UNESCO has classified the vitality of each of the Arctic indigenous languages on which data was collected for the ABA study. It is striking to note that 20 languages have become extinct since the 1800s and that ten of these extinctions have taken place after 1990 indicating an increasing rate of language extinction. Of these extinctions, one was in Finland, one in Alaska, one in Canada, and seventeen in the Russian Federation. With this in mind, it is urgent that the 30 languages classified as critically endangered be well-documented and attempts at revitalization considered.
Year: 2010
From collection: Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010
Cartographer:
Hugo Ahlenius, GRID-Arendal & CAFF