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List of endangered languages in Europe

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An endangered language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use, generally because it has few surviving speakers. If it loses all of its native speakers, it becomes an extinct language. A language may be endangered in one area but show signs of revitalisation in another, as with the Irish language.[citation needed]

Quick Facts Language Endangerment Status by UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger category, Extinct (EX) ...
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Levels of language endangerment

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization defines four levels of language endangerment between "safe" (not endangered) and "extinct":[1]

  • Vulnerable - "most children speak the language, but it may be restricted to certain domains (e.g., home)"
  • Definitely endangered - "children no longer learn the language as mother tongue in the home"
  • Severely endangered - "language is spoken by grandparents and older generations; while the parent generation may understand it, they do not speak it to children or among themselves"
  • Critically endangered - "the youngest speakers are grandparents and older, and they speak the language partially and infrequently"
  • Extinct - "there are no speakers left; included in the Atlas if presumably extinct since the 1950s"

The list below includes the findings from the third edition of Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010; formerly the Red Book of Endangered Languages), as well as the online edition of that publication, both published by UNESCO.[2]

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List of languages

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See also

References

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