UNESCO's World Atlas of Languages and the caution of counting
A C2 Spanish reading examines what the World Atlas of Languages counted at launch and why linguistic datasets must be read as dated, revisable evidence.
El Atlas Mundial de las Lenguas y la cautela de contar
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About this article
What you'll learn
Advanced language for interpreting datasets, qualifying statistical claims, discussing multilingual policy, and distinguishing digital presence from social use.
This nonfiction article analyzes UNESCO's World Atlas of Languages. It verifies the 18 November 2021 launch, its initial scope of 8,324 spoken or signed languages, detailed use data for 1,863 languages and profiles for more than 80 countries, the 2017 survey design, the 2003 cyberspace recommendation, and the 2022-2032 International Decade. No scenes or characters are invented.
After reading
Article learning block
Phrases, words, grammar, and quick practice from this text.
Phrases for training
Add useful phrases to SRS or mark them as already known.
una instantánea fechada
newa dated snapshot
A record that reflects information available at a particular moment.
Useful for reminding readers that datasets can change over time.
por sí solo
newby itself
The phrase says that one piece of evidence cannot support a conclusion without more context.
Useful for qualifying causal or statistical claims.
en la misma proporción
newin the same proportion
It compares whether two quantities change at an equivalent rate.
Useful for interpreting trends without assuming equal growth.
junto con las prácticas sociales
newtogether with social practices
The phrase requires technical evidence to be considered alongside how people actually behave.
Useful for linking quantitative and social analysis.
Key words
Vocabulary that carries the school-day topic.
Count
recuento
count or tally
A total obtained by counting the members of a set.
Useful when discussing statistics and datasets.
Descriptors
descriptores
descriptors
Labels or fields used to describe and organize information.
Useful in databases, catalogues, and research methodology.
Questionnaire
cuestionario
questionnaire
A structured set of questions used to collect comparable information.
Useful in surveys and research design.
Varieties
variedades
language varieties
Forms of a language associated with regions, communities, or social contexts.
Useful in sociolinguistic discussion without reducing every difference to a separate language.
Cyberspace
ciberespacio
cyberspace
The digital environment formed by connected networks and online communication.
Useful in policy discussions about internet access and digital rights.
Provenance
procedencia
provenance or origin
The source from which a piece of information comes.
Useful for assessing evidence and data quality.
Grammar in context
Patterns from the text worth noticing after reading.
A hypothetical condition
si solo se contaran las lenguas reconocidas por una ley estatal, quedarían fuera variedades regionales, locales o comunitarias
if only languages recognized by state law were counted, regional, local, or community varieties would be left out
The imperfect subjunctive contaran marks the hypothetical condition, while quedarían gives the consequence.
Useful for testing the consequences of a methodological choice.
Subjunctive in a nominal clause
Que una lengua aparezca en una plataforma no garantiza que sus hablantes puedan educarse, trabajar o recibir servicios en ella.
The fact that a language appears on a platform does not guarantee that its speakers can study, work, or receive services in it.
Aparezca forms a subject clause, and puedan follows the negated guarantee no garantiza que.
Useful for separating visibility from a claimed social outcome.
An impersonal recommendation
Conviene que el lector pregunte quién aportó cada dato
Readers should ask who supplied each data point.
Conviene que introduces a recommendation, so pregunte appears in the present subjunctive.
Useful for giving measured academic advice.
A contrast with no..., sino...
La sofisticación no consiste en citar la cifra más grande, sino en explicar su procedencia y sus límites.
Sophistication does not consist in citing the largest figure, but in explaining its provenance and limits.
No..., sino... rejects the first description and replaces it with a contrasting one.
Useful for correcting an oversimplified interpretation.
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