Middle Eastern News
AUT Academics Help Save Indigenous Languages
Thursday, 26 May 2011
This week AUT University (Auckland University of Technology) academics launched the International Centre for Language Revitalisation at the United Nations, in New York City - a centre which could breathe life into many of the world’s endangered languages.
Professors from Te Ipukarea, the National Māori Language Institute at AUT, presented its digital platform developed for teaching Te Reo Māori at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, highlighting its potential for use with other endangered languages.
The innovative online language learning system uses a range of technology including iPads and iPhones to deliver lessons allowing students to learn in a dynamic and interactive way. It also includes an encyclopedic dictionary.
After successfully trialing the platform in New Zealand, AUT is now talking to indigenous communities in the USA about how they can implement the technology.
The development of this technology is the result of a lifetime's work by two Professors from AUT; Dr Tania Ka’ai and Dr John Moorfield.
“I believe there’s an obligation to share our learning with other indigenous peoples - it is unique in that a range of quality and diverse language resources have been brought together,” says Professor Ka'ai.
The United Nations estimates there are approximately 6,500 spoken languages in the world today with 50 per cent at some sort of risk of disappearing.
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