In the same vein of the ice-bucket challenge that raised awareness for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a video challenge to raise awareness and fostering respect for speakers of indigenous languages is going strong after seven months and thousands of videos. The Indigenous Language Challenge prompts speakers to record a video in an indigenous language and then call out someone else to do the same.
The videos are being collected on a Facebook page, which says, “Let’s use this particular group to share all of the language videos to inspire each other to SPEAK our languages. In the spirit of language revitalization, please post videos of yourselves speaking your beautiful Indigenous languages and encourage others to do the same.”
The Indigenous Language Challenge unites native speakers and students alike, and allows participants to say anything in their language. Some have posted videos of themselves counting, while others read poetry or tell stories. The videos are receiving encouraging commentary from fellow speakers of indigenous languages and the friends of participants alike. To see the videos or post one of your own, visit the Facebook page, “2014 Indigenous Language Challenge.”
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