6 indigenous languages on the verge of extinction

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Indigenous languages are native to a region and are vital part of the culture, identity, and knowledge systems.

As per a study, out of more than 7,000 languages spoken today, 25 languages disappear each year. Here are six languages at risk of dying with their last known speaker. Source: Krauss, M. (1992) The World’s Languages in Crisis

Resígaro

Origin: Peru In 2016, the last female speaker of the language passed away, making her brother, Pablo, the last speaker of this upper Amazonian language.

N|uu

Origin: Modern-day Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa N|uu is an indigenous Southern African click language spoken only by Katrina Esau, who is 92 years old.

Kusunda

Origin: Nepal It is an isolated language spoken by the Kusunda people. Kamala Sen-Khatri is the only fluent speaker of the language.

Tanema

Origin: Solomon Islands Tanema, an Austronesian language spoken on the island of Vanikoro in the Solomon Islands, has only one speaker, Lainol Nalo.

Taushiro

Origin: Peru Taushiro, Pinche or Pinchi is an isolated language spoken in the Peruvian Amazon by just one person, Amadeo García García.

Tinigua

Origin: Colombia Sixto Muñoz is the last speaker of Tinigua, which used to form a language family with the now-extinct Pamigua language.

Oldest languages in the world

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