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Article: Our shrinking language tapestry.(Opinion)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- June 18, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Richard C. Hottelet
WILTON, CONN. -- The headlong rush of "progress" and "development" has made the world poorer. As whole species of animals and plants are endangered and disappear, the human family, too, is a loser. Not in terms of number, to be sure, which increases without letup. It is the marvelous miscellany of human expression that suffers.
Of the roughly 6,000 languages (plus their dialects) spoken around the world, 3,000 or more are classified as endangered, seriously endangered, or dying. UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, this year published an "Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger of ...