IRISH IS ON the list of endangered languages included in Google’s Endangered Languages Project, which is launched today.

The internet giant is bidding to save over 3,000 languages it says are at risk of disappearing if action is not taken immediately and they are documented in full.

“Documenting the 3,000+ languages that are on the verge of extinction (about half of all languages in the world) is an important step in preserving cultural diversity, honouring the knowledge of our elders and empowering our youth” wrote Clara Rivera Rodriguez and Jason Rissman, project managers of Google’s Endangered Languages Project, on the company blog.

Through the site, Google are encouraging people to make and share recording of native speakers. They also want diaspora communities to get in touch with one another to share language learning.

The site classifies languages in three categories, endangered, severely endangered or vitality unknown. Irish is on the list, where it is classified as ‘endangered’.

A project from the Royal Irish Academy already allows people to listen to recordings of long lost dialects, including Antrim, Tipperary and Tyrone Irish. The digital archive was collected between 1928 and 1931.