Climate change as a trigger of language extinction: Strategies for language reclamation & revitalization

Authors

  • Claudia Debby Chyntia Putri Sociology Study Program, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta, Special Region of Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61511/crsusf.v3i1.2868

Keywords:

climate change, language extinction, language reclamation, language revitalization

Abstract

Background: This article examines language extinction caused by climate change and crises. These factors are related to migration and the forced displacement of indigenous communities. Efforts to curb language extinction include language reclamation and revitalization. Methods: This study uses a semi-systematic review approach that includes quantitative and qualitative data. The categorized data cover keywords such as language extinction, climate change, migration, as well as language reclamation and revitalization. The materials are then systematically filtered and organized to ensure continuity between the conceptual frameworks and findings. Findings: Language extinction occurs rapidly in various parts of the world, especially in regions with abundant diversity. Nevertheless, this language extinction brings a unifying strength. Indigenous communities and experts then formulate ways to reclaim and revitalize endangered or extinct indigenous languages. Conclusion: The efforts of language reclamation and revitalization ultimately provide society with autonomy, freedom, strength, pride, identity, and an inseparable sense of belonging. Novelty/Originality of this article: The novelty of this article lies in the way of preserving and protecting language through cultural festivals. These festivals bring together various indigenous communities to celebrate cultural diversity.

References

Addaney, M., Yegblemenawo, S. A. M., Akudugu, J. A., & Kodua, M. A. (2022). Climate change and preservation of minority languages in the upper regions of Ghana: A systematic review. Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment, 20(2), 177–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjpre.2022.06.008

Almerio, Y. (2025). Upaya Para Pemuda Cegah Kepunahan Bahasa Suku Balik. Mongabay Indonesia. Mongabay. https://mongabay.co.id/2025/09/26/upaya-para-pemuda-cegah-kepunahan-bahasa-suku-balik/

Amanda. (2022). Festival Mosintuwu, Ikhtiar Memuliakan Alam & Kebudayaan untuk Kehidupan Kini dan Kelak. RoemahKata. https://www.roemahkata.com/festival-mosintuwu-ikhtiar-memuliakan-alam-kebudayaan-untuk-kehidupan-kini-dan-kelak/

Austin, P. K. (2021). Language Documentation and Language Revitalization. Revitalizing Endangered Languages: A Practical Guide, 199–219. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108641142.014

Bendell, J. (2020). Deep Adaptation: A Map for Navigating Climate Tragedy. Institute of Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS), 2, p19. https://www.lifeworth.com/deepadaptation.pdf

Benke, E. (2024). How climate change is altering Sami language. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240228-climate-change-is-altering-this-arctic-language

Bromham, L., Dinnage, R., Skirgård, H., Ritchie, A., Cardillo, M., Meakins, F., Greenhill, S., & Hua, X. (2022). Global predictors of language endangerment and the future of linguistic diversity. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 6(2), 163–173. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01604-y

Bromham, L., Hua, X., Algy, C., & Meakins, F. (2020). Language endangerment: A multidimensional analysis of risk factors. Journal of Language Evolution, 5(1), 75–91. https://doi.org/10.1093/jole/lzaa002

Brown, J., & Middleton, J. (2022). Climate change, migration, and language endangerment in the Pacific. Global Agenda for Social Justice 2, 88–95. https://doi.org/10.56687/9781447367420-016

Brown, J., & Middleton, J. (2024). Climate change and languages: the threat of climate-induced migration to the world’s vulnerable languages. Oxford Open Climate Change, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfclm/kgae019

Cámara-Leret, R., & Bascompte, J. (2021). Language extinction triggers the loss of unique medicinal knowledge. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118(24). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2103683118

Couée, I. (2024). The importance of worldwide linguistic and cultural diversity for climate change resilience. Ecology Letters, 27(3), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14410

Daniels, B., & Sterzuk, A. (2022). Indigenous Language Revitalization and Applied Linguistics: Conceptualizing an Ethical Space of Engagement Between Academic Fields. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 25(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.37213/cjal.2022.31841

Dołowy-Rybińska, N., & Hornsby, M. (2021). Attitudes and Ideologies in Language Revitalisation. Revitalizing Endangered Languages: A Practical Guide, 104–117. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108641142.008

Gregory, A. (2021, April 12). How Did a Self-Taught Linguist Come to Own an Indigenous Language? The New Yorker. www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/04/19/how-did-a-self-taught-linguist-come-to-own-an-indigenous-language

Grehenson, G. (2024). Bahasa Enggano Diambang Kepunahan. Universitas Gadjah Mada Yogyakarta. https://ugm.ac.id/id/berita/bahasa-enggano-diambang-kepunahan/

Hadi, D. W., Sambodo, N., Anindyatri, A. O., & Mas’ad. (2020). Statistik Kebahasaan, Kesastraan, dan Perbukuan 2020. In W. Permanawiyat (Ed.), Pusat Data dan Teknologi Informasi Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan (Pusdatin Kemdikbud).

Hasan, Y. (2022). Mosintuwu Award 2022 : Penjaga Tradisi Danau dan Jurnalis Lingkungan. Mosintuwu Institute. https://www.mosintuwu.com/2022/12/10/mosintuwu-award-2022-penjaga-tradisi-danau-dan-jurnalis-lingkungan/

Hersher, R. (2022). The Arctic is heating up nearly four times faster than the whole planet, study finds. National Public Radio (NPR). https://www.npr.org/2022/08/11/1116608415/the-arctic-is-heating-up-nearly-four-times-faster-than-the-rest-of-earth-study-f

Kik, A., Adamec, M., Aikhenvald, A. Y., Bajzekova, J., Baro, N., Bowern, C., Colwell, R. K., Drozd, P., Duda, P., Ibalim, S., Jorge, L. R., Mogina, J., Ruli, B., Sam, K., Sarvasy, H., Saulei, S., Weiblen, G. D., Zrzavy, J., & Novotny, V. (2021). Language and ethnobiological skills decline precipitously in Papua New Guinea, the world’s most linguistically diverse nation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118(22). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2100096118

Kramm, M. (2020). When a River Becomes a Person. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 21(4), 307–319. https://doi.org/10.1080/19452829.2020.1801610

Kurniawan, M. A. (2025, January 5). Masyarakat Adat, Deforestasi, dan Punahnya Bahasa Ibu. Cermat. https://www.cermat.co.id/masyarakat-adat-deforestasi-dan-punahnya-bahasa-ibu/

Lane, P. (2023). From Silence to Silencing? Contradictions and Tensions in Language Revitalization. Applied Linguistics, 44(5), 833–847. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amac075

Lauder, A. F., Lauder, M. R. M. T., & Kiftiawati, K. (2021). Preserving and empowering local languages amidst the Covid-19 pandemic: Lessons from East Kalimantan. Wacana, 22(2), 439–466. https://doi.org/10.17510/WACANA.V22I2.1006

Lavender Forsyth, G. A. (2025). Language endangerment in Vanuatu: Bislama likely does pose a threat in the world’s most language-diverse country. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05866-w

Martínez, C. H., Campbell, E. W., & Basurto, G. R. (2021). 13.2: MILPA (Mexican Indigenous Language Promotion and Advocacy): A Community-Centered Linguistic Collaboration Supporting Indigenous Mexican Languages in California. In J. Olko & J. Sallabank (Eds.), Revitalizing Endangered Languages: A Practical Guide (pp. 216–217). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108641142.014

Maryniak, J. (2021). 13.1: Technical Questions in Language Documentation. In J. Olko & J. Sallabank (Eds.), Revitalizing Endangered Languages: A Practical Guide (pp. 212–215). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108641142.014

McGlashen, A. (2022). ‘Like Finding a Unicorn’: Researchers Rediscover the Black-Naped Pheasant-Pigeon, a Bird Lost to Science for 140 Years. Audubon. https://www.audubon.org/magazine/finding-unicorn-researchers-rediscover-black-naped-pheasant-pigeon-bird-lost-science-140

McIvor, O. (2020). Indigenous Language Revitalization and Applied Linguistics: Parallel Histories, Shared Futures? Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 40, 78–96. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190520000094

Mitha. (2025). Mini Ensiklopedi Masyarakat Adat Suku Balik: Bukti Eksistensi dan Perlawanan. Kaltim Faktual. https://kaltimfaktual.co/mini-ensiklopedi-masyarakat-adat-suku-balik-bukti-eksistensi-dan-perlawanan/

Mokonio, L. (2020). Dongeng Tradisi : Alat Menjaga Ingatan. Mosintuwu Institute. https://www.mosintuwu.com/2020/11/20/dongeng-tradisi-alat-menjaga-ingatan/

Nelson, D., Kariri-Xocó, N., Kariri-Xocó, I., & Pitman, T. (2023). “We Most Certainly Do Have a Language” Decolonizing Discourses of Language Extinction. Environmental Humanities, 15(1), 187–207. https://doi.org/10.1215/22011919-10216239

Nuka, I. (2025). Krisis Iklim Ancam Bahasa Orang Kodi. Mongabay Indonesia. https://mongabay.co.id/2025/04/02/krisis-iklim-ancam-bahasa-orang-kodi/

Pasanen, A. (2025). Discussions on the intergenerational transmission of the Sámi languages in Finland. Uralica Helsingiensia, 16. https://doi.org/10.33341/uh.148679

Poets, D. (2021). Citizenship and settler colonialism in Brazil: The toré ritual as a decolonial indigenous practice in the Northeast Region. Citizenship Studies, 28(3), 282–300. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/13621025.2021.1984504

Poshka, A. (2021). UNESCO’s Atlas on Endangered Languages and the Local Context. SEEU Review, 16(2), 80–86. https://doi.org/10.2478/seeur-2021-0021

Price, K. (2024). Climate Change is Fueling the Loss of Indigenous Languages That Could Be Crucial to Combating It. Inside Climate News. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/02062024/todays-climate-indigenous-language-loss/

Riehl, A. (2023). The rising ocean will extinguish more than land. It will kill entire languages. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/28/indigenous-languages-climate-crisis-threat-pacific-islands

Sallabank, J., & King, J. (2021). Chapter 2: What Do We Revitalize? In J. Olko & J. Sallabank (Eds.), Revitalizing Endangered Languages: a Practical Guide (pp. 33–45). Cambridge University Press. https://books.google.co.id/books?hl=id&lr=&id=63AjEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA85&dq=language+revitalization+in+practice&ots=UgKScqz6G2&sig=Efejt1t0lMlTGyf6V64t69OiK6A&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=language revitalization in practice&f=false

Sataloff, R. T., Bush, M. L., Chandra, R., Chepeha, D., Rotenberg, B., Fisher, E. W., Goldenberg, D., Hanna, E. Y., Kerschner, J. E., Kraus, D. H., Krouse, J. H., Li, D., Link, M., Lustig, L. R., Selesnick, S. H., Sindwani, R., Smith, R. J., Tysome, J. R., Weber, P. C., & Welling, D. B. (2021). Systematic and other reviews: criteria and complexities. Chinese Journal of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, 56(7), 687–690. https://doi.org/10.3760/cma.j.cn115330-20210430-00245

Siruyu, P. (2023). Bahasa Ibu di Poso : Bada dan Behoa Terancam Punah, Pamona Alami Kemunduran. Mosintuwu Institute. https://www.mosintuwu.com/2023/02/23/bahasa-ibu-di-poso-bada-dan-behoa-terancam-punah-pamona-alami-kemunduran/

Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039

Tokona, M. (2020). Bislama the Language Parasite. Vanuatu Daily Post. https://www.dailypost.vu/news/bislama-the-language-parasite/article_2c556e7e-4311-11eb-a1df-a784b18ab5de.html

Tondo, F. H. (2023). Bahasa Minoritas Enggano di Beranda Depan NKRI: Kontak dan Gejala Kepunahan Bahasa di Pulau Enggano, Bengkulu - Indonesia. Jurnal Masyarakat Dan Budaya, 25(1), 35–50. https://doi.org/10.55981/jmb.2023.1849

Tulius, J. (2020). Lesson From the Past, Knowledge for the Future: Roles of Human Memories in Earthquake and Tsunami Narratives in Mentawai, Indonesia. Paradigma: Jurnal Kajian Budaya, 10(2), 147. https://doi.org/10.17510/paradigma.v10i2.396

Utama, A. (2025). Mengapa rencana pembukaan 20 juta hektare hutan untuk lahan pangan “untungkan korporasi dan rugikan warga”? – Kesaksian Orang Rimba yang tersisih dari hutan leluhur. BBC Indonesia. https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/articles/czx594201glo

Wibowo, D. (2023). Pertarungan di Hutan Papua: Kala Pemuda, Perempuan, dan Tetua Adat Atur Siasat Lawan Penggusuran. Project Multatuli. https://projectmultatuli.org/pertarungan-di-hutan-papua-kala-pemuda-perempuan-dan-tetua-adat-atur-siasat-lawan-penggusuran/

Wijaya, T. (2020). Rusaknya Bentang Alam Adalah Kecemasan Kita Bersama. Mongabay Indonesia. https://mongabay.co.id/2020/01/07/rusaknya-bentang-alam-adalah-kecemasan-kita-bersama/

Zanon, S. (2021). Extinction of Indigenous languages leads to loss of exclusive knowledge about medicinal plants. Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2021/09/extinction-of-indigenous-languages-leads-to-loss-of-exclusive-knowledge-about-medicinal-plants/

Zimmer, K. (2023). The Environmental Wisdom Encoded in Endangered Languages. Atmos Earth. https://atmos.earth/political-landscapes/the-environmental-wisdom-encoded-in-endangered-languages/

Downloads

Published

2026-02-28

Issue

Section

Articles

Citation Check