Language Extinction and Language Survival

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Language Extinction and Language Survival
The world has a challenge in maintaining its languages alive (Brenzinger, Dwyer and Graaf 18). Languages are always in constant flux, and their extinction is not a new phenomenon. However, languages have been disappearing at an unprecedented rate, which is alarming. According to The Endangered Languages Project (2018), more than 40% of the languages in the world today are at risk of disappearing. When this happens, an enormous cultural heritage gets lost. It leads to the loss of scientific knowledge and the expressions of particular individuals. The use of Native American languages has declined in the law few decades as the fluent speaker's age; the relatively few younger generations are pursuing the linguistic traditions of their elder. While a significant number of Native American Languages have a substantial number of speakers, a majority of them are in the danger of dying out or have already died. This paper focuses on the Choctaw language in the United States and analyzes it on the basis of UNESCO’s 9 criteria for language vitality.
Intergenerational Language Transmission
The intergeneration transmission is in the process of being broken. The Choctaw language is definitively endangered. Although the child-bearing generations can still use the language, they no longer teach it at home as the mother tongue (Ethnologue 1). However, the child-bearing generation can still use the language. Hence, the newest speakers consist of the parental cohort. The children are unable to respond to in the language when parents speak to them using it.
The absolute Number of Speakers
The native speakers for the language in 2015 census were 9,640 (Ethnologue 1). The language is currently spoken in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. The Choctaw language is part of the Muskogean language family, and it is related to the Creek, Creek, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Miccosukee
The proportion of Speakers with the Total Population
According to Birchfield (1), before the coming of the Europeans, there were about 20,000 Choctaw. In 1990, 65,351 individuals identified themselves as Choctaw. The number rose to 88,692 in 2000. Currently, the Choctaw nation consists of over 187,000 individuals. With the native speakers less than 10,000, the proportion of the Choctaw population with the total population is about 5%. Hence, the language is critically endangered because very few individuals speak the language.
Shifts of Domains of Language Use
The Choctaw language was once used for government, commerce, church and school in the Oklahoma Territory (University of Arkansas 1). However, things have changed, and now it can be categorized as a highly limited domain. The language is no longer used official functions. It is restricted to special occasions and used by a few people in the community. It is occasionally spoken at home, especially by the parents.
Response to New Domains and Media
At the turn of the 21st century, the Choctaw leaders recognized that the language was beginning to disappear with the elders. A majority of the children were unable to speak the language with fluency. As a result, the leaders encouraged initiatives meant to e...