The United Nations cultural agency UNESCO says more than 100 languages in Australia are in danger of extinction.
The latest edition of UNESCO’s atlas of world languages in danger was launched in Paris yesterday and shows almost half the 6,700 languages spoken worldwide could disappear.
Sarah Cutfield from the Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies says the map is a great resource for those working to preserve traditional languages.
Unesco Endangered languages Worldmap (9M PDF)
The Wôpanâak language (Wampanoag) was once spoken throughout eastern Massachusetts, but had no remaining speakers by the mid 18th century.
The awakening of Wôpanâak after seven generations without speakers is a uniquely inspiring story of cultural survival and tribal unity. Tribal citizens founded the Wampanoag Language Reclamation Project in 1997, and its participants and students are the first Native American community to successfully reclaim a language with no living speakers.