Some people are even resurrecting “extinct” languages. In southwest England, Cornish—whose last native speaker died in 1777—was taken off UNESCO’s list of extinct languages in 2010 and is enjoying a small but proud reawakening, thanks in part to the internet.

We live in a pivotal time for language revitalization. More than half the world’s languages are in danger of being swallowed up by dominant languages within this century. In November, the United Nations—which named 2019 the International Year of Indigenous Languages—approved a draft resolution declaring 2022–2032 the International Decade of Indigenous Languages

A growing movement of language activists, cultural stakeholders, and scholars are finding new ways to foster generations of speakers through everything from digital dictionaries to drum circles. These programs are elevating the status of heritage languages in the public eye, providing opportunities for people to connect, and helping marginalized communities address longstanding discrimination.

But turning the tide of language extinction is no easy feat, and many languages being revived are still considered threatened.

As a linguistic anthropologist and program director for the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages in Salem, Oregon, I have conducted fieldwork in the Americas and Pacific Islands, and spoken to language activists around the world about their successes and setbacks. Which strategies for revitalizing languages work? What hurdles are communities facing? And what creative solutions are groups using to nurture threatened languages or to bring dormant ones back to life?