Expert community develops new Atlas of world languages under UNESCO’s umbrella
This week, under the auspices of UNESCO Paris hosts the international expert meeting on the compiling new World Atlas of languages. The linguists, cultural scientists, philologists, historians and academic community discuss the methodology of data collection about languages and design of the interface of the future map on the eve of the International Mother Tongue Day, traditionally celebrated on 21 February,
The World Atlas of languages is an online platform containing information about all languages of the world.
According to the latest edition of the Atlas (2010), more than 2,500 languages are on the verge of a complete disappearing from the speech and writing usage of the world's population. Every month two languages die.
Today, the world speaks over 6,000 languages. However, the ratio between the number of speakers of any language and the total number of languages is contrasting strikingly: 5760 languages (or 96%) are used as a communication tool by only 4% of the world population.
While some languages have writing system, others exist only verbally.
In this situation, UNESCO is trying to play a key role in promoting the linguistic diversity and preserving cultural traditions.
The current Atlas is available here: www.unesco.org
