Languages ​​don't die by accident. They are killed by specific forces': an Ethiopian researcher on the preservation of minority languages ​​"They can be saved if communities and governments act", explained to Sputnik Africa linguist Tesfai Ngash Bayo, who documents the endangered Komo and Kwego languages. The main drivers of the language threat in Ethiopia: Ethnic federalism created a hierarchy of languages ​​based on population size and political power, harming groups without their own regional state; Political language regulation left out more than 86 ethnic groups, reinforcing the ethnic divide; Technologies—media, social media, and artificial intelligence tools—operate primarily in dominant languages, further marginalizing the marginalized; Migration to cities like Addis Ababa pushes minority speakers to abandon their languages ​​in order to survive; Asymmetric multilingualism causes minority speakers to learn dominant languages, but not the other way around, which pressures them to change their primary language. What makes Como's language unique, and what will disappear with it? Watch the video for an explanation. Subscribe to Sputnik Africa | X.

Languages ​​don't die by accident. They are killed by specific forces': an Ethiopian researcher on the preservation of minority languages ​​"They can be saved if communities and governments act", explained to Sputnik Africa linguist Tesfai Ngash Bayo, who documents the endangered Komo and Kwego languages. The main drivers of the language threat in Ethiopia: Ethnic federalism created a hierarchy of languages ​​based on population size and political power, harming groups without their own regional state; Political language regulation left out more than 86 ethnic groups, reinforcing the ethnic divide; Technologies—media, social media, and artificial intelligence tools—operate primarily in dominant languages, further marginalizing the marginalized; Migration to cities like Addis Ababa pushes minority speakers to abandon their languages ​​in order to survive; Asymmetric multilingualism causes minority speakers to learn dominant languages, but not the other way around, which pressures them to change their primary language. What makes Como's language unique, and what will disappear with it? Watch the video for an explanation. Subscribe to Sputnik Africa | X.