An extinct language or dead language is a language with no living native speakers[1][2] A dormant language is a dead language that still serves as a symbol of ethnic identity to an ethnic group; these languages are often undergoing a process of revitalisation.[3] Languages that have first-language speakers are known as modern or living languages to contrast them with dead languages, especially in educational contexts.
Languages have typically become extinct as a result of the process of cultural assimilation leading to language shift, and the gradual abandonment of a native language in favor of a foreign lingua franca.[4][5][6]
As of the 2000s, a total of roughly 7,000 natively spoken languages existed worldwide. Most of these are minor languages in danger of extinction; one estimate published in 2004 expected that some 90% of the currently spoken languages will have become extinct by 2050.[7]
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Ethnologue records 7,358 living languages known,"Ethnologue". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 5 October 2001. Retrieved 22 March 2012. but on 2015-05-20, Ethnologue reported only 7,102 known living languages; and on 2015-02-23, Ethnologue already reported only 7,097 known living languages.