Preserving Dying Languages – Is it Worth it?
What’s the point of reclaiming languages losing native speakers or already lost to history?
By Katelyn Livorse
UNESCO estimates that every two weeks, an indigenous language disappears. At this rate, nearly half of the world’s languages will be gone by 2100.
Today, roughly 3,100, or about 44%, languages are classified as “endangered.” Although most of these languages won’t vanish from the Earth in the next few months, they have all seen a decline in native speakers and transmission of the language to the younger generation or non-native speakers.
Preservation Efforts
Several efforts have been launched to protect endangered languages, many of which are spearheaded by AI enthusiasts.
Most recently, in Michigan, a member of the Anishinaabe tribe developed a language-learning robot to help children learn the dying language of their ancestors, Anishinaabemowin. Using AI, the robot listens to spoken English and then translates the words into Anishinaabemowin in real time. The robot serves a dual purpose by simultaneously teaching a new generation and documenting the language.
Even more revolutionary, engineers and linguists at MIT in 2020 attempted to reclaim languages already lost to history. Many are completely indecipherable. Languages that would take humans decades to decode are being fed through new algorithms designed to identify patterns and relationships to known languages faster and more effectively.
Worth It?
Some argue that preserving dying or dead languages just isn’t worth the effort. It’s the cycle of human evolution, they claim.
What’s the point of reclaiming languages lost to thousands of years of history, or languages with only twenty native speakers left? Some don’t even have a written language – what do we have to learn from them?
History, knowledge, and culture are just a few answers to those questions
The Case for Preservation
Latin is a long-dead language. There are no native speakers or writers, yet it’s hard to imagine how Western society would look without Roman knowledge preserved in Latin. On the flip side, ancient Egyptian was poorly preserved. Many writings are indecipherable because the language simply was left to fade with “human evolution.” What answers might be hidden in plain sight, but completely unreachable? Furthermore, how much more advanced might society be if it had unlimited access to ancient information? Historians have long lamented the burning of the Library of Alexandria as an event that set humanity back.
When languages fade, so does an entire body of knowledge about the people who spoke them. Oral traditions and histories, as all history was first preserved and passed down, are lost forever. Children lose connection to their families and ancestors. Could the grandchildren of the Anishinaabe tribe continue their traditions when they cannot even understand them?
If the tragic loss of culture and a unique means of communication are not enough to justify the preservation of language, the knowledge it holds certainly is.
About the Author
Katelyn Livorse is a marketing fellow at the Institute for Faith and Freedom and the editor-in-chief of Checkpoint News. A senior political science and French major, Katelyn is also a member of the AEI Executive Council at Grove City College.
In the summer of 2025, Katelyn interned at the U.S. House of Representatives in Rep. Mike Kelly’s office (PA-16). There, she had the opportunity to learn about constituent relations, attend briefings, and foster American-Irish relationships.
Katelyn has also previously worked as a translator for the Jews of the Somme Project. There, she translated French documents written during the Nazi occupation of France detailing the persecution of the Jewish population. Upon graduation, she hopes to pursue a career in international relations.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer alone and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Grove City College, the Institute for Faith and Freedom, or their affiliates.