绝迹语言（extinct language），又称灭绝语言、灭亡语言、死语，指一种已经不再有人以之作为母语的语言。根据估计，每两星期就有一种人类的语言灭亡，变成绝迹语言。

但在一些特殊情况中，某些帝国需借助之前已灭亡帝国的威名来保持自己的势力，跟这个已灭亡帝国有关的语言就得以持续被使用在科学、律法、或宗教等各种方面，即使它已经是个绝迹语言，这样的绝迹语言就仍然会被保存下来，并继续以非母语的方式使用，例如拉丁语与古希腊语被用来造科学方面的新词，而其他如古教会斯拉夫语、阿维斯陀语、科普特语及革祖语则仍然用于宗教仪式上。

An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers, or that is no longer in current use. Extinct languages are sometimes contrasted with dead languages, which are still known and used in special contexts in written form, but not as ordinary spoken languages for everyday communication. However, language extinction and language death are often equated.