Extinct language - Definition and Overview

An extinct language is a language which is no longer natively spoken: it is estimated that one natural human language dies every two weeks. In a tiny number of cases, the extinct language is associated with an empire held in such high regard by remaining empires that it would remain in use for scientific, legal, or ecclesiastical functions. Long after their respective deaths, Latin and Ancient Greek have been mined for scientific neologisms. Old Church Slavonic, Avestan, Coptic, and Ge'ez are among the many extinct languages used for liturgical purposes.

In at least one case, Hebrew, a de facto extinct language has been revived to practical use. Other cases, such as Cornish are disputed, as they do not enjoy support as an autonomous country's official language.

See also

• Category:Last native speakers
• Endangered language
• List of extinct languages.