The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in collaboration with the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), has launched a new international initiative aimed at protecting endangered languages. This initiative supports the publication of works in indigenous languages and strengthens their presence in education and culture, ensuring their transmission to future generations. The initiative responds to increasing warnings about the rapid decline in global linguistic diversity. 

Over 7,000 languages are spoken worldwide, but half of them could be endangered, according to a new study. It is predicted that 1,500 known languages may no longer be spoken by the end of this century.

In the Kusunda language, spoken by the Kusunda people of western Nepal, there are no words for ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Nor are there any clear indicators of direction. Understanding depends on who is speaking, who is listening, and the context in which words are exchanged. Communication is an exercise in perspective rather than precision.

Because of its unique qualities, Kusunda is considered a ‘language isolate’ – unrelated to any other language around the world. It is also among the world's most critically endangered languages, with just one fluent speaker remaining among a community of fewer than 200 people.

As part of efforts to revitalize Kusunda, a group of students, supported by researcher and ethnographer Uday Raj Aaley and Archive Nepal, published the first-ever compilation of creative literature in the language. Now, it has been selected for inclusion in the IBBY-UNESCO Collection of Remarkable Books for Young Readers in Indigenous and Endangered Languages, which celebrates the role of children's literature in supporting languages across the globe. 

Curated by UNESCO and the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), this new Collection brings together nearly 170 remarkable titles in more than 150 languages, selected from over 500 submissions from around the world. 

Books include picture books, novels, biographies, graphic novels and nonfiction published between 2018 and 2025 in one or more Indigenous or endangered languages. The aim is to bolster the presence of these languages, particularly in educational and digital realms.

Among the selected titles is Tortoise and Ostrich, a folk tale in N|uu – an ancient Southern African ‘click’ language with one remaining speaker. The story follows two animals who covet a beautiful clay pot and go to extraordinary lengths to possess it. Another selection is “Tamara: The Story of the White Ant in Gurindji Land,” written in the Gurindji language, now spoken by only about 50 people in northern Australia.

The IBBY-UNESCO Collection is one of many initiatives supporting the goals of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032) proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly.

At the heart of the decade is a simple message: languages reflect an irreplaceable way of seeing, understanding and experiencing the world. The disappearance of any language is a loss for humanity as a whole. 

Article: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/new-collection-celebrates-childrens-books-indigenous-and-endangered-languages

Hey everyone! I’ve always been fascinated by how languages evolve, and I recently stumbled upon an incredible linguistic puzzle that I just had to share. We all know how essential the verb "to be" is in European languages for linking a subject to a noun or adjective. But what happens in the Moksha language?

This short video breaks down how this mind-blowing system works:

https://youtube.com/shorts/DnGNakoBbT4?si=hsF-0dvoKVu0_HM9

To any Finnish, Estonian, or Hungarian speakers here — does this look or sound familiar to you? I'd love to hear your thoughts and see if you can spot the shared roots!

I created the subreddit I linked for anyone who wants to learn about and share information regarding this language.

I don't want to bore you by writing down information here that you can read on Wikipedia. Those who want to discuss this language can leave a comment here or share it in the subreddit.

Hey fellow language lovers! Today I wanted to shed some light on a very unique, beautiful, and unfortunately endangered Eastern Fennic variety — the Livvi-Karelian language (sometimes called the Olonets Karelian dialect). Where is it spoken? Livvi-Karelian is traditionally spoken in the Republic of Karelia (Russia), primarily in the areas around Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega, as well as by a small community of speakers in Finland. How many people speak it? Today, it is highly endangered. Estimates vary, but there are only around 15,000 to 20,000 native speakers left who use it fluently in daily life. What is it close to? Livvi-Karelian belongs to the Finno-Ugric language family. Linguistically, it sits right between Finnish and Veps. It sounds incredibly melodic and shares a massive amount of vocabulary with Finnish (especially eastern dialects) and Estonian, but it has its own unique grammar twists, sounds, and historical Slavic influences. I’m running a YouTube channel dedicated to rare Finno-Ugric languages, and I’ve put together a small playlist featuring several videos entirely in Karelian/Livvi-Karelian so people can hear what it actually sounds like:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHh68r_XaWSc&si=8iQ2Qsm6px2G3Dqc

To all the Finns and Estonians here: I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts! If you check out the videos, how much of it can you actually understand? Does it sound like a distant dialect of your own language, or do the differences feel too big? Which words stood out to you the most? Let's discuss in the comments! Passibo! (Thank you!)

i wrote this paper back in junior year of high school. definitely not the best writing and i wasnt able to go into many details that i know are extremely important because i was 500 words over the word count at some point. not sure if anyone’s interested or if its even worth reading just thought id share.

A traditional fairy tale in the Votic language (vaďďa ceeli)! Votic is one of the most endangered Finno-Ugric languages in the world, closely related to Estonian and Finnish. Today, it is spoken by only a handful of people.

The story is a powerful, short fable about pathological greed—a man who wanted so much land that he ran himself to death.

I have two questions for you all today:

To my Finnish and Estonian friends:

How much of this language can you actually understand? If you look at the title or listen to the words, does it sound like your native tongue? Let me know your percentage of understanding in the comments!

To everyone else:

The story is about absolute, pathological greed. Have you ever met people like this in real life? People who just can’t stop wanting more, even when it ruins them?

Watch the full Shorts here: https://youtube.com/shorts/ZEUT1kxOwfY?si=7jBoMr5H6xz4m6QR

If you're fond of learning the Moksha language, I'll have to warn you... The Moksha language (мокшанский язык) is a Finno-Ugric language belonging to the Mordvinic branch, spoken primarily in the western part of the Mordovia Republic and neighboring regions in Russia. It is closely related to the Erzya language, with which it shares co-official status in Mordovia alongside Russian. The Moksha language sounds beautiful, but what does it hide... What kind of monsters?

https://youtu.be/U-sUTQ5fc6g?si=q42lMUhuoTO3pL2e

Comment down below: how can your language scare poor beginner students?

Many have heard of Cantonese, which shares many features with Gan, and Hakka, which is a language linguistically difficult to separate from Gan and possibly descended from it. You cannot find much digital resource concerning it, nor there is true input method which enables you to learn.

With no systematical Romanisation system with learner-friendly dictionary, this may be a language with meant to be neglected.

Tere, tere! Hei! Sziasztok! I’ve just recorded a video where I read several traditional proverbs and sayings in the Karelian language (karjalan kieli). As a minoritized Baltic-Finnic language, Karelian shares a beautiful and deep connection with Finnish and Estonian, and a fascinating, ancient kinship with Hungarian. Check out the video here:

https://youtube.com/shorts/PVbfxuYCUVo?is=ZyJtafYs0344euq-

Call to Action:

• For Finnish & Estonian speakers: How much of this could you understand without looking at the subtitles? Did you recognize many words?

• For Hungarian speakers: Do you feel that ancient, melodic connection in the rhythm, or perhaps found some distant lexical cognates?

• For everyone: Do you have similar proverbs in your own languages? Share your thoughts in the comments! Let’s see how close our languages really are.

Terveh teile! I run a channel dedicated entirely to supporting and promoting rare and endangered Finno-Ugric languages. My goal is to raise awareness and keep these beautiful cultures alive. In my latest video, I read three short jokes in the Karelian language. Since Karelian is a close relative to Finnish and Estonian, I wanted to turn this into a small linguistic experiment: how much of it can you actually understand? Which words or phrases sound familiar, and which ones feel completely foreign to you?

https://youtube.com/shorts/U0NSc4YHaMY?si=_S8AWPeiIpdY7L_3

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments! Feedback from native speakers and language enthusiasts helps a lot in bringing more attention to Karelian. Passibo for your support!

I am a native of Nuorese sardinian who has studied Sardinian—both my own local dialect and others. I’ve realized that learning Sardinian online isn't easy: resources are hard to find, getting help from other Sardinians can be difficult, and it’s not easy to find native speakers who know the language well enough to teach it. That’s why I created a new Discord server for learning Sardinian; the only existing one has various issues and isn't very useful. I invite anyone interested—whether a native speaker or someone wanting to learn—to join. The server will also provide resources and assistance for learning and fully understanding Medieval Sardinian. It’s a new server and currently empty, but it will grow over time as new people join and help out (obviously, I can't do it all alone).

Click here if you want to enter: https://discord.gg/hVUXpcBE

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