Endangered Languages

This course explores the phenomenon of language endangerment, answering core questions such as: What is language endangerment? How is it manifested and why does it occur? How can the vitality or level of endangerment of languages be assessed and what makes a language ‘safe’? Can language decline be reversed? Why should we care about language loss? What can communities and scholars do about it?

Of the roughly 7,000 languages that exist in the world today, nearly half are considered endangered, with predictions suggesting that many will disappear before the end of this century. In this course, we will examine reasons behind this imminent loss of global language diversity and consider what is at stake when a language becomes endangered or extinct. We will discuss what can be done in response to this by examining concrete language revitalisation activities undertaken by linguists, communities and other stakeholders in various regions of the world.

Course readings will be discussed in the first session.

Course requirements will be discussed in the first session.