Increased globalisation has resulted in the number of human languages declining from around 7,000 during the late 20th century, to less than half of that figure now.* Many old sayings, customs and traditions have been abandoned or forgotten as the world becomes an ever smaller and more interconnected place. Changing social and economic conditions have forced many parents to teach their children the lingua franca, rather than obscure local dialects, in order to give them a better future. This is especially true in Africa and Asia.
This broad homogenisation of culture has been further propagated by the stunning advances in technology which have swept the world. Many people in developed countries, for instance, are eschewing their native tongues altogether, relying on brain implants for everyday communications. The young especially are utilising this form of digital telepathy, now sufficiently advanced that verbally speaking has almost become an inconvenience, due to the longer time intervals required in conversations.
Meanwhile, tribes people and isolated communities have lost homelands due to climate change, deforestation and shifting land uses. This forced migration and assimilation into the wider world has caused many ancient and rural languages to fade away. English, Mandarin and Spanish remain the lingua franca of international business, science, technology and aviation.
