Language Extinction Triggers Loss of Unique Medicinal Knowledge

A Yucuna man overlooking Indigenous Lands in the Amazonian rainforest, where many languages are predicted to go extinct by the end of the 21st century. (Photo: Rodrigo Cámara-Leret) - Indigenous peoples pass on their knowledge of medicinal plants orally. If their languages go extinct, valuable medical knowledge will be lost. A study by the University of Zurich estimates that 75 percent of the world's medicinal plant applications are only known in one language. Language is one of our species' most important skills, as it has enabled us to occupy nearly every corner of the planet. Among other things, language allows indigenous societies to use the biodiversity that surrounds them as a "living pharmacy" and to describe the medicinal properties of plants. Linguists estimate that there are nearly 7,400 languages in the world today.