Government suppression （鎮(zhèn)壓） is not the only reason languages are lost around the world. Younger people leave their native communities to get jobs in cities where they use only the language of the majority （多半）. Wars, floods, lack of rain, or loss of land to development can force members of a community to leave their traditional （傳統(tǒng)的） homelands. They flee （逃跑） to other countries to live with speakers of other languages. And in recent years, television, movies and the Internet have made English a worldwide language of communication.
The United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization （聯(lián)合國教科文組織聯(lián)合國教科文組織） is trying to solve this problem. It has been taking steps to develop international policies to support native cultures and save endangered languages. In two thousand one, Unesco passed the Universal Declaration （宣言） on Cultural Diversity （文化多樣化）. It has several goals： To protect all languages. To support the use and teaching of native languages at all levels of education. And to help provide other languages on the Internet （因特網(wǎng)）.
Unesco （聯(lián)合國教科文組織（United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization）） has a new project to help save languages. It is called the Register of Good Practices in Language Preservation （保存）. It is collecting reports of successful experiences of communities in creating new speakers of their languages. These include developing school programs, training teachers, creating pride in （引以為豪） a community and developing computer programs in a native language. The information gathered will be shared through the Internet.
The Indigenous （本土的） Language Institute is a center in the United States for efforts to save native languages. It began in nineteen ninety-two. The headquarters （總部） of the institute is in Albuquerque （美國新墨西哥州中部大城）, New Mexico.
Inee Slaughter is the director of the organization. Miz Slaughter says the guiding principle （原則） of the institute is to help create speakers of native languages. Miz Slaughter says a language is not a living language unless it is spoken. She says the Indigenous Language Institute must act quickly because within ten years it may be impossible to save many of the languages. Speakers of native languages are dying faster than new speakers are learning the language.
The Indigenous （本土的） Language Institute has worked with about one hundred tribes to help them find ways to keep their languages alive. Miz Slaughter says the institute is reaching out to all tribes through its Internet Web site, www.indigenous-language.org. On the Web site （網(wǎng)站）, there are examples of successful language programs, reports about conferences and links to other organizations working to save languages.
One of the Indigenous Language Institute's projects is the publication of a series of books called “Awakening Our Languages.” A team of tribal language （部落語言） experts visited fifty-four tribes in the United States. The team wanted to find out how many members of the tribe （部落） spoke the native language and what was being done to increase the number of speakers. Information about successful programs and methods of teaching languages are included in the series.
Another project is the Language Materials Development Center. Experts are developing and testing language materials as models for communities to use. The institute （學(xué)院） is also providing technical training so Native language speakers can use computers as tools for teaching languages.
Experts are trying many methods to increase speakers of endangered languages. Some projects are small. For example, a language speaker and a learner meet every day for an hour to talk. Other projects （方案） are large, such as schools where students are taught only in their native language.
Miz Slaughter says that one success story is in the American state of Hawaii （夏威夷）. In nineteen eighty-three Native Hawaiians began to teach their own language to very young children. They started creating an immersion school where only the Hawaiian language would be used. The idea was based on a school established by the Maori people in New Zealand.
Hawaii's Punana Leo or “l(fā)anguage nest” project began with a group of young children in pre-school. Now there are eleven pre-schools in the Punana Leo project. And there are several schools where students from ages three to eighteen are taught all subjects （科目） in Hawaiian. When the project began, fewer than fifty children in Hawaii spoke Hawaiian.
Today, almost two thousand children are able to speak their native language. Parents of the students are very involved in the Punana Leo schools. Some of them are learning the language along with their children so they can speak Hawaiian at home. Miz Slaughter says family involvement is important so the language is used outside of the school walls. A language needs to be used and spoken in all activities （活動(dòng)） of everyday life to be alive in the future.
The United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization （聯(lián)合國教科文組織聯(lián)合國教科文組織） is trying to solve this problem. It has been taking steps to develop international policies to support native cultures and save endangered languages. In two thousand one, Unesco passed the Universal Declaration （宣言） on Cultural Diversity （文化多樣化）. It has several goals： To protect all languages. To support the use and teaching of native languages at all levels of education. And to help provide other languages on the Internet （因特網(wǎng)）.
Unesco （聯(lián)合國教科文組織（United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization）） has a new project to help save languages. It is called the Register of Good Practices in Language Preservation （保存）. It is collecting reports of successful experiences of communities in creating new speakers of their languages. These include developing school programs, training teachers, creating pride in （引以為豪） a community and developing computer programs in a native language. The information gathered will be shared through the Internet.
The Indigenous （本土的） Language Institute is a center in the United States for efforts to save native languages. It began in nineteen ninety-two. The headquarters （總部） of the institute is in Albuquerque （美國新墨西哥州中部大城）, New Mexico.
Inee Slaughter is the director of the organization. Miz Slaughter says the guiding principle （原則） of the institute is to help create speakers of native languages. Miz Slaughter says a language is not a living language unless it is spoken. She says the Indigenous Language Institute must act quickly because within ten years it may be impossible to save many of the languages. Speakers of native languages are dying faster than new speakers are learning the language.
The Indigenous （本土的） Language Institute has worked with about one hundred tribes to help them find ways to keep their languages alive. Miz Slaughter says the institute is reaching out to all tribes through its Internet Web site, www.indigenous-language.org. On the Web site （網(wǎng)站）, there are examples of successful language programs, reports about conferences and links to other organizations working to save languages.
One of the Indigenous Language Institute's projects is the publication of a series of books called “Awakening Our Languages.” A team of tribal language （部落語言） experts visited fifty-four tribes in the United States. The team wanted to find out how many members of the tribe （部落） spoke the native language and what was being done to increase the number of speakers. Information about successful programs and methods of teaching languages are included in the series.
Another project is the Language Materials Development Center. Experts are developing and testing language materials as models for communities to use. The institute （學(xué)院） is also providing technical training so Native language speakers can use computers as tools for teaching languages.
Experts are trying many methods to increase speakers of endangered languages. Some projects are small. For example, a language speaker and a learner meet every day for an hour to talk. Other projects （方案） are large, such as schools where students are taught only in their native language.
Miz Slaughter says that one success story is in the American state of Hawaii （夏威夷）. In nineteen eighty-three Native Hawaiians began to teach their own language to very young children. They started creating an immersion school where only the Hawaiian language would be used. The idea was based on a school established by the Maori people in New Zealand.
Hawaii's Punana Leo or “l(fā)anguage nest” project began with a group of young children in pre-school. Now there are eleven pre-schools in the Punana Leo project. And there are several schools where students from ages three to eighteen are taught all subjects （科目） in Hawaiian. When the project began, fewer than fifty children in Hawaii spoke Hawaiian.
Today, almost two thousand children are able to speak their native language. Parents of the students are very involved in the Punana Leo schools. Some of them are learning the language along with their children so they can speak Hawaiian at home. Miz Slaughter says family involvement is important so the language is used outside of the school walls. A language needs to be used and spoken in all activities （活動(dòng)） of everyday life to be alive in the future.