One of the things that define us as humans is definitely our ability to converse and exchange thoughts, so if you are eager to know about languages read our list of 10 examples of isolated or extinct languages.
While we may argue about many things, we must agree on the fact that language is one of the greatest gifts that the humankind was given. It represents a tool to connect with other human beings, as well as keep us safe. Language is a means of expressing our thoughts and feelings, and it is impossible to imagine a life without this ability. Although we are all aware of the importance of language, many argue about the way in which we acquire language. Some linguists, such as Noam Chomsky, have dedicated their entire lives to studies of language and they have provided answers to many questions raised regarding this topic. Some linguists, such as Skinner, who studied language acquisition, believe that we acquire a language by means of associating words with their meanings. He believed that children learn a language by observing their parents and their environment and listening to the language their parents and people from the surrounding speak. Chomsky, on the other hand, strongly disagreed with this theory because he believed that a child could never be able to process an endless number of sentences simply by observing, without relying on anything else. His theory is that we have a predisposition to acquire a language, something like a basic set or rules that we put to use once we learn the words of the language of our environment. This theory is known as Universal Grammar and it has been an inspiration for other linguists to continue to research this topic and the possibilities of having a predisposition to learn a language.
As there are different theories and explanations of how we acquire a language, there are also different explanations and factors which cause a language to die or to be isolated. How does a language die out? What causes a language to disappear? What happens with the language when all the speakers die?
It’s not unusual for a language to disappear and a language is considered dead when the last speaker dies. This is not the only way for a language to stop existing, though. There are other ways for a language to disappear, for instance, language shifting. This usually happens due to the dominance of a certain language. When speakers of one language start speaking a second language for some reason, either they are forced to or the second language is more politically important, this can lead to slowly shifting from the previous language completely where the second language becomes dominant. As a consequence, younger generations stop learning their mother tongues, and they acquire the dominant language instead.
Languages usually do not simply disappear, but they evolve and change with new versions usually being completely different, such as the case with Old English which evolved into Middle and then Modern English. Violence is also one of the reasons why languages disappear. Invasions are the cause of extinction of a great number of languages. Whole communities are forced to give up their language and learn the new one, the language of the oppressors. According to the Guardian, half of the languages we know today are facing extinction as many of them have fewer than a hundred speakers left. The article draws attention to endangered languages before they are completely lost, saying that out of the 6,500 living languages which are currently being used, half of them will disappear sometime in the future. Some languages remain in use in some in some way, though, and they are a subject of study in many schools. This is the case with Latin and Ancient Greek, which were influential and powerful so that years and years later we borrow words from these languages and these words are still in use today. English is one of the examples of languages that borrowed a great number of its words. Probably, many of us aren’t even aware of the fact that many words we use on a daily basis are actually derived from Latin and Ancient Greek. Not all dead languages are always completely forgotten, and some people may still try to learn them. If you are interested in learning one of the extinct languages then read our list of 6 Easiest Dead Languages to Learn.
It is a common occurrence that languages that are exposed to one another tend to borrow some words and maybe even start to sound alike, but some languages keep their uniqueness and remain distinct from other languages. They are isolated languages and they cannot be linked to any language family known today. There are many examples of such languages, and we decided to explore them as well as those which are extinct so we searched through Encyclopedia Britannica to find data. We present 10 examples of isolated or extinct languages.
10. Latin
Latin is probably one of the best known extinct languages due to its influence on modern languages and its connection to French, Italian, and Spanish, and other languages. Since Rome fell, the number of Latin speakers declined, and so the language died. Latin didn’t actually die out completely, as it has evolved into French, Italian, Spanish and other languages we know today. Latin words are still used in law, and Latin is still very present in books and used in scholarly language. It will remain an official language of the Roman Catholic Church, but it is dead in the way that we cannot hear the language in the form we find in books. Latin is still a subject of study in Western educational institutions. Let’s see what’s next on our list of examples of isolated or extinct languages.
9. Sumerian
We are continuing our list of examples of isolated or extinct languages with Sumerian that is one of the earliest written languages which was in use in Mesopotamia. Many argue about the Sumerian language, whether it was spoken during the first millennium or the second, what happened to it, etc., but one thing is for sure, and that is the death of the language. Because it is an ancient language, there are not enough evidence to explore this matter more deeply and thoroughly.
8. Basque
Basque is one of the language isolates that we decided to include in our list of 10 examples of isolated or extinct languages. The Basque language is not related to any other known language family today. It is spoken in small areas of France and Spain, but there are basque speakers throughout Europe and America, too. Speakers of Basque are usually bilingual and we cannot know the exact number of speakers due to lack of data.
7. Etruscan
The Etruscan language, that ranked 7th on our list of examples of isolated or extinct languages was spoken in a place that we now call Tuscany and a few other regions in Italy, and just like so many other languages at the time it was completely replaced by Latin. A classical example of language shifting that led to the extinction of the Etruscan language. Not many documents remain written in Etruscan.
6. Tarascan
Tarascan is a language isolate not linked to any known language families. It is spoken in a state in Mexico called Michoacan. Tarascan is also called Purepecha language and the number of speakers approximately goes up to near 200,000 people.
5. Ancient Greek
Next in line on our list of examples of isolated or extinct languages is Ancient Greek that is the language of the greatest philosophers, writers, and historians, such as Plato, Homer, Aristotle and many other great minds of classical texts, and it is still a subject of study in many educational institutions. Next to Latin, this is one of the most studied languages. A great number of words in English, for example, comes from Latin and Ancient Greek. Of course, the reason the language spread so fast and became influential is that Greeks were very powerful, especially during Alexander the Great. The purest form of Ancient Greek is considered to be the Attic Greek, spoken in Athens.
4. Burushaski
Burushaski is the language of some regions in Pakistan with around 90,000 speakers. There is no clear connection to any other language; therefore, it is an isolated language. Burushaski doesn’t have its own standard writing system, but speakers of this language use a Perso-Arabic system.
3. Gothic
Gothic is a Germanic language spoken by Goths who settled in eastern Europe, though previously they occupied regions of south Scandinavia. There were two known versions of the Gothic language, the Ostrogothic, and the Visigothic dialects. Both dialects disappeared due to conquests and the fall of their kingdom, as other languages became dominant.
2. Iberian
Iberian is another lost language that died out with the Roman conquest of the country on our list of examples of isolated or extinct languages. It was spoken in the Iberian Peninsula, which is now Spain and Portugal. There is not enough information on the origin of this language, but many link it to languages such as basque or Celtic. Iberian had three versions of written alphabet.
1. Korean
Korean is by far a language isolate with the greatest number of speakers so we decided to put it in the first place on our list of 10 examples of isolated or extinct languages. Actually, it was considered a language isolate but in recent times some linguists tend to believe that Korean is linked to a family of languages called the Altaic language family, but as this issue is still not resolved due to many existing theories, for many Korean remains a language isolate with a total number of speakers of around 77 million throughout the world.
