So let’s talk about the Project for Awesome.
Every December since 2007, YouTubers put up videos to help raise awareness and funds for all kinds of awesome organizations.
Through your views, support, and donations,
the Project for Awesome sparks a blitz of
charitable giving that changes thousands of
lives all over the world. Now, there’s a ton
of great charities and videos involved, but
for our first Project for Awesome we’ve
chosen to back the Resource Network for Linguistic
Diversity.
There are lots of thriving, healthy language
communities out there. But the popular languages
aren’t the only ones that should be getting
our love. Right now, there are about 6000
or so languages left in the world. Of those
6000, at least half are predicted to die out
within the next century. Half! That’s a
crazy number – we’re losing languages
way faster than we can afford to.
Okay, but maybe you’re thinking: why is
maintaining these languages important? Why
is this something I should care about when
there are so many things wrong in the world
that deserve my attention? 
Well, first, languages are a key part of who
we are. How we use language is part of how we
define ourselves as a species. Each one of us
is born ready to pick it up at superspeed
– our brain is just wired for language.
And then it becomes the main way we interact
with the world. 
But it’s even more than just a property
of our brains, or a way to communicate. Every
language represents a rich heritage, worked
out in communities over generations. Languages
tie people together, and create a shared space
for stories, cultures, families. We live
our lives through language, and that life
we share builds up in the languages we have.
That’s why the more languages we lose, the
less rich our world is. And a lot of the most
endangered languages worldwide - just like endangered
species - haven’t dwindled that way naturally.
Many of these languages and their cultures
have been denigrated and discriminated against
over time. 
Those cultures are important in and of themselves.
We need their different ways of looking at
the world just as much as we need the ways they
talk about them. And, linguistic diversity
is also crucial for helping us understand
how language works. Linguistics
is a science that’s growing and changing
all the time. The more languages we lose,
the less chance we have to work out all of
the different permutations of what our brains
can do. 
Linguistics as a modern field is still young,
and we still have a lot to learn. As languages
die out, we’re losing opportunities to work
out the complexities and beauties of how our
minds function. We can’t get a full view
without a wide diversity of languages.
That’s why we at the Ling Space are supporting
the Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity
in this year’s Project for Awesome. The
RNLD supports indigenous communities, and
helps them document and revitalize their languages.
Right now, they’re mostly working with Australian
indigenous groups. But through their network,
they provide resources and documentation for
people all around the world .
Supporting communities with endangered languages
is a multifaceted problem, but the RNLD has
got it covered. They help develop materials
for education; they organize workshops and
training to help people gain the skills they need to
keep their languages alive; they help build strategies
for reclaiming and revitalizing languages;
and they provide a strong network for connecting
language experts to communities who want that
expertise. They also go right to the communities
themselves, to help people within those groups
do the important work of preserving and
growing their own languages. 
Language is a key to so many things, in terms
of cognition and culture and community. So
we ask you to support the Resource Network
for Linguistic Diversity. You can help keep
the linguistic ecosystem of the world rich
and complex and alive. And, you can help our knowledge
about the human mind keep growing. Also, check
out all the other awesome projects from this
year’s Project for Awesome! And, we’ll
see you on Wednesday for another Ling Space
video. DFTBA!
