BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

The Real Story

Discussion & Talk

Factual: Politics

Global experts and decision makers discuss, debate and analyse a key news story.

The Real Story: The world's languages are dying

Factual

Our languages are dying

06/12/2019 GMT

The world's languages are dying

BBC World Service - The Real Story, The world's languages are dying

Thousands of minority languages are on the brink of extinction

The world’s rich linguistic tapestry is unravelling. Around a third of the world’s languages now have fewer than a thousand speakers left. The UN says more needs to be done and, to raise awareness, it declared 2019 the year of indigenous languages. The numbers of languages heading for extinction number in the thousands and are spoken by small tribes and ethnic groups scattered around the world. In September this year in Russia, a retired professor set himself on fire in protest against the disappearance of his own native language, Udmurt. His tragic death prompted a discussion about the ways of preserving minority languages. But are all indigenous languages worth saving -  and at what cost? Which ones should we prioritise and how is that decided? Why do speakers of minority languages feel so deeply about preserving their mother tongue and their culture?  Join Julian Worricker and his panel of expert guests as they discuss how we keep the thousands of minority languages alive in an era when just 23 languages accounts for half the world’s population.

BBC World Service

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Real Story

The world's languages are dying

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

About BBC World Service