Most people worldwide take for granted the major languages spoken in their classrooms and places of business.
For every verbal juggernaut such as English or Spanish, there exists plenty more whose very existence hinges on a single individual.
Some ethnographers and linguistics experts posit that a new language — usually an indigenous one threatened by cultural (if not outright colonial) hegemonies — phases quietly into extinction every two weeks.
An eerie thought, to be certain, and one that reminds everyone of their own human fragility and evolution. Mandarin may boast over 845 million primary speakers, but centuries (millennia?) from now may exist as nothing more than a gossamer memory confined to obscure linguistics literature.
All research comes courtesy of UNESCO, The Christian Science Monitor, Ethnologue and The Language Database.
Apiaca
Also referred to as Apiaka, Apiake, and Apiaca, these Brazilian peoples find their language and way of life threatened by the gradual creep of Portuguese into the Mato Grosso region.
Considered a subgroup of Tupi (specifically Tupi-Guarani), the language only appears to have one remaining speaker in 2007. This in spite of an ethnic population hovering around 192 people.
Bikya
Unfortunately, this possible Furu (which seems to be an alternate nomenclature) language might actually be extinct without ethnographers knowing it.
The last contact with the only known Biyka speaker occurred in 1986. Disconcerting to be certain, as the remaining speaker also happened to be the last known Bikya in Cameroon.
Taje
This Austronesian language, also known as Petapa, was apparently only spoken by one person in 2000. It’s entirely plausible that it may have tragically passed into extinction since then, but no linguist or ethnographer knows for certain.
The Taje peoples number in the 350s currently, most (if not all) practicing the Islamic faith in the Sulawesi region.
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