A group of American scientists claims that by about the year 2115, more than 5000 languages will be extinct. They've estimated that by then, of the approximately 6000 languages spoken on Earth, more than 5000 will have disappeared.
Scientists explain their claim with objective circumstances such as the fact that small language groups are under the influence of large communities.
History shows that with time, the former inevitably take on the culture, and therefore the language, of the latter. At the same time, some small communities, such as the Japanese, manage to preserve their language due to the fact that they're exceptionally advanced.
Ever fewer languages are expected to survive over the coming years. The ones that do are going to have a simplified model of oral communication and their use will span across entire continents.
Even though Mandarin is currently the most widespread language - it's spoken in China, Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia, experts predict that English will continue to remain the most widely used language for communication in the future. This is due to the fact that it is exceptionally simple and easy to use.
Similar processes have been witnessed in the past but not at the rates we're seeing today. Researchers believe that the ever accelerating processes of globalization are acting as a catalyst.
Many see globalization as something positive, although there's also no shortage of people who view it as a new era of human hardship. But it is an irreversible process that affects us all to the same degree and in the same way. However, the consequences from it are what differ.
Globalization divides us as much as it unites us. Actually it unites by dividing. And the reasons for this division coincide with those that aim to unify the world.
That is exactly what is happening with languages - what appears as globalization and freedom for some is for many others an unwanted and cruel fate. Whatever our individual opinions may be, these processes will remain irreversible and irrevocable up until the point globalization decides that they must change.
