endangered languages
American soft power has helped this Kenyan man's efforts to ensure a future for his mother tongue
Ekegusii is spoken by about two million Kenyans but has been losing ground to Swahili and English. Now it is taught in some schools, thanks to local language activists assisted by American linguists.
The first cousin of the English language is alive and well in the Netherlands
The Standing Rock Sioux are also fighting for their language
How do you revive a language if tribal elders don't want you to?
A new generation of Canadians are learning this language, and not all of them are tribal members
Many Ktunaxa lost their native tongue when they were sent to church-run boarding schools. Now the Ktunaxa language is making a modest comeback at a local school where both First Nations and white students study it.
The World in Words live: From Ainu to Zaza
Listen to The World in Words' live performance at the New York Public Library, with stories on how language activists around the world are trying to revive their mother tongues.
In Japan, the Ainu language is largely unknown and unloved, but linguists are fascinated by its mysteries
No one knows where Japan's indigenous Ainu language, or the people who spoke it, came from. The language is not part of any known linguistic tree. Now, a dedicated group of Ainu and linguists from around the world are trying to unlock the language's secrets before it dies out.
Three mother tongues in one
Many Lebanese speak a full-on mix of Arabic, French and English. Calling this linguistic melange a "mother tongue" started out as a joke, but now it's become a part of Lebanon's national identity — even if it means that sometimes people don't understand what they are saying.
Welsh is considered a model for language revitalization, but its fate is still uncertain
The Welsh language is thriving. Or maybe it's not. While it is making a comeback in cities like Cardiff, the language is spoken much less in its traditional rural heartlands.
When New Yorker Rose Monintja speaks her native tongue, the memories flood back
If you want to revive vanishing languages, don't just document them. Get people to speak them on stage-- and then videotape it.