Why Linguistic Diversity matters - An Essay

Citation

Gibb L (2025) Why Linguistic Diversity matters - An Essay. Princeton University Press - Ideas. 29.04.2025. https://press.princeton.edu/ideas/why-linguistic-diversity-matters

Abstract
First paragraph: I have long wanted to write something for a general readership that explored the world’s endangered languages and the cultural, cognitive, and historical significance they hold. Linguistic diversity matters, and not just to linguists, but to all of us. Over 7,000 languages are spoken today, but nearly half could vanish by the end of the century. Globalization, migration, and political marginalization have driven this shift, hastened this loss. But every language encodes a unique worldview, history, and way of understanding the world. When a language dies, so too does an entire way of thinking.