While I have previously discussed the importance of keeping endangered languages alive in this article, today, I will provide you with certain ways that you can help keep endangered languages alive in our modern world.
To begin, I will return to my previous example of Quechua, the indigenous language of the Andes Mountains. One of the biggest problems with Quechua is that it is mainly a spoken language, which means that there is not much written material that has been preserved in Quechua. Because of this serious problem, the language of Quechua is rapidly disappearing. However, many volunteers have gone into the Andes and have helped translate material such as the Bible and other important documents into Quechua in order to keep the indigenous language recorded, and thus alive.
One other way to keep endangered languages alive is to pass them on to younger generations, especially if you yourself speak them. For example, although Latin is already considered a “dead” language, it is still taught in classes worldwide to this day, to further our understanding of modern languages.
Using endangered languages on the Internet can also help preserve them. Google allows its users to select from 36 languages, with 28 of those being European in origin. In order for indigenous languages to be preserved it is important to use them on modern technology such as the Internet so they, too, can evolve along with our evolving world.
Hopefully now that we’ve established the importance of saving endangered languages and have taught you a few ways to use them, you can do YOUR part in preserving history and culture!
For more tips on how to preserve endangered languages (and what types of documents are worth preserving) visit the Native American Language Preservation Guide: here.