[…] In Brittany, a cultural region in northwestern France, Bretons are in fear of losing their cultural identity through the loss of the native language, Breton. Breton is a Britannic language closely related to Welsh and Cornish and is considered “severely endangered” by UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger. According to Ethnologue, there are only 206,000 speakers and that number is not expected to grow. Policies were instituted in the 19th century, such as banning Breton in schools that discouraged people from speaking Breton and switching 
to French.

Furthermore, Breton was seen as an inferior language to French as it was traditionally spoken by people in poor rural areas. Even today, Breton as well as several other minority languages in France, and the rest of the world, are not legally protected. Also in France, the Académie française, which regulates and protects the purity of the French language, has protested efforts to give minority languages legal protection in France.

The situation in France is hardly unique. Of the 7,106 of the world’s living languages, 1,519 are categorized by Ethnologue as “in trouble,” and 915 are “dying.” In comparison, only 560 are “institutional.” Some people argue it is not worth the effort to save these dying languages because they have ceased to be, or never were, languages of thinking, innovation and diplomacy. As the languages die out, their speakers are assimilating into the modern world and perhaps are utilizing more aspects of modern technologies and the comforts of today’s society. More.

See: The Crimson White

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