When your language faces extinction: A photographic exhibition highlights over 120 endangered languages in the US

When your language faces extinction: A photographic exhibition highlights over 120 endangered languages in the US

In the United States, there is no official language, but there is clearly unofficial one: English. Spoken by the majority of the population, it is used by 241 million people according to 2019 census data, and 95% understand the language. However, Spanish, spoken by nearly 63 million people according to the Cervantes Institute’s latest yearbook, is the second most common language. Other languages like Chinese (four million speakers as of 2019), Tagalog (1.8 million), Vietnamese (1.6 million), and Arabic (1.3 million) also have significant presences, uniting their communities and fostering vibrant social, cultural, and economic dynamics. But what happens when your language is spoken by just 200 people, a dozen, or perhaps only by you? In such a vast country, these endangered languages also exist — more than you would expect.

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