10 Rarest Languages in the World & Where to Hear Them

Panoramic Flower Gardens Shikisai hill in Biei, Japan — Adobe Stock

English, Mandarin, and Spanish can be heard spoken by people all around the world. Hindi and Russian are spoken across huge countries and carried by their people all over the world. However, there are some languages that are far less common, and others are as rare as extraordinary gems.

Check out the 10 rarest languages in the world and where you can travel to hear them spoken natively.

Taushiro

Peru. Aerial view of Rio Momon. Top View of Amazon Rainforest, near Iquitos, Peru. South America. — Adobe Stock

Can you imagine being the only person in the whole world who can speak your language? Taushiro originated from the Peruvian Amazon and is all but extinct. It lingers as it is still spoken by one native speaker who is 70 years old.

Researchers and historians are trying to record the language to keep it alive.

Kawishana

People contemplating the Andes in South America — Adobe Stock

Only one person alive remembers how to speak the native language of the indigenous peoples of South America. Kawishana’s handful of speakers has dwindled down to just one, and it seems all but destined to be just a page in history soon.

Tanema

Islands and the surrounding reefs in the South-east of Choiseul island, Solomon Islands. — Adobe Stock

Part of the Solomon Islands, Vanikoro is home to a language that is only well spoken by one man. The language has died out as people in the are have switched to a language more common to young people and the wider region. Sadly, Tanema is destined to become a dead language within just a few years.

Chemehuevi

A wooden low level elevated walking path with planks winding through a wetland area with shrubs and a creek flowing in the center. The setting sun is shining over distance mountains. — Adobe Stock

The Chemehuevi people are native to the Great Basin area in the United States. There are only three known people who can still speak the tribe’s original tongue. There have been some attempts at reviving the language, but so far, all have failed.