Stories
Moldova refused to use language constructed by Soviet cultural policy
The Moldovan language was constructed during the early Soviet cultural policy. Now, the parliament changed its name to Romanian because they are practically identical languages.
Using AI to ‘decolonise’ language
We need to find a new language, new narratives, a new world view and the tools to create the words to overcome the “grand humanitarian narrative.” Can technology help?
A look back at the Mayan Languages Digital Activism Summit 2023
From January 11-15, 2023, the Mayan Languages Digital Activism Summit convened digital activists and their communities to explore how the internet, digital media and technology are helping to revitalize Mayan languages in digital spaces.
The main effort of Russian propaganda language is to give the impression that there is still no war
What does Russian propaganda do? It replaces the associations of words so that we perceive the world as better and safer, as a world in which there is no war
Announcing the Mayan Languages Digital Activism Summit (January 11-15)
Rising Voices will host the Mayan Languages Digital Activism Summit 2023 at the Grand Museum of the Mayan World in Mérida, Mexico on January 11–15.
France's institutional fear of multilingualism: An interview with language activist Michel Feltin-Palas
France has always been a multilingual country, but central state institutions are reluctant to embrace this historical and cultural heritage, explains French journalist and language diversity activist Michel Feltin-Palas.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine unlikely to stop soon, Kazakhs rally around their language
Interestingly, it seems to be Putin’s war in Ukraine that induced many Kazakhs to embrace the Kazakh language, and, in some cases, to start learning it anew
A Nepali migrant learns the language of overseas work
Raju Subedi, a Nepalese migrant worker tells about his ordeals in South Korea and how the language he learned in desperation now serves him so well.
One of the last Ladino language speakers in Bosnia, Moris Albahari, passed away
Ladino or Judeo-Spanish is an endangered Romance language derived from Old Spanish, used by around 60,000 Sephardic Jews living in the Israel, Turkey, the Balkans, North Africa, and other former parts of Ottoman Empire.
Filming Gyani Maiya Sen who inspired efforts to revive the dying Kusunda language in Nepal
She "kept repeating that the young people were not interested in learning the language at all but she was ready to raise a generation of Kusundas speaking their mother tongue."
In Ukraine, the war has reshaped language to create new idioms
Ukrainians' rage toward Russian forces occupying their land is playing out in a multitude of ways, including citizens' linguistic choices
Twitter Space: The Ukrainian language and its global significance
Read excerpts from our Twitter space on the Ukrainian language, the best tools for learning Ukrainian, parallels between Ukrainian refugees and other displaced peoples, and more. Find the full audio here.
My journey to learning Ukrainian and the online language tools that took me there
"For me, languages are an important way of making sense of the world and creating connections."
Gender equality in Ukrainian language: Feminine forms of professions now given full recognition
Ukrainian feminitives appeared in dictionaries about two centuries ago, acknowledging the growing social equality of women. Today they have been sanctioned by Ukrainian authorities and are widely used.
Meet Ganesh Birua, a champion who is bringing the indigenous Ho language online
Ganesh Birua is a young activist from the Indian state of Odisha. Rising Voices talked with Birua to learn about his efforts to bring his mother tongue to the internet.
Alhassan Alidu is uplifting the Moore language by bringing it online
As the executive director of the Moore Wikimedia Community, Alhassan is providing Moore with a digital platform that exists in the face of dominating Western media and languages.
Esperanto: Can the language of idealism face reality?
"By justifying the neutral stance it holds, the Esperantist community fails to criticize any unequal status within the world in which we live"
Umasoye: A language activist who uses technology to make learning Ekpeye fun
Umasoye is a digital language activist from Nigeria that is using media tools to make the preservation and teaching of the Ekpeye language fun and engaging for younger generations.
Why has Swahili not become Africa’s unifying language?
Despite all of these countries' strong intentions to make Kiswahili their motherland's lingua franca, geo-political differences and foreign influence remain as some of the obstacles that jeopardize its success.
Activist Emre Pshigusa talks about his work revitalizing the Circassian-Kabardian language
Through his research of the Circassian-Kabardian language at Ohio State University, Emre has been motivated to promote the language in digital spaces for its preservation.
St. Lucia plans to implement the teaching of Kwéyòl in schools — but is it enough to revitalise the language?
"National identity [...] is a lived identity. Using an endangered language in school is only useful as part of a series of other national measures to support the language."
