Languages Racing to Extinction

Languages Racing to Extinction in 5 Global "Hotspots"

More than half of the world's 7,000 languages are expected to die out by the end of the century, often taking with them irreplaceable knowledge about the natural world, Harrison said.

"Most of what we know about species and ecosystems is not written down anywhere, it's only in people's heads," he said.

"We are seeing in front of our eyes the erosion of the human knowledge base."