Lopez is a member of the Nafasana community, a culture native to Emao Island in the Pacific nation of Vanuatu. Their language, also called Nafasana, has never been documented by linguists and remains unofficial in its own country.
In fact, despite Vanuatu’s robust linguistic diversity—there are more than 100 languages spoken across the archipelago—there are only three languages recognized by the government, and therefore, only three languages are taught in schools: English, French, and Bislama. This reality presents significant challenges for the country’s many cultures with regards to maintaining and sustaining their languages. And this is not unique to Vanuatu.
Around the world, there are more than 3,000 language communities facing a similarly precarious future, pushing back against centuries of repression and marginalization. We’re building tools to help communities like the Nafasana document, share, and sustain their ways of speaking.
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Thank you, tangkyu, 御拝ど, takk fyri, +7000 more :)