Calling All Word Game Lovers: Help Save Endangered Languages

Here’s the press release, in suitably official press release language:

Half the world’s languages are in imminent danger of extinction—but Chittenden County word game lovers have the chance to help stop that decline.

On Wednesday, December 13, area residents of the Champlain Valley region are invited to join the non-profit Endangered Alphabets Project at the Fletcher Free Library to help test and create word games that can be translated into threatened languages and alphabets both in the United States and around the world.

“If you want to revive a language, you have to start with kids, and if you want to engage kids you need games,” explained Tim Brookes, a Champlain College professor and founder of the Endangered Alphabets Project.

Speakers of English and the other major world languages grow up playing word games such as Hangman, Scrabble, Boggle, and word searches. Speakers of indigenous and minority languages often have no such games to develop and reinforce their language skills.

Brookes is working with partners in nine countries to co-create word games for children and adults. The workshop at the Fletcher Free library is one of a series intended to test games currently in development, and come up with ideas for others.

“It would be great if all the Scrabble lovers in Chittenden County showed up,” Brookes joked.

The Endangered Alphabets Project word game workshop will be held in the Fletcher Room of the Fletcher Free Library on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017 from 6:30-8 pm.

For more information, call (802) 310-5429 or email brookes@champlain.edu.