Editing Endangered language (section)

==Number of languages==
The total number of contemporary languages in the world is not known, and it is not well defined what constitutes a separate language as opposed to a dialect. Estimates vary depending on the extent and means of the research undertaken, and the definition of a distinct language and the current state of knowledge of remote and isolated language communities. The number of known languages varies over time as some of them become extinct and others are newly discovered. An accurate number of languages in the world was not yet known until the use of universal, [[systematic survey]]s in the later half of the twentieth century.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Language Death|last=Crystal|first=David|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2002|isbn=0521012716|location=England|pages=3|quote=As a result, without professional guidance, figures in popular estimation see-sawed wildly, from several hundred to tens of thousands. It took some time for systematic surveys to be established. Ethnologue, the largest present-day survey, first attempted a world-wide review only in 1974, an edition containing 5,687 languages.}}</ref> The majority of linguists in the early twentieth century refrained from making estimates. Before then, estimates were frequently the product of guesswork and very low.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Language Death|last=Crystal|first=David|publisher=Cambridge|year=2000|isbn=0521653215|pages=3}}</ref>

One of the most active research agencies is [[SIL International]], which maintains a database, [[Ethnologue]], kept up to date by the contributions of linguists globally.<ref>{{cite book |author=Grenoble, Lenore A.  |author2=Lindsay J. Whaley |year=1998 |chapter=Preface |chapter-url=http://assets.cambridge.org/97805215/91027/frontmatter/9780521591027_frontmatter.pdf |pages=xi–xii|title=Endangered languages: Current Issues and Future Prospects.|editor=Lenore A. Grenoble|editor2=Lindsay J. Whaley |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-59102-3}}</ref>

Ethnologue's 2005 count of languages in its database, excluding duplicates in different countries, was 6,912, of which 32.8% (2,269) were in Asia, and 30.3% (2,092) in Africa.<ref>{{cite web|title=Statistical Summaries|work=Ethnologue Web Version|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/ethno_docs/distribution.asp?by=area|publisher=SIL International|year=2009|access-date=26 April 2009}}</ref> This contemporary tally must be regarded as a variable number within a range. Areas with a particularly large number of languages that are nearing extinction include: [[Eastern Siberia]],{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} [[Central Siberia]], [[Northern Australia]], [[Central America]], and the [[Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast|Northwest Pacific Plateau]]. Other hotspots are [[Oklahoma]] and the [[Southern Cone]] of South America.

===Endangered sign languages===
Almost all of the study of language endangerment has been with spoken languages. A UNESCO study of endangered languages does not mention sign languages.<ref>[http://www.helsinki.fi/~tasalmin/europe_index.html Endangered languages in Europe: indexes<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> However, some [[sign language]]s are also endangered, such as [[Alipur Sign Language|Alipur Village Sign Language]] (AVSL) of India,<ref>[http://elar.soas.ac.uk/deposit/avsl-59168 ELAR – The Endangered Languages Archive<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[Adamorobe Sign Language]] of Ghana, [[Ban Khor Sign Language]] of Thailand, and [[Plains Indian Sign Language]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://pislresearch.com/ |title=Hand Talk: American Indian Sign Language |access-date=2017-09-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024164112/http://pislresearch.com/ |archive-date=2014-10-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Hederpaly, Donna. ''[http://helenair.com/lifestyles/article_da41d7a8-a6a4-11df-9ff4-001cc4c03286.html Tribal "hand talk" considered an endangered language]'' Billings Gazette, August 13, 2010</ref> Many sign languages are used by small communities; small changes in their environment (such as contact with a larger sign language or dispersal of the deaf community) can lead to the endangerment and loss of their traditional sign language. Methods are being developed to assess the vitality of sign languages.<ref>Bickford, J. Albert, M. Paul Lewis, Gary F. Simons. 2014. Rating the vitality of sign languages. ''Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development'' 36(5):1-15.</ref>