WASHINGTON, D.C., June 18, 2001: Among the world’s 6,800 languages, half to 90 percent could be extinct by the end of the century. Half of all languages are spoken by fewer than 2,500 people each, according to the Worldwatch Institute, a private organization that monitors global trends. Languages need at least 100,000 speakers to pass from generation to generation. War, genocide, fatal natural disasters, government bans and the adoption of more dominant languages also contribute to their demise. Several languages in India face extinction.
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