Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger of DisappearingClose to half of the 6,000 languages spoken in the world are doomed or likely to disappear in the foreseeable future. The disappearance of any language is an irreparable loss for the heritage of all humankind. This new edition of the Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger of Disappearing, first published in 1996, is intended to give a graphic picture of the magnitude of the problem in many parts of the world. The reader will find here a comprehensive list of languages in danger and a concise summary of the worldwide language endangerment situation. With this book, UNESCO hopes to raise international awareness about what is becoming a catastrophic phenomenon. Credit is due to the UNESCO/Japan Trust Fund for the Preservation of the Intangible Cultural Heritage for assistance in publishing this edition. This book is the result of the outstanding contribution of Professor Stephen A. Wurm to the study of the problem. His well-known research and tireless combat to safeguard our world linguistic heritage have made it possible to compile this comprehensive work, which should be required reading for both laymen and specialists concerned about the future of culture and society. |
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Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger of Disappearing UNESCO,Wurm, Stephen Adolphe,Heyward, Ian Limited preview - 2001 |
Common terms and phrases
Aboriginal Adelaar Africa Ainu Alaska Aleut Amur Arctic North America Atlas Australia Baga became extinct Buryat Canada Central Siberian Yupik China CIPSH co-ordinator CONTACT PIDGIN culture Dagur Danger of Disappearing dialect dominant language East eastern endangered language endangered or moribund Eskimo Pidgin Eskimo-English ethnic Ewenki Extinct language Finno-Ugrian languages Frisian Gagauz Greater Pacific Area Greenlanders Himalayan Chain Indian languages Indonesia INSET Inuit Japan Karaim Khamnigan Mongol kilometres languages belong Languages in Danger large number linguists Malayo-Polynesian Manchu Mongolian monolingual Moribund language multilingualism Myanmar Nenets north-eastern northern number of languages number of speakers Ojibwe Orochen Pamir languages Papua New Guinea Papuan languages Peninsula Pidgin Potentially endangered language pressure Russian Sakhalin Sámi Seriously endangered language Siberia small languages South America South-East Asia southern speech community Taiwan Tatar threatened languages Tibeto-Burman languages traditional languages Tundra Tungusic Turkic languages UNESCO West Western World's Languages Wurm Xinjiang Yukagir