The Rhine River

Dead Tongues

According to Ethnologue, an organization that studies dialects and provides them with written scripts, the following European dialects are dead:

• Dalmatian (Italian dialect in Croatian)
• Saami/Kemi (Finland)
• Frankish
• Polabean (Slavic language of Germany)
• Cappadocian (Greek dialect of Turkey, community resettled)
• Prussian (German dialect of Poland)
• Slavonic
• Guanche (Berber dialect of Spain)
• Mozarabic (Spanish with Arabic influences)
• Ubykh (Caucasian language, community forced into exile by Russia)
• Gothic
• Hiberno-Scottish
• Manx
• Norn
• Knaanic (Judeo-Czech)
• Shuadit (Judeo-Provençal)
• Zarphatic (Judeo-French)
• Karaim (Karaite language, related to Hebrew, nearly extinct)

Only six or seven of these dialects can be said to have died a natural death. The others were subjected to some sort of national or ethnic conflict, resettlement, or genocide.

(Thanks to Brdgt and Ralph Luker for the link.)

posted by Nathanael @ 10:26 AM