Safeguarding Speech

Pandas, giant tortoises and snow leopards aren’t the only things threatened with extinction these days.  It turns out that 40% of the world’s approximately 7,000 languages are endangered and with current trends, these numbers are likely to grow regardless of the intrinsic value of these languages.  These tongues on the brink of extinction come from all corners of the world—from the Ter Sami language of northwestern Russia to a native dialect of Chad—Mabire.

Take for example, a language called Nuumte Oote (meaning “True Voice”), a centuries-old language originating from the small village of Ayapa in Tabasco, Mexico.  Less than a century ago it was spoken by all of Ayapa’s inhabitants, but today, it is believed that only two speakers remain.  Ironically enough, those two speakers don’t get along and avoid speaking to each other, despite living only 500 meters apart. Faced with the imminent death of this language, in 2011 linguists began a race to compile a dictionary in order to preserve Nuumte Oote before it faded away for good.

Some may wonder about the purpose of saving a language spoken by only two people.  In a world of ever-expanding globalization, there has been a trend that sees members of smaller, minority groups abandoning their mother tongues in favor of more widely accepted and dominant languages; in some cases they are working hard to adopt these more widely recognized languages and becoming bilingual.  While globalization has brought the world closer in many ways, it has come at the price of the loss of many indigenous languages.  These ancient languages were not only used as a means of communication, but they also served as windows into the cultures, people and civilizations—their psychology, social interactions, medical practices, botanical knowledge and so forth. Thankfully, however, it seems that all hope is not lost for these fading languages.

Thanks to advancements in modern technology, it is now easier than ever to record these disappearing languages rich in untold secrets.  Linguists, software designers, and technology giants are collaborating to create platforms on which at-risk and endangered languages can be stored and studied.  Tools such as these can be seen on the Endangered Languages Project, a linguistic playground where curious minds can not only access up-to-date information regarding endangered languages, but can also lend a hand in the process by submitting video, audio or text in their own language.

With efforts from the Endangered Languages Project and many others who share the same dream of safeguarding speech, there is hope that the world’s imperiled languages won’t meet the same fate as our old fossilized friends, the dinosaurs.  It seems we are on a path to saving—if not resuscitating—these ancient languages and, hidden in their linguistic depths, we may find portals to the knowledge held by our ancestors.

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