Every two weeks, a language dies. Of the 7,000 languages spoken today, around 40 per cent are in danger of extinction in the years to come. In a sometimes desperate race to save these languages, activists from around the world are organising in various ways, often using Twitter, Facebook and youtube to preserve—as well as teach—minority languages to the younger generation.

From activists with the agenda of preservation to simple people singing and speaking in their own language, they rely on social media to go viral and connect with their target audience. Even if some of these languages vanish, the internet will keep them alive for future generations to at least know that they existed and experience the way they once sounded.

“Speaking a minority language makes me feel proud. I know the root words which can’t be translated exactly into other languages,” says Sanjib Chaudhary, a social activist from Nepal who works with indigenous development.

Full article at Reader’s Digest’s website. Date of publication: August, 2020.