World’s most endangered language has only one person left alive who can speak it

A language with a history spanning over 20,000 years is now in danger of extinction.

N|uu, pronounced with a clicking sound between the ‘N’ and the ‘uu’, is the world’s most endangered language. Currently, there is only one fluent speaker left, Ouma Katrina Esau.

_{A written dictionary of N|uu has been completed. (YouTube/SABC News)}

It is a click language originating from the San people, indigenous hunter-gatherers of southern Africa.

It originated from the ǂKhomani people, who hailed from the southern Kalahari, a savannah located at the modern-day borders of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.

There is scarce written evidence of the language in history because it was primarily spoken. Additionally, during the British Empire’s colonization of Africa in the 19th century, people were often punished or even killed for using it.

The language was driven underground, with many people unwilling to speak it in public. This changed in the 1990s when Dr. Nigel Crawhall, a sociolinguist, and the United Nations made efforts to revive it.

A total of 25 people initially came forward, claiming fluency in N|uu. However, by December 2021, only one, Esau, remained.

_{Ouma Katrina Esau is the only fluent speaker of N|uu. (YouTube/SABC News)}