{"id":3083,"date":"2024-01-17T11:39:59","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T17:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cantalk.com\/?p=3083"},"modified":"2024-02-01T15:38:04","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T21:38:04","slug":"ways-to-support-indigenous-language-preservation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cantalk.com\/ways-to-support-indigenous-language-preservation\/","title":{"rendered":"Ways to Support the Preservation Of Indigenous Languages: How We Can All Benefit!"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Language is the expression of our culture and our land. We cannot have one without the others. We cannot describe our culture and our land if we do not have language.”\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

– Queensland Indigenous Advisory Committee<\/span><\/p>\n

Language is a touchstone of cultural heritage and identity. Just as an ecosystem cannot survive without keystone species, many Indigenous cultures are at risk of collapsing and dying. It is the outward expression of words embedded in language that will sustain cultures. Shared language is the gateway to Indigenous histories, folklore, songs, poetry, and distinct teachings about interactions with nature, each other, and the rest of the world at large. It is finally becoming acknowledged that Indigenous language preservation and revitalization are the pillars of a healthy, diverse, and truly multicultural planet.<\/span><\/p>\n

So What Are the Facts?<\/b><\/p>\n

Indigenous languages\u2014languages spoken by the native inhabitants of particular geographical regions\u2014account for more than half of the currently recognized languages on the planet. While linguists may debate exactly what defines a language, most agree that there are somewhere around<\/span> 7,000 distinct living languages<\/span><\/a> and that roughly<\/span> 4,000 of those are Indigenous<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Considering that Indigenous peoples make up only about<\/span> 6% of the world’s population<\/span><\/a>, the incredible global diversity of Indigenous languages underscores the reality of the small, localized populations who speak many of these languages as well as their inherent fragility.\u00a0 According to UNESCO’s <\/span>Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger <\/span><\/i>project, at least<\/span> 43% of the languages currently spoken in the world are endangered<\/span><\/a> to varying degrees\u2014among them, a plethora of Indigenous languages.<\/span><\/p>\n

At CanTalk, we are deeply committed to the preservation of Indigenous languages. Through our work with remote communities, government agencies, and global networks, we are proud to foreground the critical knowledge of many Indigenous language speakers while also opening channels of communication in new and meaningful ways within Canada and beyond.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How Indigenous Languages Are Lost<\/b><\/p>\n

Throughout history, languages have always evolved\u2014some weakening and dying out while others gained strength and momentum. That being said, the current state of global languages represents a potential mass extinction of Indigenous languages that is unlike anything ever encountered before.<\/span><\/p>\n

So why are Indigenous languages so vulnerable now?<\/b><\/p>\n

History repeats itself and then exceeds itself!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Language loss, gradual extinction, decreasing vitality\u2026all compound the pressure on existing cultures and languages:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n