Does a language die every two weeks?
Languages are disappearing. We investigate claims of how often this happens.
Researchers have catalogued 7,164 languages spoken around the world - some are used daily by billions. Half are spoken by less than 8000 people. The death of a language, when it’s no longer spoken as a first language by anyone living is a deeply significant moment in the cultural life of communities.
Multiple sources including the UN and National Geographic magazine have claimed this happens every two weeks. But we have reasons to be suspicious about that statistic.
Gary Simons, executive editor of the Ethnologue language catalogue, explains where this idea came from.
Presenter: Kate Lamble
Producer: Natasha Fernandes
Series producer: Tom Colls
Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound mix: Nigel Appleton
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
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Broadcasts
- Sat 3 Aug 202404:50GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
- Sat 3 Aug 202410:50GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & Europe and the Middle East only
- Sat 3 Aug 202415:50GMTBBC World Service News Internet
- Sun 4 Aug 202408:50GMTBBC World Service West and Central Africa
- Sun 4 Aug 202410:50GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
- Sun 4 Aug 202422:50GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Sun 4 Aug 202423:50GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
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