On Thursday, Google launched its new Endangered Languages Project which aims to preserve and revive some 3,000 languages that are dying out around the world, including Irish Gaelic.
On the official Google blog, project managers for the Endangered Languages Project, Clara Rivera Rodriguez and Jason Rissman, write that the new initiative is backed by the Alliance for Linguistic Diversity.
“Documenting the 3,000+ languages that are on the verge of extinction (about half of all languages in the world) is an important step in preserving cultural diversity, honouring the knowledge of our elders and empowering our youth,” the managers said in the blog.
Included in the some 3,000 languages is Irish Gaelic, of which Google reports there are less than 20,000 native speakers, mainly adults, worldwide. Google categorizes each of the languages into endangered, severely endangered and vitality unknown; Irish Gaelic is considered endangered.
Through the Endangered Languages Project website, users are encouraged to upload audio, video and documents that can help preserve and promote the struggling languages. Google is also reaching out to diaspora communities and encouraging them to get in touch with one another to share language learning.
As Journal.ie reports, the Royal Irish Academy has also created an online resource which aims to help preserve old dialects of the Irish language. The online digital archive features Antrim, Tipperary and Tyrone Irish and was originally recorded between 1928 and 1931.
Check out Google’s promo video for the Endangered Languages Project:
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.JJJ | Jul 02, 2012, 09:22 PM EDT
I think google has got this wrong by saying only 20,000 are native speakers? plus every dialect spoken at the moment has been recorded plus others that are not spoken anymore! One thing that could help the Irish language is if more money is given to promote the language and hopefully Google does this plus increasing the native speakers!
Bythebay | Jul 02, 2012, 10:19 AM EDT
ciaradexy, Teilifís na Gaeilge is TG4's name in Irish.
ciaradexy | Jun 26, 2012, 06:50 AM EDT
Sean, I can assure you that Irish was beaten into every single one of my aunts, uncles and even grandparents. Some of my older cousins also hate the language due to the memories it brings back for them. The only people I know who like the language are those who were lucky enough to spend our summers in the gaeltacht.
Seanmor | Jun 25, 2012, 04:56 PM EDT
Irish (or any other subject) was never never beaten into me or any of my classmates in the 50s, but it was strongly encouraged by all teachers and some priests. Dáil members could give their state's official language a strong boost by using it ocassionaly while conducting official business in Leinster House. Is mó namhaid atá ag an nGaeilge - cuid mhaith acu le tiochar láidir. Could their hostility to the language be a manifestation olf their own self-hate or at least their self-doubt?
ciaradexy | Jun 24, 2012, 05:12 PM EDT
Seanmor, the decline of the language has nothing to do with the Dail. its to do with how its taught in Irish schools and how it was beaten into people in school.
Seanmor | Jun 23, 2012, 08:07 PM EDT
Does Google's effort to preserve an Ghaeilge have the support of the Dáil crowd, many of whom do NOT have meas mo mhadra on the official language of their own state. The continued decline of an Ghaeilge is largely the fault of the Dáil. Mar is eol do gach éinne teanga bhinn cheolmhar álainn is ea an Ghaeilge agus ba chóir dúinn go léir ár ndícheall a dhéanamh chun an sártheanga sin a úsáid gach uair a bhíonn seans againn.
ciaradexy | Jun 23, 2012, 06:03 PM EDT
Ephraim,of course you didnt know, most of you Americans know NOTHING about Ireland but like to talk as if you do! We learn irish in school from the age of 4 to 17. The reason more dont speak it is because in my parents day, it was beaten onto them by priests and teachers in catholic schools who left such a bad impression that they hated the language and never instilled a love for it in their kids. The attitude was 'well I'll never use it so why learn it?''. When i was in school there was still way too much emphasis on poetry and prose, essay writing etc and not nearly enough emphasis on being able to speak the language. I was lucky enough to spend my summers in the gaeltacht as I got a scholarship because my Irish was good so I learned to love the language and speak it well. Most kids do not get the chance to live away from home and speak it. So there it is in a nutshell. See, nothing to do with migrants but rather how its taught.
ciaradexy | Jun 23, 2012, 05:58 PM EDT
Bythebay, the Irish language tv channel is TG4. Wounded, Irish is a minority language since around 1845 when the famine decimated the population then we started speaking English because a)we were forced to and b)It was the language of business. Migration into Ireland have actually led to a resurgance of the Irish language because in the last few years, irish people have heard so many other languages, that now, they want to learn their own. It will NEVER be a majority language tho. My nephew is in a gaelscoil and there are plenty of kids of migrants in his class so your point is bullsh*t.
aloistmartin | Jun 23, 2012, 04:17 PM EDT
Too much Irish, is Bad for the Economy @?..!
WoundedKnee | Jun 23, 2012, 02:32 AM EDT
I don't blame Mass Immigration for the near loss of Irish. The language has been in decline for hundreds of years, apart from a brief spike in the early nineteenth century. It's the Irish themselves who decided to stop speaking Irish, and more importantly, stop speaking it to their children. It's amazing how quickly a language can be lost. Look at our own case of German, Swedish, Italian. It took only one generation for those languages to be discarded by the children and grand-children of immigrants to the US. The same has happened in the case of Spanish, tho it's complicated by the fact that there are still millions of Spanish-speakers immigrating, legally or illegally. Going back to Ireland, I don't blame Mass Immigration for the impending death of Irish, but it is an incontrovertible fact that the huge numbers of foreigners who have settled the country have no interest in the language. In the next generation you'll see people of Polish, Russian, African etc. background demanding that their children be given the chance to learn their heritage languages. They reject Irish, a language they have no links to, and I can't say I blame them. How many Minnesotans demand that their children be taught Lakota Sioux?
ctcallen | Jun 22, 2012, 05:58 PM EDT
Google, Go raith maith agat! Now let's get more FREE, STATE OF THE ART Irish learning Sites on line for those of us who are trying to improve our share of Irish.
aloistmartin | Jun 22, 2012, 05:23 PM EDT
Cén fáth bothers aon Éireannach a labhairt rud ar bith ach Gaeilge, tá Indolence is é sin thar mo Tuiscint!
EphraimKibbey | Jun 22, 2012, 04:59 PM EDT
Sorry Bythebay and michaelidaho, I did not know. It seems very logical. But, if its a required class in schools in Ireland, why is it endangered? Is it not taught to every student every year or not taught well or not of interest to students or not used beyond the school? Sorry, I've been at the Bushmills today (See the Kilbeggan article - all your fault Bythebay) It just seems strange. I and those I know are fairly versant in all the mandatory subjects that we took in school. The electives like my French and German are much more shaky.
Bythebay | Jun 22, 2012, 04:59 PM EDT
Google maps are often not accurate for Ireland. Not a very good endorsement for this peoject.
michaelidaho | Jun 22, 2012, 03:40 PM EDT
Yeah, it sure sounds like a nice idea. However, the Irish government's policies aimed at reviving the Irish language have been an abysmal failure. There are fewer native speakers now in Ireland than there were in the early 20th century. It has been a complete waste of time and money. Fine Gael is right; make it optional. EphraimKibbey ... really, you did not know Irish is mandatory in the Republic's schools?!
Bythebay | Jun 22, 2012, 02:44 PM EDT
Kerry O'Shea, I realize you've only been to Ireland once and that was for the St. Patrick's Day pub crawl so be aware the Irish language is NOT called Irish Gaelic. It's called Irish in Ireland or Gaeilge. The Irish Language tv station in Ireland is Teilifís na Gaeilge.
Bythebay | Jun 22, 2012, 02:37 PM EDT
EphraimKibbey, you really know NOTHING about Ireland. But you spout off like you dol. Irish IS required in schools in Ireland.
EphraimKibbey | Jun 22, 2012, 01:30 PM EDT
Sorry, make that "non-english."
EphraimKibbey | Jun 22, 2012, 01:27 PM EDT
Why not make it a REQUIRED class in the schools of Ireland. English (American Version) is required of all students in American schools with special help given if the student is a none english speaker.
Searlit | Jun 22, 2012, 01:02 PM EDT
I'm glad Google has set up this website!
WoundedKnee | Jun 22, 2012, 11:55 AM EDT
ReturnedYank: No, the best way to preserve it to import huge numbers of speakers of other languages into Ireland. Chinese, Hindhi, Polish, Lingala, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Latvian, Swahili, Tagalog, Romanian ....That way Irish has gone from being the second language of the country to being twelfth.
ReturnedYank | Jun 22, 2012, 11:32 AM EDT
The best way to preserve it is to keep speaking it and to pass it on to the next generation, IMO.