User:Scowan32/Evaluate an Article

Evaluate an article
I chose to evaluate the Extinct language article because the study of dormant languages is especially relevant to this course about endangered languages. The talk section of this article is particularly interesting as many of the conversations between users about terminology and data mirror discussions from our course.

Lead
The introductory sentence in the Lead explains the two criteria for an extinct language (that it no longer has speakers and it no longer has living descendants). The paragraph continues by distinguishing between an extinct language, a dead language, and a modern language. These terminology descriptions could be confusing to a layperson, but they are necessary and are explained concisely. The second paragraph briefly explains the process of modern language death that will be expanded in the body of the article. The third paragraph of the Lead outlines the rough number of languages spoken today and that will become extinct by 2050, which is information that is cited here but not expanded on elsewhere in the article.

Content
The article's content is relevant and up-to-date, including a list of recently extinct languages. It does not mention that many of these are Indigenous languages. The article's section about language revival focuses only on the revival of dormant languages, and fails to mention any revitalization efforts of endangered languages. The section links to the main article about language revitalization but refers to the term 'sleeping beauty languages' as optimistic and "used to express such a hope." The article should at least briefly mention language revitalization like its partner article Language death, though the differences between the use of the terms 'death' and 'extinction' do distinguish the relevancy of mentions of revitalization.

Tone and Balance
The article is relatively neutral and resists from giving biased claims or persuading the reader. Underrepresented viewpoints may include those relating to dormant or endangered Indigenous languages as well as active revitalization efforts. Harsh terminology such as 'extinct' and 'dead' are used to describe the languages,

Sources and References
All facts in the article are cited to reliable sources, including several books and articles that are staples in the field and serve as a good starting point for further research. Few authors cited are people of colour.

Organization
The article is concise and relatively easy to understand. It is effectively organized but focuses on one large section about language death that could be split into several sections.

Images and Media
The first image included in the article depicts an ancient tablet containing Eteocypriot writing from 500-300 BC that serves as an example of a pre-Indo-European language that is now extinct. The second image depicts two of the four surviving native speakers of Yuchi, an Indigenous language isolate spoken in the southeastern United States. One issue with the use of this image is that it depicts speakers of an endangered language without going into detail about endangered languages or Yuchi itself. Another issue with this image is its caption, which is out of date. It describes "Sisters Maxine Wildcat Barnett (left) and Josephine Wildcat Bigler; two of the final surviving elderly speakers of Yuchi ..." which is no longer accurate because Josephine passed away in 2016, according to the article on the Yuchi language. In fact, in its 'current status' section, this article features the same image and nearly identical caption, updated since 2016: "Sisters Maxine Wildcat Barnett (left) and Josephine Wildcat Bigler (1921–2016); two Yuchi speakers ..."

Checking the talk page
The talk page for this article reflected on several topics in our course, particularly extensive discussion about language status and terminology (including one section amusingly titled 'I am confused'), but also about use of original research and reliable sources. This article is part of the WikiProject Languages. Its quality has been rated as Start-Class and its importance has been rated as Top-importance.

Overall impressions
The article's status is that of a lesser-known sister page to Language death. It keeps record of recently dormant languages and is concise in its explanations, but needs more nuance in sections like 'Language death' that can be split up for clarity, a wider scope to add sections on language revitalization, and must be updated in some smaller regards such as in image captions. This article is well-developed overall.