Hupa: The Latest Exinct Language

According to the Ethnologue, there are officially 7,170 languages in the world. It seems like a large number, however 90% of the languages currently spoken in the world are bound to become exinct by 2050, if we are to believe the prediction by The Language Conservancy.

According to other statistics, there are more than 6,000 languages registered by the United Nations, and the languages that 97% of the world’s people use only make up 4% of the world’s total languages — that is to say, 3% of the world’s population speak 96% of the world’s languages.

Given that so many languages are spoken by very few people, It is not unreasonable to think that a large number of these languages will become exinct in our lifetime. In fact, Wikipedia reports 48 languages having become extinct since 2010, and Hupa is the latest casualty.

Spoken along the lower course of the Trinity River in Northwestern California by the Hoopa Valley, Hupa has officially become exinct when the last fluent speaker, Ms Verdena Leona Chase Parker passed away on 7 March 2026.

There is a silver lining in this story: roughly another 50 individuals of all ages have restricted control of traditional Hupa phonology, grammar and lexicon. Beyond this, many tribal members share a small vocabulary of words and phrases of Hupa origin. Hopefully, thanks to these individuals, we will be able to see a revival of the Hupa language.

Time will tell ….