The world is rapidly losing its unique languages, which number about 7,000. Parents stop communicating them with their children, words disappear from everyday use, and communities lose the opportunity to read their history. About this informs The Guardian.
UNESCO estimates that approximately nine languages disappear each year. The organization notes that predictions about the disappearance of half of the languages by the end of the century may turn out to be too optimistic.
“The rate of loss is accelerating, from one language every three months ten years ago to one every 40 days in 2019 – meaning nine languages are dying a year. Some languages are disappearing with the last speakers, but thousands are at risk of extinction because they are not spoken widely enough or are not used in formal settings such as schools or work.” – the message says.
In communities that feel the pressure of dominant languages, there is an invisible struggle to preserve their cultural heritage. With half of the world’s languages predicted to disappear within a few decades, activists are increasingly turning to digital technology to capture them.
Books, audio and video recordings are created to help preserve knowledge for future generations. Public radio stations continue to broadcast in local languages, contributing to their preservation.
At the same time, innovative methods, in particular artificial intelligence, are being actively used to document languages through text processing and their integration into chatbots. However, this raises ethical questions about using written materials without consent to train systems.
