Anthropologist Franz Boas once said, “Language is an important determinant of culture,” a sentiment echoed by linguists and cultural activists today. Languages are more than just a means of communication—they hold ancestral knowledge, cultural identity, and deep-rooted connections to the land. Yet, with urbanisation and a push towards uniformity in education and commerce, many minority languages are falling silent.
Despite the alarming trend, technology offers a glimmer of hope. Artificial Intelligence, particularly Natural Language Processing (NLP), is now being harnessed to document and revitalise endangered languages. These AI-powered tools can record spoken words, convert them into written text, and help develop dictionaries and grammar resources that were previously non-existent.
“NLP combines linguistics with machine learning, allowing computers to analyse, predict, and translate languages,” explain researchers. It is already being used to scan books, manuscripts, and audio archives to expand language databases. Applications range from speech recognition to translation services and interactive learning tools.
In India, where linguistic diversity is among the world’s richest, initiatives like Bhashini—a crowdfunded movement—are pushing boundaries. Using NLP, Bhashini aims to build vast language databases to train large AI models in Indian languages, facilitating access to education, tourism, legal resources, and more.
“There are immense challenges, but also tremendous resilience,” notes linguist and activist Ganesh Devy. “Our languages have survived tenaciously. We are truly a linguistic democracy. To keep our democracy alive, we have to keep our languages alive.”
As technology meets tradition, the fight to preserve linguistic heritage may just find its strongest ally in AI.
The article is authored by Nikhila Kalla, an intern with DC from Christ University, Bengaluru.
