History is littered with linguistic casualties – the march of the Roman Empire eradicated Etruscan from the Italian peninsula and contributed to the disappearance of Gaullish from western Europe.

The rate of decline in the late 20th century was unprecedented however. Global communication systems reinforced the dominance of a select few, and although there are approximately 6,900 spoken languages, native speakers of the top 10 now account for 40 per cent of the world’s population.

Post-colonial nation states have also created local demand for mono-culturalism, with Nigeria for example only recognising four of its 400 spoken languages. Elsewhere, economic pressures and urbanisation have exacerbated social marginalisation.

Social, political and economic conditions continue to cause language extinctions in the 21st century. In January 2008, Eyak became the first Alaskan language to die out, and Jawoyn was the latest in a long line of Australian extinctions in July 2007.

Sources: ‘1,000 Languages’ by Peter Austin (Thames & Hudson, 2008)