With that being said, we are sad to see that some languages are in fact going extinct. Google is doing their part as a worldwide service to provide these languages a lifeline:

As Google sees it, documenting the 3,000-plus languages that are on the verge of extinction — about half of all languages in the world — is an important step in preserving cultural diversity, honoring the knowledge of elders and empowering youth. And Google sees technology’s role in strengthening those efforts through research and collaboration.

This collaboration is through a website www.endangeredlanguages.com where people can upload the languages and share the most up-to-date information about them. An example is seen in the Miami-Illinois language, once spoken by Native American communities throughout the region. Although the last known person who spoke this language died in 1960, a contributor to the project is teaching himself the language through old documents. Because of this, children in Miami are now learning the language and even teaching it to each other.

If you know a language that is becoming extinct, post it in the comments or through the website and we will all do our best to preserve the language. Also, check out the video below to learn more about the project.

Information from: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/endangered-languages-project-supporting.html

Image from: http://www.endangeredlanguages.com

There are an estimated 40,000 people who are fluent in Triqui worldwide. More than half of them no longer live in Oaxaca and around 10 percent of them live right next door in the Salinas Valley.

Although institutions like Monterey Language Services provide translation services in courts and hospitals, there is still worry that this rare language will not survive.  Any attempt to save a language will have to be in large numbers in order to succeed.

Barbara Hollenbach, who works with the Summer Institute of Linguistics, is working on a Triqui-Spanish dictionary with 6,000 entries. She believes this is a step in the right direction but says, “The only way to keep a language alive is oral transmission between generations.”

Source : http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/2012/jun/07/speaking-minds/

Note:

The picture, which shows traditional Triqui weaving patterns, is from one of our colleague’s private collection. The artwork was created by a Triqui artisan group here in our area of Monterey County.     

In our community, other languages indigenous to Oaxacan Mexico are spoken, including Mixteco, Zappotec, Chatino, & Nahuatl, etc. These languages need to be preserved as well.

Monterey Language Services is a translation and interpretation company headquartered in Monterey County, California.  What do we know about Monterey County?

Monterey County is probably best known as the setting of John Steinbeck’s novels, and for the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, at which Jimi Hendrix got famous. 

But the county has even more to offer.

Salinas is the county’s largest city.   The city’s nickname is the Salad Bowl of America, as over 80% of all lettuce grown in the United States is grown in the Salinas Valley.

Castroville calls itself the Artichoke Center of the World, and holds the Castroville Artichoke Festival every year (in fact, in 1948 its Artichoke Queen was none other than Marilyn Monroe!).

Carmel-by-the-Sea, most famous for swanky houses and rich natural scenery, is also home to an arts colony formed in the wake of the Great San Francisco Earthquake.  Its early members included Jack London.  One of the world’s most popular and handsome actors, Brad Pitt maintains a house here.

Gonzales, formerly a depot for freight trains, saw the establishment of California’s first condensary.  Incorporated as a city in 1974, it is now the Wine Capital of Monterey County.

Modern trends in Monterey County include a planned eco-village near Fort Ord, and a citywide plan to achieve zero waste.

Do you also know that Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties produce 85% of the nation’s fresh vegetables, herbs and berries AND 15% of the world’s?