Endangered languages database launched online

An open database of endangered languages has been launched by researchers in the hope of creating a free, online portal that will give people access to the world's disappearing spoken traditions. The website has been developed by researchers at the World Oral Literature Project, based at the University of Cambridge, and will be available at its website, http://www.oralliterature.org/ from Thursday. It includes records for 3,524 world languages, from those deemed "vulnerable", to those that, like Latin, remain well understood but are effectively moribund or extinct. Researchers hope that the pilot database will enable them to "crowd-source" information from all over the world about both the languages themselves and the stories, songs, myths, folklore and other traditions that they convey. Users can search by the number of speakers, level of endangerment, region or country. In the United Kingdom, the site lists 21 disappearing languages, ranging from the relatively well known, like Scots and Welsh, to obscure forms such as Old Kentish Sign Language. Where possible, the research team has also included links to online resources and recordings so that users can find out more.