Not too long ago, my friend Gary wrote a piece called Is the Internet Creating New Languages? In it, he explains that while English is the dominant language online, it hasn’t prevented speakers of other languages from participating on the web. Indeed, many “Englishes” have sprung up, particularly on social media, where Spanglish, Hinglish, and Singlish reign, among others. (Even my autocorrect was able to correct Spanglish for me just now—it’s that prevalent.) For word nerds like myself, it’s fascinating to watch these new hybrid languages take shape.

On the other hand, the internet is cause for concern for many language enthusiasts. More than half of all web content is in English, meaning the 3 billion people who now have internet access are creating and consuming content at least partly in English. As Gary mentions, many non-English speakers are molding new internet languages to overcome the language barrier.

What does that mean for other languages? Hungarian mathematical linguist András Kornai estimates that only 5% of the world’s 7000 languages will make the transition to the web. Coincidentally (or perhaps not at all), Google currently only supports search in 348 languages, which adds up to roughly 5% of existing languages. The fate of the other 95% languages that aren’t making the “digital leap” is uncertain. Kornai predicts they will face extinction.

This is why Transparent Language so passionately launched the 7,000 Languages Project in 2014. We partner with language experts and donate our technology to promote and preserve underserved languages. These efforts ensure future generations have access to learning materials, but do not guarantee these languages a space on the web. Perhaps that’s where Google comes in.

What do you think? Will unsupported languages be phased out by the Internet? Are endangered languages destined for extinction, or can tech companies like Transparent Language and Google help save them?