Language death is the decline of a language until no native speakers remain, caused by factors such as colonialism or a nation switching languages. Glottophagia and linguicide can be involuntarily imposed on a population. Lack of instruction in schools is a significant feature of a declining language. Language death can lead to diminished ethnic identity and is considered official when only a few fluent speakers remain. Attempts to prevent language death are debated, with some stressing the importance of cultural identity and others arguing for economic and social progress.
Language death is the steady decline in the use of a certain language to the point where no native speakers remain. This type of language extinction is a linguistic phenomenon that can have various causes, such as colonialism or mixing between speakers of different languages. The primary regional language of a given ethnic group may be dropped gradually as many members of the group learn and use a different language in daily life. Language death can also result from a nation switching from one language to another for use in areas such as government or commerce. A verifiable case of language extinction is often an area of interest to some scholars studying issues such as linguistic imperialism and globalization.
Glottophagia and linguicide are terms occasionally assigned to the linguistic death involuntarily imposed on a population of speakers. This type of sudden and radical linguistic change can occur when one ethnic group settles and colonizes another country usually for economic opportunity. The native inhabitants of a colonized nation are often required to give up their primary language and traditions in order to assimilate with the newcomers. Some native speakers in this situation choose to voluntarily adopt the language of the colonizers in the name of practicality. These circumstances often raise questions of ethnocentrism and linguistic rights.
Some forms of language death may be more gradual due to trends in international exchange. As some languages are adopted as official languages of diplomacy and commerce, less common regional languages may diminish their perceived importance. A significant feature of a declining language is the lack of instruction in the primary mother tongue in schools. Many linguists agree that when children in a certain country do not learn the mother tongue of their ethical origins, that language is in a much higher risk of becoming extinct. This type of language extinction can sometimes lead to reverse trends of language revitalization in a select few cases.
Scholars sometimes point to the implications of language death, such as diminished sense of ethnic identity among speakers. Language extinction is considered official when only a small number of fluent speakers remain among the older generations of a certain ethnic group. Attempts to prevent further language death are also sometimes a matter of debate. Some language experts stress the importance of preserving cultural identity, while others argue that failure to adopt a more widely spoken secondary language will hold some communities back from economic and social progress.
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