beliefs and cultural values expressed in indigenous languages provide time-tested mechanisms for the sustainable use of natural resources and management of ecosystems, which have become more critical with the emergence of urgent new challenges posed by climate change.
To complement its set of international standard-setting instruments aimed at defending cultural diversity as the common heritage of humanity, UNESCO seeks to provide practical tools for safeguarding endangered languages such as this publication and its digital version. Whereas the first edition reported on 600 languages only, and the second included 900, this third edition has been substantially expanded to include information on the endangerment status of about three times as many languages. As a result, the number listed in the present edition now approaches the estimate generally accepted by linguists of some 2,500 endangered languages worldwide.
The first edition’s twelve maps left large parts of the world blank because we lacked accurate knowledge. The thirty maps featured in the new edition provide global – if still not comprehensive – coverage. Thus, with this edition, and particularly with the ever-changing, ever-growing digital version, the Atlas has become a powerful tool for monitoring the situation of the world’s endangered languages, while continuing its proven role as an instrument for raising awareness among policy makers, the media, the general public and especially the speakers of languages in danger.
This new edition also features another significant improvement: it reports on a wealth of effective community experiences in safeguarding and revitalizing endangered languages and a number of national policy initiatives that support such efforts. While the threats facing such languages are no smaller or fewer than they were in 1996 and the urgency of their endangerment is no less acute, I am encouraged by the increasing effectiveness of the global response. Let us continue to seek better ways of supporting the speakers of endangered languages whose strong commitment to their mother tongue is the most decisive factor for language maintenance and ensuring sustainable results.
