Language death is a worldwide phenomenon.
Since languages function not only to reflect reality but also help create it, language extinction does more than simply rob descendants of their own cultural patrimony and medium of expression. It deprives everyone, including future generations, of a unique worldview and perspective. Stages of language death range from endangered to moribund, a condition a dying language rarely recovers from, where only a handful of scattered elderly speakers use it and no children learn it. Languages are dying out at twice the rate of endangered mammals and four times the rate of endangered birds. Not because of any inherent weaknesses, but largely due to economic and political pressures on minority cultures.