World languages are disappearing: experts

By Jalil Hamid

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters Life!) - Every two weeks on average, one of the 6,500 languages of the world vanishes with the death of its last elderly speakers, taking with it a wealth of cultural knowledge, experts say.

At a recent meeting in the Malaysian capital, linguistic experts said the United States, Canada and Australia were the worse off, with a wealth of Asian languages also under threat.

"There is a vast treasure house of human knowledge," said Nicholas Ostler, President of Foundation for Endangered Languages, a UK-based group.

"So when a language is lost, it's just not the words but typically it's a kind of knowledge that came with that language."

According to a report in U.S. magazine Cultural Survival, 89 percent of the 154 tribal languages left in the United States were in imminent danger of extinction, with more than half having only a handful of elderly speakers.

In the state of Oklahoma for example, at least 14 languages -- including Hitchiti, Kaw, Kitsai and Peoria of the native Americans -- are no longer spoken.

The situation is no better in many parts of Asia, despite the region's cultural diversity. Experts said many governments were unwilling to address the issue for the sake of national unity.

"Traditionally, large number of languages have been seen as contributing to divisiveness to countries that are harder to govern, may be more unruly or may be poorer," said Ostler.