Language Revitalization

On Apri 4, 2013, Tiokasin Ghosthorse, host of the First Voices Indigenous Radio show, interviewed Mark Camp, Deputy Executive Director of Cultural Survival about the importance of revitalizing indigenous languages now. That interview can be heard on the WBAI archives.

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Camp pointed out that the map of the world's indigenous languages shows that these are the same areas of the world's most biodiverse areas. So, saving indigenous languages, saves cultures and Mother Earth.

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The world's 7,000 languages include 5,200 indigenous languages which are greatly under threat. Tiokasin pointed out how urgent the situation is. There are 139 Native languages in the Americas. In the next 5 years, 70 of those could fall silent. Unless immediate action is taken to teach younger generations, there may be no indigenous languages at the end of the 21st century! However, radio is being used successfully now to revitalize indigenous languages in various countries.

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Cultural Survival hosted a webinar on April 8, 2013 -- "The Electronic Drum: Community Radio's Role in Indigenous Language Revitatalization".