Languages disappear when children stop learning them. An endangered language is one at serious risk of falling out of use because its community is shifting toward a more dominant language.

Assessment looks at intergenerational transmission, number of speakers, and domains of use. Causes include colonization, urbanization, schooling policies, and economic pressure. Loss of a language often means loss of knowledge stored in its vocabulary and traditions.

Documentation records grammar, lexicon, and texts while speakers remain. Revitalization supports teaching, media, and community use. Each endangered language represents an irreplaceable part of human linguistic diversity.

• Language at risk of no longer being spoken
• Assessed by transmission and domains of use
• Threatened by social and economic pressure
• Target of documentation and revitalization