Vanishing voices : the extinction of the world's languages / Daniel Nettle and Suzanne Romaine.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [215]-224) and index.

1 Where Have All the Languages Gone? Why and how are languages dying? Where and when are languages at risk? Why worry about languages dying? What can be done? 2 A World of Diversity How many languages are there and where are they spoken? Hotbeds of linguistic diversity Endangerment: the extent of the threat Biolinguistic diversity: some correlations between the linguistic and biological worlds 3 Lost Words Lost Worlds Sudden versus gradual death What happens in gradual death? What is being lost 1: a rose by any other name? What is being lost 2: whatʼs mine is mine? What is being lost 3: women, fire and dangerous things Lost languages, lost knowledge 4 The Ecology of Language Babel in paradise: Papua New Guinea Why are there so many languages? The ways languages die What has changed 5 The Biological Wave The Paleolithic world system The Neolithic revolution Different trajectories after the Neolithic The Neolithic aftershock The untouched world 6 The Economic Wave The rise to dominance Economic takeoff First casualties: the Celtic languages The spread to the developing world Double dangers 7 Why Something Should Be Done Why bother? Making choices Language, development and sustainability Indigenous knowledge systems Language rights and human rights 8 Sustainable Futures Bottom up approaches to language maintenance: some case studies Settling for less, but getting more? Whoʼs afraid of bilingualism? Living without a heart Planning for survival: languages as natural resources Some top down strategies.

Includes information on Aborigines, Africa, European colonization and spread, American Indians, Australia, Breton language, economic growth, English language, Eurasia, Europe, Hawaii, Hawaiian language, homogenization, Irish language, Japanese language, language shift, Maori language, Saami (Laplanders), Scots Gaelic, Welsh language, et cetera.