Yes, it's highly possible that 1500 languages could be lost by the end of this century, with a major Australian National University study predicting that without intervention, language loss could triple in the next few decades, leading to the disappearance of over 1,500 of the world's currently endangered languages. Factors like increased road density, higher schooling (especially in dominant languages), and historical suppression contribute to this risk, though revitalization efforts and documentation can help preserve them.
Around 1,500 known languages may no longer be spoken by the end of this century. Current levels of language loss could triple in the next 40 years. Greater education and mobility marginalize some minor languages. One language per month could disappear, without intervention.
Almost 90 million Speak Languages at Risk of Extinction
Currently, out of the world's 7,168 living languages, 3,078 (43%) are classified as Endangered. Over 88 million people speak languages at risk of extinction.
There's no single "hardest" language, but Mandarin Chinese is consistently ranked #1 for English speakers due to its tonal nature (four tones change word meanings) and complex logographic writing system requiring thousands of characters. Other top contenders often cited include Arabic (right-to-left script, complex sounds, grammar) and Japanese (multiple writing systems like Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana, plus honorifics). The difficulty depends heavily on your native language, with languages like Tibetan, Estonian, and Polish also challenging learners with unique grammar or cases.
Most languages, though, die out gradually as successive generations of speakers become bilingual and then begin to lose proficiency in their traditional languages. This often happens when speakers seek to learn a more-prestigious language in order to gain social and economic advantages or to avoid discrimination.
Mexico has 69 official languages, including Spanish and 68 indigenous languages (like Nahuatl and Maya), making it incredibly linguistically diverse, though South Sudan is also listed with 69 living languages in some counts, showing many countries have rich linguistic diversity. While Mexico is famous for this, the number refers to recognized languages, with hundreds of variations and dialects existing within them.
The revitalization of Hebrew is the only successful example of language revival. Languages targeted for language revitalization include those whose use and prominence is severely limited. Sometimes various tactics of language revitalization can even be used to try to revive extinct languages.
There's no single "number one" easiest language, as it depends on your native tongue, but for English speakers, Norwegian, Dutch, Afrikaans, Spanish, and Italian are consistently ranked as very easy due to similar Germanic roots (Norwegian, Dutch, Afrikaans) or shared Latin vocabulary (Spanish, Italian) with English, plus simple grammar and pronunciation. The truly easiest language is the one you're most motivated to learn and find engaging content in, as personal interest drives acquisition.
Generally speaking, Japanese is more difficult than Chinese when it comes to grammar. Mandarin Chinese is an analytical language, like English, and each word has only one form, no matter how it's being used in a sentence. It's also a subject-verb-object language, like English.
English is the number one international language (lingua franca), boasting around 1.5 billion total speakers, making it dominant in global business, technology, and tourism, even though Mandarin Chinese has more native speakers. While Mandarin is the largest by native speakers, English's vast number of second-language users cements its role as the primary global communication tool, followed by Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, and Spanish in overall speaker numbers.
Its continued growth is due to the global influence of the United States and the United Kingdom, along with the increasing importance of English as a language of science and technology. By 2050, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and Hindi are expected to be the most widely spoken languages.
Nineteen-year-old Mahmood Akram from India has amazed the world by mastering 400 languages while simultaneously pursuing multiple university degrees. His linguistic journey began early under the guidance of his father, a linguistics expert, and by the age of six, he had already surpassed his mentor's knowledge.
About 150 kilometres north of Australia lies the Independent State of Papua New Guinea. This young nation has over 1,000 distinct ethnic groups and more than 850 indigenous spoken languages.
According to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, French could become the most spoken language by 2100 due to the rapid population growth in West and Central Africa. Arabic, with over 400 million speakers, remains a key language in geopolitics, religion, and global energy markets.
Less than one percent of people worldwide are proficient in many languages. If someone is fluent in more than five languages, the person is called a polyglot.
The Japanese 80/20 rule refers to Hara Hachi Bu (腹八分目), a Confucian teaching meaning "eat until you are 80% full," a mindful practice from Okinawa linked to longevity, where you stop eating before feeling completely stuffed to avoid overconsumption and promote health. It encourages slowing down, listening to your body's hunger cues, and leaving some space in your stomach, leading to lower calorie intake and reduced risk of chronic diseases.
Yes, achieving conversational fluency in Japanese within two years is possible with intense, consistent study (4+ hours/day), but true professional or near-native fluency takes much longer (2-5+ years), depending heavily on your definition of "fluent," study quality, immersion, and prior language experience, with the US Foreign Service Institute suggesting 88 weeks (2,200 hours) for full-time learners to reach proficiency.
Consequently, the impact of various languages has transformed English into a distinctive blend of Germanic and Romance tongues. Dutch, Frisian, and German stand as the nearest kin to English, with Frisian holding the strongest resemblance.
Toki Pona is an isolating language with only 14 phonemes and an underlying feature of minimalism.
10 Hardest Languages to Learn (Overall)
Powell Alexander Janulus (born 1939) is a Canadian polyglot who lives in White Rock, British Columbia, and entered the Guinness World Records in 1985 for fluency in 42 languages.
AI technologies offer innovative pathways to document, analyze, and potentially revive endangered languages, igniting a renewed vigour in safeguarding these invaluable linguistic treasures.
According to the Engco Forecasting Model explained above, the 5 most spoken languages in 2050 will be Mandarin, Spanish, English, Hindi and Arabic.