6 minute lesson
Using Technology to Save Endangered Languages
Technology is changing the future of language not with emojis or acronyms, but with how we program our devices!
Check out your phone or computer’s settings and you’ll notice there are quite a few options there. While there are maybe a hundred or so languages represented on the list, it comes nowhere near the 7,000 languages that are spoken around the world.
So, what happens when your language isn’t included in the technology people use every day? How do you come up with new words as the world becomes more globalized? Right now, nearly half the world’s languages are at risk of going extinct. To avoid such a fate, check out how the country of Iceland is working to preserve its unique language.
Quartz brings us into Iceland’s Language Planning Department to see how they’re adapting to this threat to their culture.
Why It Matters
The Endangered Language Alliance (ELA), mentioned in the video, has tons of information on their site about protecting humanity’s languages, and why it’s so important.
When we lose a language we lose the knowledge that comes from its speakers. We can no longer pass down information across generations, and sometimes we lose the ability to deeply connect with our cultures.
Language, like food, art, or dance, is an important part of so many people’s identity. The more that we’re able to support endangered languages across the world and maintain rich and diverse cultural traditions, the more we can all benefit! We are now more fortunate than ever to be able to communicate freely across cultures and find ways to preserve important parts of our social fabric, such as language.
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