"There are about 6000 languages spoken in the world today. However, the languages are not evenly divided among the population. Over 90 percent of the world’s 6 billion people speak only about 300 of the languages (Hindi, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese and English are examples of these majority languages). Less than 10 percent of the total population speak the remaining 5,700 or so minority languages. Of these 5,700 minority languages, 3,485 (61 percent) are found in the Asia-Pacific region—the world’s treasure house of languages and cultures."
"Manual for developing Literacy and Adult Education Programmes in Minority Language Communities"
Prepared by Dr. Susan Malone
Published by UNESCO Bangkok
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Good one... The case is same in Arunachal Pradesh, India.. They have almost 23 dialects, but no one has such a significant no. of speakers.. and most of them are going to be endemic or extinct..
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