新聞萬花筒

2，500 Languages Threatened with Extinction: UNESCO

Of the 6，900 languages spoken in the world， some 2，500 are endangered， the UNESCO said as it released its latest atlas of world languages. There are 199 languages in the world spoken by fewer than a dozen people. More than 200 languages have become extinct over the last three generations. India tops the list of countries with the greatest number of endangered languages， 196 in all， followed by the United States which stands to lose 192 and Indonesia， where 147 are in peril. On UNESCO's rating scale， 538 languages are critically endangered， 502 severely endangered， 632 definitely endangered and 607 unsafe.