List of languages by time of extinction

An extinct language may be narrowly defined as a language with no native speakers and no descendant languages. Under this definition, a language becomes extinct upon the death of its last native speaker, the terminal speaker. A language like Latin is not extinct in this sense, because it evolved into the modern Romance languages; it is impossible to state when Latin became extinct because there is a diachronic continuum between ancestors Late Latin and Vulgar Latin on the one hand and descendants like Old French and Old Italian on the other; any cutoff date for distinguishing ancestor from descendant is arbitrary. For many languages which have become extinct in recent centuries, attestation of usage is datable in the historical record, and sometimes the terminal speaker is identifiable. In other cases, historians and historical linguists may infer an estimated date of extinction from other events in the history of the sprachraum.

List

21st century

Date	Language	Language family	Region	Terminal speaker	Notes
20 September 2025	Aurê-Aurá	Tupian	Maranhão, Brazil	Aurá
14 July 2025	Caddo	Caddoan	Oklahoma, United States	Edmond Johnson	Under a process of revival.
by 8 March 2024	Mawes	Northwest Papuan?	West Papua, Indonesia
by 8 March 2024	Luhu	Austronesian	Maluku, Indonesia
2 May 2023	Columbia-Moses	Salishan	Washington, United States	Pauline Stensgar
by 2023	Itonama	Isolate	Beni Department, Bolivia
5 October 2022	Mednyj Aleut	Mixed Aleut–Russian	Commander Islands, Russia	Gennady Yakovlev
19 April 2022	Quapaw	Siouan	Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States	Ardina Moore
16 February 2022	Yahgan	Isolate	Magallanes, Chile	Cristina Calderón
by 2022?	Moghol	Mongolic	Herat Province, Afghanistan
25 September 2021	Wukchumni dialect of Tule-Kaweah Yokuts	Yokuts	California, United States	Marie Wilcox
27 August 2021	Yuchi	Isolate	Tennessee and Oklahoma in the United States	Maxine Wildcat Barnett
7 March 2021	Bering Aleut	Eskimo-Aleut	Kamchatka Krai, Russia	Vera Timoshenko
2 December 2020	Tuscarora	Iroquoian	North Carolina, United States	Kenneth Patterson	Under a process of revival.
4 April 2020	Aka-Cari dialect of Northern Andamanese	Great Andamanese	Andaman Islands, India	Licho
23 March 2019	Ngandi	Gunwinyguan	Northern Territory, Australia	C. W. Daniels
4 January 2019	Tehuelche	Chonan	Patagonia, Argentina	Dora Manchado
by 2017	Hokkaido Ainu	Ainu	Hokkaido, Japan
9 December 2016	Mandan	Siouan	North Dakota, United States	Edwin Benson
30 August 2016	Wichita	Caddoan	Oklahoma, United States	Doris McLemore
29 July 2016	Gugu Thaypan	Pama-Nyungan	Queensland, Australia	Tommy George
11 February 2016	Nuchatlaht dialect of Nuu-chah-nulth	Wakashan	British Columbia, Canada	Alban Michael
4 January 2016	Whulshootseed	Salishan	Washington, United States	Ellen Williams
4 February 2014	Klallam	Salishan	Washington, United States	Hazel Sampson	being taught as a second language on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State
	Demushbo	Panoan	Amazon Basin, Brazil
5 June 2013	Livonian	Uralic	Latvia	Grizelda Kristiņa	Under a process of revival.
26 March 2013	Yurok	Algic	California, United States	Archie Thompson	Under a process of revival.
by 2013	Sabüm	Mon–Khmer	Perak, Malaysia
2 October 2012	Cromarty dialect of Scots	Indo-European	Northern Scotland, United Kingdom	Bobby Hogg
11 July 2012	Upper Chinook	Chinookan	Oregon, United States	Gladys Thompson
10 March 2012	Holikachuk	Na-Dene	Alaska, United States	Wilson "Tiny" Deacon
2012	Andoa	Zaparoan	Peru	Hipólito Arahuanaza
2012	Mardijker	Portuguese-based creole	Jakarta, Indonesia	Oma Mimi Abrahams
	Dhungaloo	Pama-Nyungan	Queensland, Australia	Roy Hatfield
	Ngasa	Nilotic	Tanzania		Most speakers have shifted to Chaga
10 April 2011	Apiaká	Tupian	Mato Grosso, Brazil	Pedrinho Kamassuri
2011	Lower Arrernte	Pama-Nyungan	Northern Territory, Australia	Brownie Doolan Perrurle
24 October 2010	Pazeh dialect of Pazeh	Austronesian	Taiwan	Pan Jin-yu
20 August 2010	Cochin Indo-Portuguese Creole	Portuguese-based creole	Southern India	William Rozario
26 January 2010	Aka-Bo	Andamanese	Andaman Islands, India	Boa Sr.
2010s	Warluwarra	Pama-Nyungan	Australia		Extinct by 2021
November 2009	Aka-Kora	Andamanese	Andaman Islands, India	Ms. Boro
22 February 2009	Great Andamanese koiné	Andamanese	Andaman Islands, India	Nao Jr.
2009	Nyawaygi	Pama-Nyungan	Queensland, Australia	Willie Seaton
by 2009	Aribwatsa	Austronesian	Papua New Guinea
by 2009	Papora-Hoanya	Austronesian	Taiwan
30 July 2008	Tübatulabal	Uto-Aztecan	California, United States	James Andreas
April 2008 – 2012	Dura	Sino-Tibetan	Nepal	Soma Devi Dura
24 February 2008	Plains Apache	Na-Dene	Oklahoma, United States	Alfred Chalepah Jr.
21 January 2008	Eyak	Na-Dene	Alaska, United States	Marie Smith Jones
late 2000s	Ruga	Sino-Tibetan	East Garo Hills district		Most people who identify themselves as Ruga speak Garo.
after 2007	Rusenu	Trans–New Guinea?	eastern East Timor
10 August 2007	Gros Ventre	Algic	Montana, United States	Theresa Lamebull
2007	Northeastern Maidu	Maiduan	Central California, United States		Under process of revival, 319 speakers of "Maidu" recorded in 2017 census
	Javindo	Dutch-based creole	Java, Indonesia
by 2007	Hpun	Sino-Tibetan	Myanmar
by 2007	Hoti	Austronesian	Seram, Indonesia
11 July 2006	Wasco dialect of Upper Chinook	Chinookan	Oregon, United States	Madeline Brunoe McInturff
2006	Zire	Austronesian	New Caledonia
2006	Omurano	Isolate	Peru	Esteban Macusi
2006	Ludza dialect of South Estonian	Uralic	Latvia	Nikolājs Nikonovs
by 2006	Zumaya	Afroasiatic	Cameroon		Most speakers have shifted to Fula.
3 November 2005	Osage	Siouan	Oklahoma, United States	Lucille Roubedeaux	being revived
2005	Berbice Creole Dutch	Dutch-based creole	Guyana	Bertha Bell
by 2005	Barrow Point	Pama-Nyungan	Queensland, Australia	Urwunjin Roger Hart
2005	Kerek	Chukotko-Kamchatkan	Chukotka	Ekaterina Khatkana
20 September 2004	Nüshu script	unclassified	Hunan, China	Yang Huanyi
c. 2004?	Duli	Niger-Congo	Cameroon
29 December 2003	Akkala Sami	Uralic	Kola Peninsula, Russia	Marja Sergina
22 November 2003	Wintu	Wintuan	California, United States	Flora Jones
14 September 2003	Klamath-Modoc	Plateau Penutian	Oregon, United States	Neva Eggsman
September 2003	Garig-Ilgar	Pama-Nyungan	Northern Territory, Australia
2003	Umotína	Macro-Jê	Mato Grosso, Brazil
by 2003	Alngith	Pama-Nyungan	Queensland, Australia
by 2003	Areba	Pama-Nyungan	Queensland, Australia
by 2003	Atampaya	Pama-Nyungan	Queensland, Australia
by 2003	Makolkol	unclassified	New Britain, Papua New Guinea		possible Papuan language
4 November 2002	Serrano	Uto-Aztecan	California, United States	Dorothy Ramon	being revived
31 August 2002	Unami	Algic	Delaware, United States	Edward Thompson
23 May 2002	Gaagudju	Isolate	Northern Territory, Australia	Big Bill Neidjie
2002	Tandia	Austronesian	West Papua, Indonesia		Speakers shifted to Wandamen.
2002	Akurio	Cariban	Suriname
by 2001	Amanayé	Tupian	Brazil
by 2001	Umbugarla	Arnhem Land languages or Darwin Region languages	Northern Territory, Australia	Butcher Knight
by 2001	Ngurmbur	Arnhem Land languages or Darwin Region languages	Northern Territory, Australia	Butcher Knight
2000	Maku language of Auari	Isolate	Roraima, Brazil	Sinfrônio Magalhães
2000	Sowa	Austronesian	Pentecost Island, Vanuatu		with the death of Maurice Tabi
	Chiapanec	Oto-Manguean	Chiapas, Mexico
	Mapia	Austronesian	Mapia Atoll, Indonesia
	Mesmes	Afroasiatic	Ethiopia	Abegaz
	Kamarian	Austronesian	west Seram Island, Indonesia
	Nagumi	Niger-Congo	Cameroon
	Lapachu	Arawakan	Apolobamba		It is possible there are still a few very old speakers. There may be two distinct languages under this label.
by 2000	Central Pomo	Pomoan	Northern California
	Rennellese Sign Language	unclassified	Solomon Islands	Kagobai
	Wanham	Chapacuran	Brazil	Firmino Miguelem
c. 2000s	Aribwatsa	Lower Markham languages	Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea	Butoawê	Exact date of extinction is unknown although it is believed to be in 2000. Most descendants have switched to the Bukawa language.
2000s	Bahuana	Arawakan	Brazil
2000s	Torá	Chapacuran	Brazil