century. Some of the languages still have a few million speakers and may survive. Unfortunately, hundreds of languages have fewer than 25 speakers remaining and may soon be lost forever.