why it matters?
- With over 7000 languages today, around 2900 of them (~41%) are under the threat of extinction [1].
- Language isn’t just a form of communication: it’s the means of passing on culture, a path of unlocking a new perspective.
- Losing a language loses a worldview that we may never gain back, and through language documentation, we can maintain the diversity that characterizes our planet.
- 1. The Language Conservancy
The Nilgiri Mountains: Home of countless
endangered tribal Dravidian languages (2023)
what we do
- Lang Rec’s goal is to document the vocabulary and grammar of endangered languages, solidifying them as a part of this world.
- Through transcription into the International Phonetics Alphabet (IPA) and submission into the Living Dictionaries app, low-resourced endangered languages can be preserved for generations to come.
languages
languages
Badaga
- Badaga is an endangered South Dravidian language primarily spoken in the Nilgiri Mountain range in between the Indian states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
- Due to its proximity and ancestry with the languages around it, Badaga is mostly similar to Kannada but still very similar to Tamil in various aspects.
- We thank Mrs. Lalitha and Mr. Kannan for helping us document Badaga!
Alu Kurumba
- Alu Kurumba is another endangered South Dravidian language spoken in the Nilgiri Mountains of South India–the area has a high population of local languages due to its relative isolation from the rest of the country.
- Alu Kurumba seems to be closer to Tamil than Kannada, unlike Badaga, but both have undergone various unique sound changes
- We thank Mrs.Halammal for helping us document Alu Kurumba!
about us
- Lang Rec is a non-profit initiative dedicated to documenting, preserving, and revitalizing as many endangered languages as we can.
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join us!
Lang Rec is looking for more motivated individuals willing to transcribe audio from speakers of endangered languages into the IPA. - If you speak an endangered language, don’t hesitate to reach out and we’ll transcribe yours next!
