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Language extinction also occurs when a language undergoes rapid evolution or assimilation until it eventually gives birth to an offspring, i.e., a dissimilar language or family of languages. Such is the case with Latin ; an extinct (and dead) language which serves as the parent of the modern Romance Languages . Likewise Sanskrit is the parent of the modern Indian Languages and Old English is the parent of Modern English .

In some cases, an extinct language remains in use for Scientific , Legal , or Ecclesiastical functions. Sanskrit , Latin , Old Church Slavonic , Avestan , Coptic , Old Tibetan and Ge'ez are among the many extinct languages used as Sacred Language s.

A language that does have living native speakers is called a Modern Language . Ethnologue claims there are 6,912 living languages known. {Link without Title}

Hebrew is an example of a formerly extinct Liturgical language that has been Revived to become a living language. There are other attempts at language revival. For example, young school children use Sanskrit in Revived Language in Mathoor Village (India) {Link without Title} . In general, the success of these attempts has been subject to debate, as it is not clear they will ever become the common native language of a community of speakers.


RECENTLY EXTINCT LANGUAGES

See Also: List of extinct languages



With last known speaker and/or date of death.
# '' Adai '': (late 19th century)
# Akkala Sami : Marja Sergina (2003)
# entire '' Alsean Family ''
## '' Alsea '': John Albert (1942)
## '' Yaquina '': (1884)
# '' Apalachee '': (early 18th century)
# '' Atakapa '': (early 20th century)
# '' Atsugewi '': (1988)
# '' (a.k.a. "Nancy April") (1829)
# entire '' Catawban Family '':
## '' Catawba '': before 1960
## '' Woccon ''
# '' Cayuse '': (ca. 1930s)
# '' Chemakum '': (ca. 1940s)
# '' Chicomuceltec '': (late 20th century)
# '' Chimariko '': (ca. 1930s)
# '' Chitimacha '': Benjamin Paul (1934) & Delphine Ducloux (1940)
# entire '' Chumashan Family '': Barbareño language was last to become extinct.
#'' Barbareño '': Mary Yee (1965)
#'' Ineseño ''
#'' Island Chumash ''
#'' Obispeño ''
# '' Purisimeño ''
# '' Ventureño ''
# '' Coahuilteco '': (18th century)
# '' Cochimí '' (a Yuman-Cochimí language): (early 19th century)
# entire '' Comecrudan Family ''
## '' Comecrudo '': recorded from children (Andrade, Emiterio, Joaquin, & others) of last speakers in 1886
## '' Garza '': last recorded in 1828
## '' Mamulique '': last recorded in 1828
# entire '' Coosan Family ''
## '' Hanis '': Martha Johnson (1972)
## '' Miluk '': Annie Miner Peterson (1939)
# '', last fluent speaker, died 1777) (undergoing attempts at revival)
# all '' Costanoan '' languages (which make up a subfamily of the Utian Language Family ): (ca. 1940s)
## '' Karkin ''
## '' Mutsun ''
## ''Northern Costanoan'':
### Ramaytush
### Chochenyo
### Tamyen
### Awaswas
## '' Rumsen '': last recorded speaker died 1939 in Monterey, California.
## '' Chalon ''
# '' Cotoname '': last recorded from Santos Cavázos and Emiterio in 1886
# '' Crimean Gothic '': language vanished by the 1800’s
# '' Cuman '': (early 17th century)
# '', ( June 10 , 1898 )
# '' Esselen '': report of few speakers left in 1833, extinct before end 19th century
# '' Gabrielino '' (an Uto-Aztecan language): elderly speakers last recorded in 1933
# '' Galice-Applegate '' (an Athabaskan language):
## ''Galice dialect'': Hoxie Simmons (1963)
# '' Jassic '' (17th century)
# '' Juaneño '' (an Uto-Aztecan language): last recorded in 1934
# '' (July 2002 )
# entire '' Kalapuyan Family '':
## '' Central Kalapuya '':
### ''Ahantchuyuk'', ''Luckimute'', ''Mary's River'', and ''Lower McKenzie River dialects'': last speakers were about 6 persons who were all over 60 in 1937
### ''Santiam dialect'': (ca. 1950s)
## '' Northern Kalapuya '':
### ''Tualatin dialect'': Louis Kenoyer (1937)
### ''Yamhill dialect'': Louisa Selky (1915)
## '' Yonkalla '': last recorded in 1937 from Laura Blackery Albertson who only partly remembered it.
# '' Kamassian '': (1989)
# '' Karankawa '': (1858)
# '' Kathlamet '' (a Chinookan language): (ca. 1930s)
# '' Kitanemuk '' (an Uto-Aztecan language): Marcelino Rivera, Isabella Gonzales, Refugia Duran (last recorded 1937)
# '' Kitsai '' (a Caddoan language): (ca. 1940)
# '' Kwalhioqua-Clatskanie '' (an Athabaskan language): children of the last speakers remembered a few words, recorded in 1935 & 1942
## ''Clatskanie dialect'': father of Willie Andrew (ca. 1870)
## ''Kwalhioqua dialect'': mother of Lizzie Johnson (1910)
# '' Lower Chinook '' (a Chinookan language): (ca. 1930s)
# '' Mahican '': last spoken in Wisconsin (ca. 1930s)
# '' (December 1974 ) (but is being Revived as a Second Language )
# '' Mattole-Bear River '' (an Athabaskan language):
## ''Bear River dialect'': material from last elderly speaker recorded (ca. 1929)
## ''Mattole dialect'': material recorded (ca. 1930)
# '' Mbabaram '': Albert Bennett (1972)
# '' Miami - Illinois '': (1989)
# '' Mochica '': ca. 1950s
# '' Mohegan '': Fidelia Fielding (1908)
# '' Molala '': Fred Yelkes (1958)
# '' Munichi '': Victoria Huancho Icahuate (late 1990s)
# '' Natchez '': Watt Sam & Nancy Raven (early 1930s)
# '' Negerhollands '': Alice Stevenson (1987)
# '' Nooksack '': Sindick Jimmy (1977)
# '' Northern Pomo '': (1994)
# '' Nottoway '' (an Iroquoian language): last recorded before 1836
# '' Pentlatch '' (a Salishan language): Joe Nimnim (1940)
# '' Pánobo '' (a Pano-Tacanan language): 1991
# '' Polabian '' (a Slavic language): (late 18th century)
# '' Salinan '': (ca. 1960)
# entire '' Shastan Family ''
## '' Konomihu ''
## '' New River Shasta ''
## '' Okwanuchu ''
## '' Shasta '': 3 elderly speakers in 1980, extinct by 1990
# '' Siuslaw '': (ca. 1970s)
# '' Slovincian '' (a Slavic language): (20th century)
# '' Susquehannock '': all last speakers murdered in 1763
# '' Takelma '': Molly Orton (or Molly Orcutt) & Willie Simmons (both not fully fluent) last recorded in 1934
# '')
# '' Tataviam '' (an Uto-Aztecan language): Juan José Fustero who remembered only a few words of his grandparents' language (recorded 1913)
# '' Teteté (an Tucanoan language)
# '' Tillamook '' (a Salishan language): (1970)
# '' Tonkawa '': 6 elderly people in 1931
# '' Tsetsaut '' (an Athabaskan language): last fluent speaker was elderly man recorded in 1894
# '' Tunica '': Sesostrie Youchigant (ca. mid 20th century)
# '' (October 1992 )
# all dialects of ''Upper Chinook'' (a Chinookan language) are extinct, except for the Wasco-Wishram dialect. The '' Clackamas dialect'' began extinct in the 1930s, other dialects have little documentation. (The Wasco-Wishram Dialect is still spoken by 6 elders.)
# '' Upper Umpqua '': Wolverton Orton, last recorded in 1942
# ''Vegliot 1898 )
# '' Wappo ''
# '' Wiyot '': Della Prince (1962)
# '' (1916)
# '' Yola '' related to English (mid 19th c.)


SEE ALSO



EXTERNAL LINKS



NOTES/REFERENCES



BIBLIOGRAPHY

  • Adelaar, Willem F. H.; & Muysken, Pieter C. (2004). ''The languages of the Andes''. Cambridge language surveys. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521362757.

  • Brenzinger, Matthias (ed.) (1992) ''Language Death: Factual and Theoretical Explorations with Special Reference to East Africa''. Berlin/New York: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-013404-9.

  • Campbell, Lyle; & Mithun, Marianne (Eds.). (1979). ''The languages of native America: Historical and comparative assessment''. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0292746245.

  • Dorian, Nancy C. (1978). Fate of morphological complexity in language death: Evidence from East Sutherland Gaelic. ''Language'', ''54'' (3), 590-609.

  • Dorian, Nancy C. (1981). ''Language death: The life cycle of a Scottish Gaelic dialect''. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0812277856.

  • Dressler, Wolfgand & Wodak-Leodolter, Ruth (eds.) (1977) ''Language death'' (International Journal of the Sociology of Language vol. 12). The Hague: Mouton.

  • Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (Ed.). (2005). ''Ethnologue: Languages of the world'' (15th ed.). Dallas, TX: SIL International. ISBN 1-55671-159-X. (Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com).

  • Harrison, K. David. (2007) When Languages Die: The Extinction of the World's Languages and the Erosion of Human Knowledge. New York and London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195181920.

  • Mithun, Marianne. (1999). ''The languages of Native North America''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23228-7 (hbk); ISBN 0-521-29875-X.

  • Mohan, Peggy; & Zador, Paul. (1986). Discontinuity in a life cycle: The death of Trinidad Bhojpuri. ''Language'', ''62'' (2), 291-319.

  • Sasse, Hans-Jürgen (1992) 'Theory of language death', in Brenzinger (ed.) ''Language Death'', pp. 7–30.

  • Schilling-Estes, Natalie; & Wolfram, Walt. (1999). Alternative models of dialect death: Dissipation vs. concentration. ''Language'', ''75'' (3), 486-521.

  • Sebeok, Thomas A. (Ed.). (1973). ''Linguistics in North America'' (parts 1 & 2). Current trends in linguistics (Vol. 10). The Hauge: Mouton. (Reprinted as Sebeok 1976).

  • Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove. (2000). ''Linguistic genocide in education or worldwide diversity and human rights?'' Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 0-8058-3468-0.