Linguists that around 7,000 languages are spoken in the world today, and that a large proportion of them could disappear by the end of this century. A language usually dies gradually. Parents who believe that a more widely spoken language will offer their children better opportunities stop using their own language at home. Within a few generations, only elderly people can speak it, and when the speakers pass away, the language is no longer used in daily life. However, some experts prefer to call such languages "sleeping" rather than "dead," because history shows that they can sometimes be brought back.
The most famous example is Hebrew. For centuries, it was used mainly for purposes and in written texts, and almost nobody spoke it as a first language. In the late nineteenth century, however, a group of people in the Middle East began using it in their homes and creating new words for modern objects and ideas. Schools started teaching all subjects in Hebrew, and within a few decades, a new generation had grown up speaking it naturally. Today, it is spoken by millions of people. A more recent case is Hawaiian. By the 1980s, fewer than 50 children in Hawaii could speak the language. In response, a group of parents and teachers opened preschools where children spent the whole day using only Hawaiian. These schools were later followed by elementary and high schools that taught in the language.
Researchers who study such movements say that teaching a language in school is an important step, but it is not enough by itself. Children who learn a language only in the classroom often stop using it once they school, especially if their friends and family speak a different language. The most successful programs are those that create opportunities for the language to be used in everyday life, such as at home, in shops, and on television. For this reason, many programs now offer classes for parents as well as children, so that the whole family can use the language together.
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Q1p1_long_a
According to the passage, how do languages usually disappear?
Q2p1_long_a
What did the efforts to revive Hebrew and Hawaiian have in common?
Q3p1_long_a
What do researchers say about teaching a language in school?
