ENDANGERED LANGUAGES AND THE DIGITAL ERA
The languages Chamacoco, Remo, and Tuvan are not well known. Yet, while they are nearing extinction, a National Geographic digital project has now mediated their regrowth.
A large percentage of the world’s population speaks approximately one percent of the world’s languages. Many factors have contributed to the denigration of these languages, such as government forces, cultural shifts, transnationalism, economic growth, and so forth. As such, over the next century, approximately 3000 language will have died. In response, the Enduring Voices project, by National Geogrfaphic, is now working towards retarding the disappearance of these languages.
The Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages has collaborated with National Geographic, to identify locations with the highest probability of the disappearance of these languages. Here, National Geographic has developed eight talking dictionaries with a large number of entries and audio recordings.
These dictionaries provide much data on these languages and their associated respective cultural heritages. Here, some of these languages have small communities.
For example, the Matukar Panau community resides in several villages in Papau New Guinea, are are highly remote. These communities will benefit highly from such work. Similarly, the project is addressing the language Chamacoco in Paraguay. In India, the project is addressing the tribal language Remo, and Tuvan in Mongolia.