Bolivian volunteers translate Facebook into endangered language to help preserve indigenous culture

• A group of 15-20 volunteers organized the work through Jaqi Aru, an El Alto-based virtual community dedicated to promoting the use of Aymara, Bolivia’s second most widely spoken indigenous language.
• Facebook requires that at least 24,000 words be translated in order for a language to be added to the options for public use, which the group says it has achieved.
• Aymara is included in UNESCO’s list of the world’s most endangered languages, leading Jaqi Aru to promote its presence and use through Internet destinations like Wikipedia and social media.

“Si no trabajamos hoy por nuestra lengua y cultura, será tarde recordar mañana lo que somos y siempre viviremos inseguros de nuestra identidad”

Translation: “If we don’t work for our language and culture today, tomorrow it will be too late to remember what we are and we will always live unsure of our identity.”

Read the full story at El País (in Spanish).