BLOOMINGTON — There are 6,700 languages spoken in the world, and the United Nations states that 40% of them are in danger of disappearing.
Due to that harsh reality, over 12 countries representing 40 languages came to IU Bloomington’s campus to celebrate culture and collaborate on the best ways to save dying languages.
"In the U.S. and Canada, we are really experiencing some of the most acute situations when it comes to languages,” Wil Meya, CEO of The Language Conservancy, said. “Most of the languages are spoken by less than 100 people, the average age is 75-years-old of those speakers."
The Language Conservancy is based in Bloomington. They brought together people from all backgrounds to show them new technologies and ways to save dying languages.
"When you lose your language it's as if you have tape over your mouth and plugs in your ears because you don't hear it anywhere and you cannot speak it to someone else, " Janine Pease, a Native American language speaker, said.
Pease, from Montana, is an American educator and Native American advocate. She has been working to preserve her tribe’s speech for years.
She is the founding president of the Little Big Horn College, and has worked to get more native kids and their family speaking their native dialect fluently.
"For those over 35, fluency is really across the board, but it diminishes as you get younger and younger," Pease said.
She has helped create books, games and other materials to help families learn their native tongues. She hopes this conference will show her new technologies and ways to get the younger generation involved.
"Renaissance in language, culture and history is occurring in our community and it's very exciting,” Pease said.
The Language Conservancy hopes that renaissance will turn into more people eager to save culture and dialects on the verge of extinction.
"We want to make sure the world continues to be a rich place moving forward in the decades ahead," Meya said.
This is the first year the Language Conservancy held this meeting.
At the conference, they shared technology that can record native language speakers and make an online dictionary in as little as 12 months — a process that traditionally took a decade to accomplish.
For more information The Language Conservancy's mission or to donate to their cause, click here.
