Huge thanks to Gibb for joining us on #ThatWordChat. A brilliant conversation on endangered languages, identity, and what it means to keep a tongue alive. #RareTongues is out now: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691274171/rare-tongues

In Australia, Gibb spoke with an Aboriginal woman who pointed out: The only documentation of some languages came from missionaries. "You get this very circular, contradictory reality." - Gibb
#RareTongues #ThatWordChat #LanguageJustice

Are non-written languages more endangered? Gibb breaks it down: without a written record, many languages disappear without a trace. The irony - some of the best records we do have of endangered oral languages were created by the very people who endangered them. #RareTongues

So what can we do to help protect endangered languages? Apps like Duolingo are now offering courses in rare languages. Others are creating digital archives, youth programs, language camps. Sometimes, just caring is a step toward helping. #RareTongues #ThatWordChat

Are countries doing better at protecting endangered languages? There’s great work happening at the global level, says @LornaGibb. UNESCO and the UN are pushing awareness campaigns. But the most interesting work is happening locally. #RareTongues #ThatWordChat

Compare that to a place like Iceland, where isolation still shaped the language, but the population was relatively unified. Isolation happened at micro scales. The result is hundreds of languages, each surviving side by side.
#RareTongues #ThatWordChat

For generations, communities were self-sufficient.
Villages didn’t trade much. Travel was limited. There was no pressure or need for linguistic homogenization.
Each group kept its own language, its own culture.
#RareTongues #ThatWordChat #EndangeredLanguages

Why do some places have so many languages? Gibb reflects on this in #ThatWordChat. The answer has less to do with geography and more to do with isolation and autonomy. #RareTongues #Linguistics #LanguageDiversity

Hawaiian is another story of hope. So is Māori.
In both cases, young people are proud, motivated, and pushing for recognition and use, not just at home, but in schools, media, and government.
#RareTongues #ThatWordChat #IndigenousLanguages