Preserving languages through digital tech

There are many languages throughout the world that face danger of extinction. This is due to many causes like natural disasters or the decrease of populations in a given area. Famous linguist David Crystal suggests that “By some counts, only 600 of the 6,000 or so languages in the world are ‘safe’ from the threat of extinction”.

Preserving languages is important because language tells the story of its people, their history and civilisation. It gives a community an identity which they pass on through generations.

Historically, languages have been preserved by writing in them. In fact, the only languages which have survived across the ages have been the ones which were recorded, including the Egyptian hieroglyphics or the yet undeciphered tablets of the Harappan civilisation in Eastern South Asia.

Today, more languages are being lost due to globalisation and the importance of English as the language of communication. Young people are less interested in speaking heritage languages, and even if they are, the imperatives of using more accepted national languages make it more difficult for them to retain their native tongue. Today’s generation is a digital one. They have grown up with technology around them and it is important that this medium is leveraged in the right way. This can also include preserving heritage languages.

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization) states that “Digital communication is crucial for the preservation and promotion of indigenous languages, especially as younger generations embrace technology. Failure to adapt to digital formats may lead to the further marginalisation and eventual disappearance of these languages”.

There are many ways in which digital innovations can be used to preserve heritage languages. Even two decades ago, companies were working on creating keyboards and smartphone interfaces of indigenous languages in Australia, New Zealand and the Americas. Communities are also empowered to use platforms like Facebook and other social media in heritage languages. These platforms are then used to communicate and even teach new learners from any part of the globe.

With the rise of web applications, there have been many studies to investigate how they could be used to encourage the use of native languages across communities. Ease of access, a rich and varied choice of websites and technological support will help in bringing more speakers into the technological fold.

Even the more recent advances in virtual reality (VR) have been proved to encourage the visibility of minority languages. This can be further enhanced by introducing games and activities in these languages to attract young speakers and users of digital technologies to communicate in their heritage language.

There is a lot of pressure to use majority languages to communicate in the modern world. In fact, it is a challenge that communities which wish to preserve their language routinely face. Using youth friendly techniques could be an important way of preserving them. Using the tools of present and future technologies to preserve ancient languages may be one of the most effective ways to retain a portion of the past for tomorrow.