 |
|
AJ your way: headlines | front page | classic | previous days | rss
ideas
A Language Dies Every 14 Days
"The Earth's population of seven billion people speaks roughly 7,000 languages...Seventy-eight percent of the world's population speaks the 85 largest languages, while the 3,500 smallest languages share a mere 8.25 million speakers. Thus, while English has 328 million first-language speakers, and Mandarin 845 million, Tuvan speakers in Russia number just 235,000. Within the next century, linguists think, nearly half of the world's current stock of languages may disappear." National Geographic 06/21/12
"The Earth's population of seven billion people speaks roughly 7,000 languages...Seventy-eight percent of the world's population speaks the 85 largest languages, while the 3,500 smallest languages share a mere 8.25 million speakers. Thus, while English has 328 million first-language speakers, and Mandarin 845 million, Tuvan speakers in Russia number just 235,000. Within the next century, linguists think, nearly half of the world's current stock of languages may disappear." National Geographic 06/21/12
Posted June 22, 2012 09:27 AM
Email to a Friend
