Saving Indigenous Languages in Australia Using Technology

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2018-10-30/australia-is-using-technology-to-preserve-indigenous-languages

Before Europeans arrived in Australia, there were more than one million inhabitants who called the landmass home, and they spoke up to an estimated 700 languages. Only about 100 indigenous languages are alive today. Researchers from the University of Queensland and the ARC Center of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language have come up with a technology to preserve these languages that are in danger of disappearing.

The Indigenous Language Opie, a two-foot-tall wooden figure shaped like a robot, carries two tablets to help children learn the indigenous languages of their ancestors. One tablet has eyes that tail the children’s activities, and the other contains memory games using recorded stories in aboriginal languages and pronunciation guides. Although the technology itself will not be able to preserve the languages, it will support instructors teaching children. The robot-like device is accessible to children starting from age 2.  Opie will not only assist in saving the languages but also the cultural identities of the indigenous groups.