List of endangered languages in Central America
An endangered language is a language that it is at risk of falling out of use, generally because it has few surviving speakers. If it loses all of its native speakers, it becomes an extinct language. UNESCO defines four levels of language endangerment between "safe" (not endangered) and "extinct":[1]
- Vulnerable
- Definitely endangered
- Severely endangered
- Critically endangered
Central America (Spanish: Centroamérica or América Central) is a central geographic region of the Americas. It is variably defined either as the southern portion of North America, which connects with South America on the southeast, or as a region of the American continent in its own right.[2][3]
| Country | Language | Ethnonym | Speakers | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | Boruca | 5 women 30 to 35 nonfluent speakers |
(1986 SIL) (1991) | |
| El Salvador | Pipil | 20 196,576 |
(1987) (1987) | |
| Guatemala | Itza' | 12 1,800 |
(1986 SIL) (2001) | |
| Nicaragua | Rama | 24 900 |
(1989 J Holm) (2000 C Grinevald) | |
| Panama | San Miguel Creole French | 3 | (1999 SIL) |
References
- ^ Moseley, Christopher, ed. (2010). Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger. Memory of Peoples (3rd ed.). Paris: UNESCO Publishing. ISBN 978-92-3-104096-2. Retrieved 2015-04-11.
- ^ Central America Archived 2009-10-31 at WebCite, MSN Encarta. Accessed on line January 10, 2008. Archived 2009-10-31.
- ^ "Central America", vol. 3, Micropædia, The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1990, 15th ed. ISBN 0-85229-511-1.