"Languages are not only extremely adequate tools of communication, they also reflect a view of the world: they are vehicles of value systems and of cultural expressions and they constitute a determining factor in the identity of groups and individuals. Languages form an essential part of the living heritage of humanity.

- Over 50% of the world’s 6000 languages are endangered.
- 96% of the world’s 6000 languages are spoken by 4% of the world’s population
- 90% of the world’s languages are not represented on the Internet
- One language disappears on average every two weeks
- 80% of African languages have no orthography
- Half of all languages occur in only eight countries: Papua New Guinea (832), Indonesia (731), Nigeria (515), India (400), Mexico (295), Cameroon (286), Australia (268) and Brazil (234)
- Research shows that mother-tongue instruction combined with the majority language, gives the best results at school and fosters children's cognitive development and learning ability
Both children and adults can learn a new language without it being at the expense of another language."