A great number of the original more than 250 Aboriginal Australian languages, which include around 800 dialects, have become extinct or nearly extinct since colonization. Since the late 20th century there have been efforts to revive many of these.1 The national project known as First Languages Australia has as of 2021[update] supported 39 of these under its Priority Languages Support Project, commissioned by the Federal Government. This project supports other language projects around the country as a funding body.2 The Mobile Language Team in South Australia lists 46 languages or dialects on its website as of April 2021[update], including Ngarrindjeri, Kaurna, Kokatha, Lower Arrernte and Pitjantjatjara, to name a few of the many languages on which it is working.3
Some of the languages being revived across the country are:
Main article: Cornish language revival
Cornish was once spoken in the county of Cornwall until it became extinct as a spoken language in the late 18th century. The language had been in decline since the 14th century and by the time of the death of the last fluent speakers, was only spoken in the western fringes of the county. Dolly Pentreath (d. 1777) is believed to have been the last speaker of the language. Literature from the Medieval and Tudor periods, and fragments, including grammars, from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries survived, which enabled Cornish to be reconstructed by a small group of Celtic enthusiasts in the 20th century as part of the Celtic Revival. These Cornish language revivalists borrowed heavily from Welsh and Breton in order to aid in the creation of the modern Cornish language. The reconstruction of the language was known for disputes over orthography during the late 20th century, until a Standard Written Form was agreed upon in 2008. The number of Cornish speakers is difficult to estimate, but it is believed that some 500 individuals have a degree of fluency in the language. The language is now taught in some schools in Cornwall. In 2010, UNESCO reclassified the language from "extinct" to "critically endangered".9
Main articles: Revival of the Hebrew language and Modern Hebrew
Hebrew was revived as a spoken language two millennia after it ceased to be spoken (although it was always used as a written language), and is considered a language revival "success story". Although used in liturgy, and to a limited extent commerce, it was extinct as a language used in everyday life until its revival. Hebrew was considered archaic or too sacred for day-to-day communication, although it was, in fact, used as an international language between Jews who had no other common tongue; several Hebrew-medium newspapers were in circulation around Europe at the beginning of the 19th century, and a number of Zionist conferences were conducted exclusively in Hebrew. Starting in the late 19th century, it was revived as an everyday spoken language as part of the emerging Zionist movement. Eliezer Ben-Yehuda largely spearheaded the revival efforts, and his son Itamar Ben-Avi was raised as the first native Hebrew speaker since Hebrew's extinction as an everyday language. Hebrew is now the primary official language of Israel, and the most commonly spoken language there.10 It is spoken by over 9,000,000 people today.11 Most of them live in Israel or are Israeli expatriates, but many in Jewish communities outside Israel have undertaken its study.
Main article: Livonian language revival
Livonian is a Finnic language spoken in Latvia. It is one of the three languages (along with Manx and Cornish) listed as revived by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.12
Main article: Manx language
Manx is a language spoken in the Isle of Man, which is in the Irish Sea, between Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales. Manx ceased to function as a community language during the first quarter of the 20th century, but was revived by enthusiasts at a time when there were still a number of native speakers alive. Although at one point no native speakers of the language were alive and it may have been officially classified as "dead" in 1975, the revival appears to have gained strength in recent years. There is a regular programme in Manx on Manx Radio. The grammar, spelling and pronunciation reference book on the Manx Gaelic language, Practical Manx by Jennifer Kewley Draskau was published in 2008.13 As of 2012 there were sixty-nine pupils undergoing their education through the medium of Manx at the Bunscoill Ghaelgagh.
Some languages being revived across the Americas are:
The Myaamia Center is a joint venture between the tribe and Miami University. The Center seeks to "deepen Myaamia connections through research, education, and outreach." It is directed by Daryl Baldwin, who taught himself Miami from historic documents and studies held by the Smithsonian's National Anthropological Archives, and has developed educational programs. Baldwin's children were raised as native speakers of Miami. Center staff develop language and culture resources using material that is often from translated missionary documents.
Published language and culture resources include:
A related project at Miami University concerns ethnobotany, which "pairs Miami-language plant names with elders' descriptions of traditional plant-gathering techniques."
Main article: Sanskrit revival
Modern Sanskrit is spoken in around four villages in India. The Mattur village in central Karnataka, Shimoga district claims to have native speakers of Sanskrit among its population. Historically the village was given by King Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire to Vedic scholars and their families. People in his kingdom spoke Kannada and Telugu.22
Jhiri, Madhya Pradesh is another village claimed to have native Sanskrit speakers.23
Main article: Soyot-Tsaatan language
The language of the small-numbered Soyots in Buryatia, Russia, one of Siberian Turkic languages, has been reconstructed and a Soyot-Buryat-Russian dictionary was published in 2002. The language is currently taught in some primary schools.24
Main article: Yola language
Yola, a sister language to English and Scots which was spoken in County Wexford, Ireland. Yola became extinct in the mid-19th Century, but it has undergone a small number of attempted revitalization and revival movement. The “Gabble Ing Yola” resource center for Yola materials claims there are approximately 140 speakers of the Yola language today.25
"Living languages". AIATSIS. Retrieved 18 April 2021. https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/living-languages ↩
"Priority Languages Support Project". First Languages Australia. Retrieved 18 April 2021. https://www.firstlanguages.org.au/projects/plsp ↩
"Languages". Mobile Language Team. Retrieved 18 April 2021. https://mobilelanguageteam.com.au/languages/ ↩
"Kaurna Warra Pintyanthi". Retrieved 18 April 2021. http://adelaide.edu.au/kwp/ ↩
"Palawa kani,the only Aboriginal language in lutruwita today". Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre. http://tacinc.com.au/programs/palawa-kani/ ↩
Harman, Kristyn (19 July 2018). "Explainer: how Tasmania's Aboriginal people reclaimed a language, palawa kani". The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-tasmanias-aboriginal-people-reclaimed-a-language-palawa-kani-99764 ↩
T16 Palawa kani at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies https://collection.aiatsis.gov.au/austlang/language/T16 ↩
"BBC News - Cornish language no longer extinct, says UN". BBC News. 7 December 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2015. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-11935464 ↩
Bar-Adon, Aaron (1975). The Rise and Decline of a Dialect: A Study in the Revival of Modern Hebrew. Mouton. ISBN 9783111803661. 9783111803661 ↩
"A million and a half Israelis struggle with Hebrew". Israelhayom.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2017-01-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20131104001556/http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=8065 ↩
UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger ↩
"Guide book boosts Manx language". 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2025-01-23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/europe/isle_of_man/7671300.stm ↩
Okrand, Marc. "Mutsun Grammar" (PDF). http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~survey/documents/dissertations/okrand-1977.pdf ↩
"Mutsun Language Revitalization" (PDF). u.arizona.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-09. Retrieved 2016-01-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20160309125922/http://www.u.arizona.edu/~nwarner/publications/IJSL-resub-Warner_etal.pdf ↩
Shulman, Robert (13 August 2001). "Reading Dr. Seuss in Mutsun". Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-aug-13-me-33747-story.html ↩
'We Still Live Here' Details Effort to Restore Wampanoag. PBS Newshour, 10 November 2011. https://www.pbs.org/video/pbs-newshour-we-still-live-here-details-effort-to-restore-wampanoag/ ↩
Ron Russell (2007-03-28). "The Little Tribe That Could. As descendants of San Francisco's aboriginal people, the Muwekma Ohlone Indian tribe seldom gets much respect. But that could be about to change". SF Weekly. Archived from the original on 2012-08-27. Retrieved 2012-07-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20120827025916/http://www.sfweekly.com/2007-03-28/news/the-little-tribe-that-could/print/ ↩
Kathleen Maclay (2004-06-04). "06.04.2004 - Conferences focus on saving native languages". UC Berkeley News. Retrieved 2012-07-23. http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2004/06/04_chocenyo.shtml ↩
"California magazine". Archived from the original on 4 April 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20080404221853/http://www.alumni.berkeley.edu/Alumni/Cal_Monthly/September_2004/A_faith_in_words.asp ↩
"Ethnologue report for language code: cst". Retrieved 2012-07-24. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=cst ↩
This village speaks gods language 13 Aug 2005 Times of India Retrieved on September 14, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20120211155817/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2005-08-13/india/27856220_1_sanskrit-vedic-scholar-kysar-khan ↩
"The Jhiri Village in Madhya Pradesh Where Everyone Speaks Only in Sanskrit". 7 February 2022. https://www.news18.com/news/india/the-jhiri-village-in-madhya-pradesh-where-everyone-speaks-only-in-sanskrit-4746185.html ↩
Rassadin, V.I. "The Soyot Language". Endangered Languages of Indigenous Peoples of Siberia. UNESCO. Retrieved 2021-07-18. https://lingsib.iea.ras.ru/en/languages/soiot.shtml ↩
"How many speakers of Yola are there now?". Gabble Ing Yola. Retrieved 2022-03-31. https://sites.google.com/view/gabble-ing-yola/faq ↩