Saving Endangered Languages, One Font At A Time
Cisco News, Thursday, February 1st, 2024
The digital age could hasten the extinction of many languages. A Stanford-led consortium of academics and tech experts hopes to save them.
Flip open a phone or laptop, and you're instantly connected to a world of knowledge, entertainment, and opportunities.
But imagine if you depended on one of the 97 percent of global languages that are digitally disadvantaged?
For millions around the world whose languages and alphabets lack digital texts or fonts, much of modern life is off limits. And in a fast-changing, hyper-connected world, it threatens to hasten the extinction of many more languages - and with them their deep wealth of culture, art, and wisdom.
Given this perilous global picture, linguistic inclusivity is emerging as a critical element to closing the digital divide. But more needs to be done.