Discover 50 endangered languages on Google Earth's new platform
Aug 21, 2019 • 2 min read
Google Earth has released a new platform called Celebrating Indigenous Languages. Image by Google Earth.
According to Unesco, as many as half of the world's 7000 languages are expected to disappear by the end of this century, but a new platform from Google Earth might offer these languages a lifeline.
The United Nations declared 2019 the International Year of Indigenous Languages to raise awareness about the world's 2680 Indigenous languages and their important contribution to global diversity. In many parts of the world though, these languages are set to disappear. Some vanish in a flash, with the death of the only surviving speaker. Others can phase out gradually over time as they're overcome by a country's primary language in school, the workplace and TV. It's hoped that new technology can help preserve these languages such as Google Earth's new platform: Celebrating Indigenous Languages.
The new project allows Google Earth users to listen to 50 native tongues included in the Unesco Red Book of Endangered Languages. You can head to the webpage and click on one of the locations on the world map to listen to native speakers offer traditional greetings, sing songs or say common words and phrases in their language. "It is a human right to be able to speak your own language,” says Tania Haerekiterā Tapueluelu Wolfgramm, a Māori and Tongan person who works as an educator and activist in Aotearoa - the Māori name for New Zealand - and other Pacific countries. "You don’t have a culture without the language."
According to Unesco, as many as half of the world's 7000 languages are expected to disappear by the end of this century, but a new platform from Google Earth might offer these languages a lifeline.here
According to Unesco, as many as half of the world's 7000 languages are expected to disappear by the end of this century, but a new platform from Google Earth might offer these languages a lifeline.Global Reach Initiative & Development Pacific
According to Unesco, as many as half of the world's 7000 languages are expected to disappear by the end of this century, but a new platform from Google Earth might offer these languages a lifeline.Cree Literacy Network