World’s Oldest Language Teeters on the Brink of Extinction

Subtitle: At over 20,000 years old, N|uu now survives through a single elder’s voice—efforts to preserve it are racing against time.

A language that may be among the oldest on Earth—spoken by the San people of southern Africa—now clings to life through the memory and perseverance of a single individual. N|uu, a click language once rooted firmly among the ǂKhomani of the Kalahari, is today sustained only by Ouma Katrina Esau—often affectionately known as Oma Katrina  .

For centuries, N|uu thrived among the San as an oral heritage. But colonization and apartheid suppressed the language brutally—its speakers beaten or executed for refusing to abandon it  . Over time, shame and outside pressures led many to forsake it, even in their homes  .

In the 1990s, a revival effort—led by linguist Dr. Nigel Crawhall and the United Nations—breathed new hope into the language. Initially, around 25 people claimed fluency—but by December 2021, only Esau remained as the last fluent speaker  .

Ouma Katrina, now in her nineties, has refused to let N|uu vanish. She has partnered with linguists, including Dr. Kerry Jones, to record the language and compile a digital dictionary. She has also taken on the role of educator—teaching children, including her own granddaughter and great-grandson—despite challenges such as a vandalized school initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic  .

This scenario reflects a broader global crisis: linguists estimate that the world loses approximately one language every two weeks, and up to half of the planet’s 7,000 languages may disappear by century’s end  .

Yoseka Esau’s commitment stands as both a beacon of resilience and a race against extinction. While some endangered tongues, like Yaakunte in Kenya, are being revived through immersion and digital tools  , many—like N|uu—are at a precipice.

Why It Matters

• Deep Cultural Legacy: N|uu offers a rare link to some of humanity’s earliest linguistic traditions, preserved through millennia yet now teetering on the edge  .
• Human Rights & Identity: Esau’s refusal to default to Afrikaans—or remain silent—speaks to the power of language as cultural identity and resistance  .
• Global Language Crisis: N|uu’s decline is not unique but emblematic—across the world, activists and communities scramble to document and revive vanishing languages  .

Take Action

• Support linguistic preservation initiatives—either through donations or awareness.
• Encourage documentation and education programs for endangered languages in local universities and community centers.
• Learn and share stories of endangered languages; even awareness can spark action.

N|uu may soon fall silent unless more people step in to carry its legacy forward. Right now, it survives in the words and heart of one remarkable woman.