What is an endangered language?
Endangered languages are languages that are on the brink of extinction, much like endangered species of plants or animals.Languages are considered to be nearly extinct when only a few elderly speakers are still living.
The world faces enormous challenges in maintaining language diversity(多样性)．Of the more than 6,800 languages, half may be in danger of disappearing in the next several decades.And at least 10% of the world's living languages are now spoken by fewer than 100 people.
Why do languages die?
Some of the forces that contribute to language loss are the impact of urbanization(都市化)，Westernization, global communication, discrimination, war, disease, hunger and population movements.These forces diminish the selfsufficiency(自负) and selfconfidence of small and traditional communities.As a result, parents do not pass their language to their children because they feel that speaking the majority language better equips their children for success in the majority culture than speaking their own language.
Why try to preserve endangered languages?
Wouldn't the world be simpler if there were fewer languages? Why care if languages die out? The truth is that a people's identity and culture are closely tied to their language.Each language is unique.No one knows what riches may be hidden within an endangered language.We may never learn about the cultures whose languages have disappeared.
We all share the responsibility of ensuring that no language will disappear and that as many languages as possible will be maintained and handed to future generations.
1．The world now has________languages，________of which are in danger, and at least________of them only have less than________native speakers.
2．Urbanization, Westernization, global communication，________， war，________，________and population movements lead to the disappearing of languages.
3．We can learn about a________and________through its language.
【答案】 1.more than 6,800；half；10%；100 2．discrimination；disease；hunger 3.people's identity；culture
