* Definition of "small": Do we mean the language with the fewest speakers? The language spoken over the smallest geographical area? The language with the least amount of written material?
* Data availability: Accurate data on the number of speakers for many languages, especially those spoken in remote or marginalized communities, is often scarce or unreliable.
* Language classification: Some languages are considered dialects of others, making it difficult to draw clear lines between them.
However, we can highlight some languages that are often cited as having very small numbers of speakers:
* Ainu: Spoken by a few hundred people in Japan.
* Burushaski: Spoken by around 30,000 people in the northernmost part of Pakistan.
* Koro: Spoken by around 2,000 people in the Solomon Islands.
* Waima: Spoken by around 1,000 people in Brazil.
* Rotokas: Spoken by a few hundred people in Papua New Guinea.
It's important to note that this is just a small sample, and there are many other languages with small numbers of speakers. These languages represent the rich linguistic diversity of our planet and are incredibly valuable for preserving cultural heritage.