What happens when a language is on the brink of extinction, and a group of high school students decides to do something about it? In this episode of Impactually, we follow teacher Mark Eastburn and his students as they build a robot designed to help preserve the endangered Mam language for the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition. Their innovation opens the door to a global conversation about vulnerable languages, cultural identity, and what the world loses when a language disappears forever. With insight from linguistics expert Dr. Judith Maxwell, we explore why languages vanish, why they matter, and how educators and young people can shape the future of language revitalization.

Key Take-Aways

• Why language preservation matters for global cultural survival
• How languages become vulnerable or endangered
• The importance of Indigenous languages to cultural identity
• The ingenuity of young people working to solve complex social challenges
• Living Tongues and its role in documenting and protecting endangered languages

Call to Action

• Check out the Living Tongues website and pick one endangered language project to learn about, then share a word or phrase from it on your social media or with a friend.​
• Find vanishing languages near you: Google "endangered languages near me" or visit UNESCO's online Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger to see which languages are at risk where you live, then talk about one of them in your next class, meeting, or family gathering.​
• Support community-led projects: Choose one grassroots organization working with Indigenous or Mayan languages—such as a Mayan language preservation or digitization project—and sign up for their newsletter, follow them, or make a small donation if you're able.​
• Learn and use a few words: Learn three greetings or everyday phrases in an endangered or minority language (for example, from online talking dictionaries or community-made videos) and commit to using them this week in texts, posts, or conversations.​

We'd like to extend our sincerest thanks to our guests

• Mark Eastburn, Princeton High School Teacher and Science Educator
• Dr. Judith Maxwell, Professor of Linguistics at Tulane University and expert on Indigenous Languages of the Americas

Featured Musical Artist

A very special thanks to our featured musician, Sonican, for providing their single "Latin World".

Support Our Work

This episode is made possible by the generous support of JLB Images, April Collins Potterfield, David Johnson and Christine O'Neill, and Humm Productions donors and listeners like you.

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