The International Decade of Indigenous Languages, inaugurated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) last Tuesday in Paris (France), seeks to contribute to the preservation of these languages.
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly on Friday called for measures to preserve indigenous languages, noting that of the 7 000 languages spoken in the world, some 6 700 are indigenous, 3 000 of which are in danger of becoming extinct before the end of this century.
The declaration of the Decade of Indigenous Languages is part of the actions to prevent their disappearance and thus contribute to their preservation as forms of oral tradition.
The President of the UN General Assembly, Csaba Korösi, said on this occasion that “languages are vectors of knowledge and bearers of identity, of knowledge that is extremely valuable, not only for the identities present in them, but for humanity as a whole.”
Each time an indigenous language disappears, those who speak it lose a significant part of their identity – and everyone loses important knowledge.
The Decade for Indigenous Languages is a call to preserve, revitalize & promote them around the world.https://t.co/pfXP07h7HF pic.twitter.com/4zEwLXMgAK
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) December 16, 2022
“With every new language that dies out, the culture, thought and tradition that go with it die ou, and this is important, because we need a radical transformation in the way we relate to our environment,” Korösi said.
The President of the General Assembly expressed his concern over the fact that “an indigenous language dies every two weeks.” In this regard, the UN recommends that States work with indigenous communities to provide education and resources in their native languages and invest in guaranteeing the rights of these peoples.
