LONDON, March 24 (UPI) -- A language is lost every two weeks, the head of a new British center for research into endangered languages said Wednesday at the facility's London opening.
The center is located at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, The Guardian reported.
Professor Peter Austin, director of the Endangered Languages Academic Project, said modern children are taught more commonly used languages -- rather than less common native tongues -- to help them gain work advantages in later life. As a result half of the 6,500 languages spoken around the world are anticipated to disappear in the next century.
Austin, who speaks three Australian aboriginal languages, two Indonesian dialects, English, Japanese, German, and Italian, said: "The tragedy is that although people may decide now that it's better to switch, in a generation or two, their children or grandchildren will regret that. We're trying to help people remain multi-lingual by adding languages, rather than losing them."
