Blog

Recent news and updates regarding the Endangered Languages Project

  • Wednesday, March 11, 2015

    Minority languages in the digital world: Irish community experience with technology
    Contributed by Eoin P. Ó Murchú
    I was raised with Irish and English, attended an Irish speaking secondary school and studied some modules in Irish at third level. I have been interested in translation and crowdsourced translation for various online projects for some years now.
    Irish or Gaeilge is a minority language − it has state support, but this is often quite passive, and its use is in decline in traditional linguistic heartlands, though there might be hope for the language in urban settings. In our increasingly digital world, one of the big fears for less widely spoken languages is getting left behind. For example, the challenge of ‘voice to text’ is the next big thing, something in which Irish is lagging behind.
    I was asked to take part in the translation of the Gmail interface into Irish. A small community has built up to translate various digital resources into Irish. For Gmail we helped with the translation of 60,000 strings (and counting!) − words and phrases used in the Gmail interface. We divided up the work and set about translating the strings, sometimes with the help of machine translation, debating various terms, ensuring consistency and finally proofing for typographical errors.
    Having Gmail and other technologies available in Irish is a good way to show that the language has a value and a place in the modern world. It shows people that they can use it online and also helps to standardize technological terminology. It means that speakers can passively learn the language to a certain degree simply by switching their account to Irish, while fluent speakers can achieve a higher level of understanding and linguistic competency. As daily speakers of minority languages may have a lower level of reading or writing ability, this may help to bridge that gap.
    Though small, Google Search is also available in Irish, which is a visible and important thing. It says that Irish is still here and despite all the negative stories about the many challenges facing minority languages, Irish will have a role to play into the next century at least.
    We are currently translating Twitter into Irish but some common problems pop up as with Facebook – there is a lack of quality control as much of the content is volunteer-generated (though often expert) and there are challenges keeping up with massive amounts of updates. There are also problems with language community take-up − many people simply view it as easier or better to use the original English language version.
    It’s important to remember that we are merely passing the language on − our challenge is to not be left behind in an increasingly digital-based and hyper-connected world.
    For more information about this initiative, check out Use your cúpla focal on Gmail, now in Irish on the official Gmail blog!

  • Friday, November 14, 2014

    Forget Ice Water, Take the Indigenous Language Challenge Instead

    By Eduardo Avila

    Originally published on the Rising Voices and Global Voices blog

    Love it or hate it, the online buzz surrounding the Ice Bucket Challenge earlier this year brought more awareness to the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Participants filmed themselves dumping cold water on their heads and challenging another person to do the same or donate money toward research for a cure.

    Now a similar concept aimed at awareness for indigenous languages is making its way around the internet. In the Indigenous Language Challenge, the one who accepts the challenge must record a video speaking an indigenous language and tap someone else to do the same. The outcome has been a wide range of people around the world who are producing videos, some for the first time, as a way to proudly share their language online and encouraging more to do the same.

    A Facebook group was created to collect links to the videos, where people could share their motivations and connect with others taking part in the Challenge. Many chose to upload their videos directly to Facebook where one can hear North American languages like Kwak'wala and Lakota, as well as the Miriwoong language from Australia, for example.

    Efforts to pinpoint the origin of this challenge are ongoing, but according to the group administrator, one of the first participants was James Gensaw, speaking words in the Yurok language.

    Who are some of the participants? And why is this activity so important? Colleen Fitzgerald, Director of the Native American Languages Lab at The University of Texas at Arlington, shares her thoughts on her blog post at the Huffington Post:

    "Many of these videos come from adults who are second language learners. For many years, government-run boarding schools in both the U.S. and Canada took children from Native families. This had an immense effect on Native language acquisition. Children lost priceless years of daily home environments with parents and grandparents communicating to them in their language. Home is where children's language development thrives and grows, and where children acquire the many different speech forms that express the human experience. What gets lost? So much, from the everyday language of instructions, telling jokes, or a recipe, to the ritual language of prayers, ceremonial speeches, or sharing stories of the ancestors."

    Here are two examples of participants in this Challenge, who uploaded their videos to YouTube. Jackelyn Seitcher speaking in the Nuu-chah-nulth language shares words after accepting the challenge.


    Monica Peters takes the opportunity for the challenge to show the translations of works in Kanienkeha. She then goes onto challenge members of the “Keeping the Kanienkeha Language Strong” Facebook group, community leaders and teachers, and students that are just starting out to speak the language.

    There are other videos collected on the blog News From Native California.     Konwennenhon Marion Delaronde also posted her video in the group speaking Kanien'keha (Mohawk). After being challenged by Kehte Deer, she enthusiastically took part and shared her reflections after uploading her video:

    "Already I think I heard all the languages from different nations. I have to tell you all that all your languages are so beautiful. Always speak your own languages if you can. It’s hopeful. I want to encourage all of you to continue to learn, continue to teach other and to really put your life into it, speaking. I’m so happy that I can speak Mohawk. I’m not fluent, a lot is still missing, but I want to thank everyone who has recorded themselves for this challenge, because you inspired me."

  • Thursday, August 21, 2014

    A Gathering of Indigenous Language Digital Activism in Oaxaca, Mexico
    By: Eduardo Avila
    Originally published at Rising Voices and Global Voices

    Global Voices through its Rising Voices initiative, the Juan de Córdova Research Library, and SURCO invite indigenous language activists from all across Mexico to take part in the Indigenous Language Digital Activism Gathering that will take place on October 3-5 at the San Pablo Cultural Center in the historical center of Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico.

    The central focus of this gathering is to provide a space for peer learning and exchange targeted at 25 indigenous language digital activists that are currently using their languages in digital media.

    Mexico is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in Latin America with more than 300 indigenous languages spoken and written on a daily basis, and many of these are in danger of extinction. Technology has been adopted in recent times for academic documentation and for the creation of language learning software as a way to study and preserve these languages.

    New generations have also been taking to the Internet to tweet, blog, or podcast in their native languages as part of their daily online routines. However, an emerging movement comprised of indigenous Internet users are welcoming the responsibility to promote their language and culture online in an effort to revitalize the language and encourage the next generations of speakers. This sense of duty to their community drives these digital activists to dedicate their own time and resources towards this noble cause.

    Despite these grassroots efforts, many digital activists work in relative isolation facing unique and ongoing challenges, such as:

    Technical challenges - including the unavailability of a keyboard with the appropriate characters necessary for writing in the language.

    Linguistic challenges – including a lack of a consensus among the community on the correct version of the written alphabet, or a lack of technology-related terminology in the language

    Socio-cultural challenges – including communities that may yet to have discussions about how their language and culture should or should not be openly shared online.

    The good news is that there are strategies to address these challenges in unique contexts, as demonstrated by the growing number of success stories of how communities have been using participatory media to promote their languages online. However, there continues to be a need to find ways for these digital activists to connect with one another to share their stories and experiences.

    That's where the Indigenous Language Digital Activism Gathering comes in. This group will include bloggers, audio-visual producers, Wikipedia editors, and free software localizers, all creating digital content in Mexican indigenous languages.

    Through peer-led discussions and hands-on workshops, there will be ample opportunity for the participants to build digital skills, as well to engage in conversations about the unique challenges that they face. In addition, workshops exploring the topic of online and offline digital activism and how their work can continue to have an impact in their communities.

    There will also be two public events where those interested in learning more about how these communities are working to help make this social change through their digital work. Those interested can apply to attend and full and partial travel scholarships are available.

    Please note: this opportunity is only open for participants that speak an indigenous language and who reside in Mexico. The deadline to apply is August 29, 2014. For more information, please use the Contact Form on the event's blog.

  • Tuesday, June 17, 2014

    Introducing Wikitongues
    Every language in the world, for everyone.

    Contributed by Wikitongues

    Wikitongues is a community effort to give everybody access to every language in the world. In coordination with an international team of volunteers, we’re dedicated to recording videos of every tongue, spoken or signed, as well as crowdsourcing dictionaries, phrasebooks, and other relevant materials. We upload new language videos to our YouTube channel every week, and use our social media presence to share educational and cultural content daily.

    Simply recording all of the world’s languages is no easy task, but on top of it, we frequently test new and different methods of bringing our content back to the communities from where it came. We seek to offer all the people in the world access to every language and believe that the best way to do this is through a combination of online and on the ground activities.

    Globalization has brought with it fantastic improvements to our daily lives, often at the cost of cultural diversity. Few phenomena are as central to the shared experience of a cultural community as language, and of the 7,000 currently spoken around the world, at least half are fading from view, disappearing and taking with them their histories, woven together by generations of experience and knowledge. Wikitongues is our way of saying no to this future, and to celebrate the myriad of cultures that stitch together our vibrant human tapestry.

    We firmly believe that all languages deserve equal footing and visibility, regardless of how many speakers they have. If you agree, keep in touch! Follow us on YouTube for new videos every week, and find us on Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. If you’d like to submit your own video or get involved with our community of volunteers, don’t hesitate to reach out to us through hello@wikitongues.org.

  • Wednesday, June 4, 2014

    Introducing Our New Featured Languages: Taa, Nyagrong Minyag and Pakaantyi
    Taa (also known as !Xóõ, Tâa, !Xuun, N|amani, Ng|amani, Tsasi, Qgoon, /Namani, Tshasi, !Ko, Casi, or /Nu//een) belongs to the Tuu family (formerly classified with so-called Khoisan languages, a proposal no longer accepted). Taa is known for the large number of sounds (phonemes) in the language--sometimes said to be the most phonemes in any known language, including tones, many clicks, and a large number of vowels. Taa is the word for ‘human being’; speakers call themselves ǃXoon. There are about 2600 speakers, most in Botswana, with a few hundred in Namibia. A significant number in Botswana are abandoning Taa and shifting to Kgalagadi, while some in Namibia are shifting to Afrikaans and Nama.

    Nyagrong Minyag (a Tibeto-Burman language) is spoken by fewer than 1,000 people--ethnic Tibetans who live in a valley of the Yalong River in western Sichuan Province, China. Due to hydroelectric dam construction along this river, all speakers are being relocated because their valley will be inundated. This relocation will have a negative impact on future transmission of this language. Collaborative efforts are currently underway to document and preserve this language and the knowledge it contains.

    Pakaantyi is a critically endangered Pama-Nyungan language of New South Wales, Australia, with fewer than four known first-language speakers, but many learners. Paakantyi means ‘people of the river’, from Paaka ‘river’. It is also known as the Darling language, because of its location on the Darling River. There is an active program for sharing and teaching the language, the Paakantyi Language Circle, which has created excellent learning materials--see the resource Learning Paakantyi for ten lessons.
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