What would it be like to speak a language that almost nobody understands anymore? For some people, that’s a reality. There are many languages with less than a hundred speakers today, and some even go as low as only one or two speakers left.
So, what could be the rarest language in the world? We’ll look at five possible answers, learn about the people who still speak them, and find out what is being done to preserve them for future generations.
Key Takeaways
- Some languages have only one or two fluent speakers left.
- Language loss often happens when younger generations switch to more widely used languages.
- Losing a language can also mean losing stories, traditions, and cultural knowledge.
- Endangered languages can survive or return through community-led preservation and revival.
- Rare languages aren’t always endangered, and many still have large communities of speakers.
I want to learn even more languages with Ling!
Download now!
What’s The Rarest Language In The World?
These are the five least spoken languages in the world today:
1. Taushiro – Peru
Taushiro is an indigenous language with one known fluent speaker in Peru. That makes it one of the rarest languages in the world today. Taushiro is a language isolate, which means it’s not linked to any known language family.
One of its most unusual features is the counting system. They only had words for numbers up to ten and used their fingers and toes to show different amounts along with saying the words.
2. Lemerig – Vanuatu
Lemerig is considered one of the rarest languages in the world, with only two speakers left. The language slowly gave way to others spoken nearby, including Vera’a. As younger generations grew up using those instead, fewer people were learning Lemerig at home.
The name itself comes from an abandoned village in northern Vanua Lava, so both the place and its language have now almost disappeared from everyday life.
3. Njerep – Cameroon
Njerep is a language in Cameroon with fewer than five speakers. The language has largely been replaced by Mambila in everyday life.
Njerep is now so rarely used that researchers have only been able to document parts of it. Research found five people who still remembered Njerep, but none spoke it fluently. They could only produce fragments of the language or recall certain songs.
4. Ongota – Ethiopia
Ongota is spoken by a small community in southwestern Ethiopia. Research recorded only eight active speakers among a community of around 100 people.
Most younger members grew up speaking Ts’amakko instead. Earlier generations had stopped teaching Ongota to their children, partly because they faced ridicule for using it. Today, the language is critically endangered.
5. Tanema – Solomon Islands
Tanema comes from Vanikoro, a small island in the Solomon Islands. It is said to have only one speaker, a man named Lainol Nalo.
Over time, more people started speaking Teanu instead, and it eventually became the main language spoken on the island. Something that greatly contributed to this change was the intermarriage between different communities. Families chose a shared language, and children grew up speaking Teanu instead of Tanema.
What Happens When A Language Has Only One Speaker Left?
When there is only one fluent speaker of a language left, there’s nobody they can have a conversation with. The language can’t develop further, and it’s in danger of disappearing for good.
This can happen because communities switch to more widely spoken languages, often because of globalization, urbanization, historical oppression, or forced assimilation. When a language disappears, traditions, local history, and knowledge passed through generations can go with it.
Luckily, there are revitalization efforts in place that try to preserve what remains and pass it on. In Peru, for example, UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture have worked with the last Taushiro speaker, Amadeo García García, to record vocabulary and cultural knowledge, develop educational materials, and support younger community members in learning their heritage language.
Can An Endangered Language Be Saved?
Being endangered doesn’t mean a language is guaranteed to disappear. Communities are keeping them alive through immersion programs, recordings, dictionaries, digital resources, and everyday use.
A famous success story is Hawaiian. After decades of decline, revitalization efforts brought it back into schools and homes, where new generations became native speakers. In 1978, Hawaiian also became an official state language alongside English.
Another example is Manx, the Celtic language of the Isle of Man. The language lost its last traditional native speaker in 1974. Since then, a new generation has learned to speak it. Some parents now raise their children in Manx, and there is even a primary school where it’s the only language used in lessons.
Is Learning A Rare Language Worth It?
Learning a rare language can feel very rewarding. It doesn’t have to mean you start learning a language with only one speaker left. Some of the most uncommon languages still have large communities, but they simply don’t have many learning resources available.
Ling is a great example of a language app that focuses on underrated languages, with 70+ languages available. Here are some less commonly taught languages you’ll find on the Ling app:
- Sorbian
- Irish
- Georgian
- Armenian
- Mongolian
- Lao
- Latvian
- Estonian
- Lithuanian
- Slovenian
- Albanian
- Khmer
- Pashto
- Amharic
- Yoruba
If you want to learn something a little different, there are many options beyond the languages you see on most apps. You might even find one you’d never thought about learning before.
FAQs About Rare Languages
How Many Endangered Languages Are There?
Around 3,000 world languages are endangered. From the roughly 7,000 spoken worldwide, half could disappear within the next 100 years. More than 1,000 already have fewer than 1,000 speakers.
Are There Any Undocumented Languages In The World?
Yes. One of the best-known examples of an undocumented language is Sentinelese. Very little is known about the language because its speakers live in isolation on North Sentinel Island. Contact with the community is heavily restricted to protect them.
What Is The Rarest Language In The World?
Some of the rarest languages in the world are Taushiro, Tanema, and Lemerig. They’re known for having only one or two speakers left. There is no permanent, universally agreed “rarest language” because speaker numbers can change at any time.
Why The Rarest Languages Still Matter
Behind every rare or endangered language are people, stories, traditions, and knowledge passed down for generations. If one disappears, part of that cultural heritage goes with it.
Documentation and preservation help, but languages have a much better chance when people continue learning and speaking them.
Curious about languages beyond the usual Spanish, French, or German? Download the Ling app and explore 70+ languages, including many you rarely find on mainstream learning platforms.
