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Kabila

How a language becomes endangered and how it is revived

The usual path by which a language stops being passed to children, and the steps communities take to bring it back.

a generation latercommunity respondsUsed by all agesOutside pressureParents switchOnly elders speakRecord and describeTeach the youngNew speakers

  1. Used by all ages. A healthy language has one key sign: children learn it from their parents. The number of speakers matters less than whether it is still being passed on at home.
  2. Outside pressure. Pressure builds from outside. In many countries indigenous children were punished at school for speaking their own language. Jobs and official papers demanded a different one.
  3. Parents switch. The chain breaks at home. Parents who were shamed for their language often choose not to teach it. This is a decision made under pressure, not a free preference.
  4. Only elders speak. Within a generation only older people are fluent. In 2010 Boa Sr, the last speaker of Bo, a language of the Andaman Islands in India, died and the language fell silent.
  5. Record and describe. Revival often starts with recording. Elders work with younger members and linguists to capture words, stories and grammar. Old letters and Bibles can also become sources.
  6. Teach the young. The turning point is teaching small children. Māori communities in New Zealand opened kōhanga reo, or language nests, in the early 1980s. Hawaiians followed with Pūnana Leo preschools.
  7. New speakers. Success means new speakers who raise their own children in the language. Revival takes decades and steady support. Māori and Hawaiian now have growing numbers of young speakers.

Read the lesson

  1. Language families, isolates and endangered languagesMost of the world's languages are spoken by small indigenous communities, and many are at risk. You will learn how languages are related, what an isolate is, and how a language becomes endangered.
  2. Language and cultural revivalAcross the world, communities are bringing back languages and customs that were suppressed. You will learn the methods that work and meet some of the best-known revivals.

Seven peoples, once a week

Every Monday: seven peoples you may never have heard of, who they are and where they live.