The following Web sites showcase efforts to revitalize indigenous languages:
Northwest Pacific Plateau
Oklahoma and the Southwest
Mesoamerica
Northern South America
Central South America
Southern South America
Southern Africa
Western Africa
Australia
Taiwan and the Philippines
Eastern Siberia and Alaska
Eastern India and Malaysia
Worldwide Projects
Stories From the Expeditions
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One World, Many Voices Festival
Experience the vibrant cultural expressions of some of the world's rarest languages in this collection of photos, videos, and more from the 2013 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which brought together people from traditional cultures in every region of the globe.
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Vanishing Voices Pictures
By the next century nearly half of the roughly 7,000 languages spoken on Earth will likely disappear, as communities abandon native tongues in favor of English, Mandarin, or Spanish. What is lost when a language goes silent?
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NG Explorers Help Record Xyzyl Language
The Enduring Voices team reports back on the Xyzyl (pronounced “hizzle”) language from the Republic of Xakasia northwest of Mongolia. They will be working with the Xyzyl people to create a talking dictionary and grammar to help them preserve their ancient tongue.
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Arunachal Pradesh, India Expedition 2011
Read the full report from the Enduring Voices team's 2011 expedition to Arunachal Pradesh, India, where they visited five endangered language communities.
Meet the Team
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Gregory Anderson, Linguist
Dr. Gregory D. S. Anderson is a linguist who is director of the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the documentation, revitalization, and maintenance of endangered languages.
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David Harrison, Linguist
K. David Harrison is a linguist and leading specialist in the study of endangered languages. He co-leads the Enduring Voices project at National Geographic and is an associate professor at Swarthmore College.
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Chris Rainier,
PhotographerChris Rainier is considered one of the leading documentary photographers working today. His life's mission is to put on film both the remaining natural wilderness and indigenous cultures around the globe and to use images to create social change.
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Living Tongues
The Enduring Voices Project represents a partnership between National Geographic Mission Programs and the Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages.
Talking Dictionaries
Shop National Geographic
Ethics Statement
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Ethics Statement
View the Enduring Voices Project ethics statement.
The Last Speakers
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The Last Speakers
The poignant chronicle of K. David Harrison’s expeditions around the world to meet with last speakers of vanishing languages.
"The Last Speakers" is now published in Japanese. Read the interview with Dr. Harrison here and purchase the Japanese edition here .
