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Why Do Languages Disappear

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It turns out there quite a few things that can cause a language to disappear. One would think that so long as there are speakers, there is language. But it is just not that black and white.

Take the Geordie dialect for example. It is a kind of language that is tied to a specific geographical location, namely the North Eastern corner of England. While the people used to be somewhat isolated from the rest of England in the past, this is not true in today's world. Today we have all kinds of different ways to travel and it is getting easier every day. When people travel they come in contact with other languages and dialects and this may pose a threat for one or both of their languages. In order to understand each other fully they will have to compromise in one way or another. This means that people may adopt certain words their own language did not provide a fitting counterpart for, …show more content…

New generations will likely take on the language that is most useful to them. This will first be the language of the parents, but later on the language used in schools. While a language learned in youth is never lost, as people are capable of speaking more than one language (the average person on this planet speaks three or four languages. (Hieber, Why do languages die?, 2012)), a language that is more useful will be used more frequently. Schools are also becoming more strict when it comes to the kind of language that is used and are thus creating an environment for dialect levelling. Programs and TV shows are all the same kind of language or dialect and all this makes it harder for a dialect to survive. In the United States they go even further. People that speak a different language are seen as a minority and actively shunned by society. Those 'minorities' will have an even harder time if they choose to speak their native tongue. Apparently, it is sometimes easier to adapt to the mass than to stay headstrong and preserve your own

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