Linguist K. David Harrison Identifies Hotspots
Where Languages Are Vanishing Most Rapidly

by Alisa Giardinelli
09/18/2007

Assistant Professor of Linguistics K. David Harrison (right) has traveled the world to interview the last speakers of critically endangered languages as part of the National Geographic Society's Enduring Voices Project. More than half of the world's 7,000 languages are expected to become extinct by the end of the century, taking with them, Harrison says, irreplaceable knowledge about the natural world.  more

News of the language hotspots that Harrison and his colleagues identified made headlines around the world this week, including in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, the Guardian UK, and The Australian.  Harrison discussed his work on "Good Morning America" and will appear on "The Colbert Report" on Tues., Sept. 24.