Arts & Culture
Language Shift and Revitalization Movements among Minority Groups
Quick fact
The Hawaiian language was once banned in schools and had only about 2,000 native speakers by the 1980s, but through immersion preschools and the 'language nest' approach, it now has thousands of speakers—a dramatic recovery that inspired similar programs worldwide.
Why this is interesting
Imagine a language with thousands of speakers—yet within a few generations it's gone. How does that happen, and can it be stopped?