Survival of the fittest
Linguists believe that around 8,000 BC there were more than 20,000 existing languages. At present the number of living languages is approximately 7,000.
When a language dies, it takes the corresponding culture, literature, and most importantly, the identity with it. Survival of a language may not seem as crucial as the survival of a people but without the former, how would you distinguish the latter?
In a world run by globalisation, the mantra at work seems to be “Survival of the fittest.” In this race, however, there is no “level playing field.” Our cover story in this issue addresses languages that are on the verge of extinction. It's not all gloom and doom though. Language can be saved, when you start believing in “unity in diversity.”
– Karim Waheed, Editor, SHOUT
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