The decreasing number of minor languages keeps being an emergent issue nowadays. This article analyzes two famous and influential theoretical frameworks explaining the process of language extinction: Joshua Fishman's Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (GIDS) (1991) and Robert Phillipson's Linguistic Imperialism theory (1992). GIDS focuses on internal factors of decline and suggests an eight-step model for the extinction of languages. Linguistic imperialism theory highlights external factors, such as political, economic, and cultural forces, that promote significant languages. This study explains the endangered state of the Irish language alongside the fading endangered languages in Canada, demonstrating how the two theories work together in describing the multifaceted language endangerment processes. The paper argues that combining internal community dynamics and external global forces provides a fuller understanding of the phenomena of language death and suggests new solutions for revitalizing languages.
Aruzhan Kabdesheva (Sun,) studied this question.