Now is a Pivotal Time
To Act!
Help Support Language Revitalization
Program Support
Via GoFundMe
Through this project, we aim to raise awareness about language extinction and to empower the communities most affected by linguistic and cultural homogenization. Just like biology tells us that diverse ecosystems are more likely to survive and thrive, the lessons learned from history show us that the most culturally diverse societies have been better able to overcome challenges and prosper. Any effort to preserve and protect a language and its culture from extinction is an effort to protect humanity’s amassed wisdom and knowledge—our accumulated wisdom, knowledge, and history live in our languages. Thank you for your support, we couldn’t do it with remarkable language revitalization advocates like you!
Lingua Bear Production
Via Kickstarter
Lingua Bear is sewn in Xonacatlán, a Nahuatl speaking town tucked in the Sierra Nevada mountains about an hour from Mexico City. In an era of app-based learning tools, our plush toy stands out by featuring collectible characters providing the user with a highly kinesthetic learning experience. The brains eliminate the need for entirely new toys for each additional language, and are made from upcycled plastic. Through the different lists of words, phrases, and songs we hope to capture each language’s ethos. The effects of globalization on language will be difficult to slow down, and as a result many languages may die off. For this reason, we are linguistically codifying our data so that it may be used to recreate lost languages with the help of AI.
Get Toy
“Every legend, moreover, contains its residuum of truth, and the root function of language
is to control the universe by describing it.”
James BaldwinNovelist, Harlem
“The language, the whole culture of the Lakota, comes from the song of our heartbeat.
It’s not something that can quickly be put into words. It’s a feeling, it’s a prayer,
it’s a thought, it’s an emotion—all of these things are in the language.”
Larry SwalleyCommunity Organizer, Great Sioux Nation
“Generations have struggled to learn, despite efforts to eliminate our traditions and language.
Having a strong sense of yourself and your community is a great foundation for learning.”
Agnes ChavisEducator, Lumbee Tribe