The world has about 7,000 languages. Experts predict that as many as half of these may be at risk of disappearing by the end of this century. That would mean a language dies out every two weeks.
Members of the Siletz Indian tribe (部落) in the northwestern state of Oregon take pride in their language. Their language, they say, "is as old as time itself". But today very few people can speak it fluently. In fact, you can count the number of fluent speakers on one hand.
More than 10,000 words can be found in the Siletz Online Talking Dictionary. Professor Harrison has also posted talking dictionaries for seven other highly endangered (濒危的) languages from around the world. He says technology can not only spread the influence of major languages but also help save endangered ones. Smartphone applications, YouTube videos and Facebook pages have all become digital tools for language experts.
Mr Harrison and a researcher in Oregon have mapped areas of endangered languages. One is the Pacific Northwest in the United States. Others include the upper Amazon basin Siberia and northern Australia.
In Canada's far north, the Inuit people are struggling to protect their native language, Inuktitut. Part of the effort involves (涉及) Microsoft. The company is translating terms in its Windows operating system and Office software into Inuktitut.
Nowadays so many people will spend their whole day sitting in front of a computer. If you're sitting in front of your computer in English all day, that just reinforces（强化）English. If you're now using Inuktitut, it is reinforcing that this is your language. Microsoft has also worked with language experts in New Zealand, Spain and Wales to translate its software into Maori, Basque, Catalan and Welsh.
