All articles tagged with #language extinction
A new analysis suggests there were thousands of languages 12,000 years ago (roughly 3,300–7,800), language diversity rose as farming spread, peaking around 2,000 years ago with tens of thousands of languages, and then declined—indicating that language extinction is not solely a modern phenomenon.
Scientists have rediscovered human populations in southern Africa's Namib Desert that were thought to have disappeared decades ago. The genetic identity of these groups has been maintained, even after the loss of their native languages. The researchers found descendants of the Kwepe group, who used to speak Kwadi, a click language related to Khoe languages spoken across Southern Africa. The study reveals the migrations of the region's populations, with Khoe-Kwadi speakers dispersing around 2,000 years ago. This rediscovery fills a missing piece in the history of humanity and sheds light on the genetic diversity and migration patterns of southern African populations.