List of revived languages

Language Endangerment Status
Extinct (EX)
  • Extinct (EX)
Endangered
  • Critically Endangered (CR)
  • Severely Endangered (SE)
  • Definitely Endangered (DE)
  • Vulnerable (VU)
  • (list)
  • (list)
  • (list)
  • (list)
Safe
  • no list

Other categories

Related topics


UNESCO Atlas of the World's
Languages in Danger categories

A revived language is a language that at one point had no native speakers, but through revitalization efforts has regained native speakers.

The most frequent reason for extinction is the marginalisation of local languages within a wider dominant nation state, which might at times amount to outright political oppression. This process normally works alongside economic and cultural pressures for greater centralisation and assimilation. Once a language has become marginalised in this way, it is often perceived as being "useless" by its remaining speakers, who associate it with low social status and poverty, and consequently fail to pass it on to the next generation.