living-language-land is a journey through endangered and minority languages that reveal diverse ways of relating to land and nature. Take inspiration from these 26 words shared by language communities across the world in the run-up to the COP26 climate talks.

More >

Yii

  • Language: Khwedam
  • Region: Northeastern Namibia
  • Contributor: ǂGakaci Thaddeus Chedau, Ata Anita Maundu, Ue Gertrud Andreas, Willie Kamwanga Kasera
Tree, wood, medicinal plant
Árbol, madera, planta medicinal
More >

Hyká

  • Language: Muysk Kubun
  • Region: Central Colombia
  • Contributor: Diana Castillo and Michael Ramírez, COMUNIDAD MUISCA CONA, PEDAGOGÍAS ANCESTRALES
name; stone; speech
nombre; piedra; habla
More >

Maloka

  • Language: Murui (Uitoto)
  • Region: Amazon region, Colombia
  • Contributor: Emperatriz López of the Murui Muina people
Ancestral longhouse
Casa comunal ancestral
More >

No word

  • Language: No indigenous language
  • Region: Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica
  • Contributor: Neville Gabie
(A continent without words)
(Un continente sin palabras)
More >

Coble

  • Language: Northumbrian Coastal Speech
  • Region: Northumbrian Coast, UK
  • Contributor: Katrina Porteous and Northumbrian fisher families
A traditional open wooden fishing boat built without a keel
Un barco de pesca de madera abierto tradicional construido sin quilla
More >

Ïe cho

  • Language: Muysk kubun
  • Region: Central Colombia
  • Contributor: Cesar Sánchez León, Comunidad Muisca CONA, Pedagogías Ancestrales
Good path
Buen camino; buen vivir
More >

Itrofillmongen

  • Language: Mapudungun
  • Region: Lake Budi, Mapuche Territory, Chile
  • Contributor: Fernando Quilaqueo, Environmental Association Budi Anumka
The tangible and intangible elements of the diversity of life
Los elementos tangibles e intangibles de la diversidad de vida
More >

Siwa

  • Language: Muysk Kubun
  • Region: Central Colombia
  • Contributor: Diana Castillo, Stefanny Contreras, Michael Ramírez
pond; lake; adult woman’s vagina
laguna; lago; vagina (de mujer adulta)
More >

Tamposati

  • Language: Asháninka
  • Region: Junín Region, Peruvian Amazon
  • Contributor: Yessica Sánchez Comanti
Those born in the Rio Tambo
Los nacidos en el Río Tambo
More >

|Xau

  • Language: ǀXam
  • Region: Southern Africa
  • Contributor: Sylvia Vollenhoven, Virginia MacKenny and collaborators
to shoot with a magical arrow or go on a magical expedition
disparar con una flecha mágica o realizar una expedición mágica
More >

Aibidil

  • Language: Gaelic
  • Region: Western Scotland
  • Contributor: Malcolm Maclean
Alphabet
Alfabeto
More >

Agranada or Mangrana

  • Language: Ladino (Judeo-Spanish)
  • Region: Sephardic Jews of the Mediterranean
  • Contributor: Güler Orgun and Derya Agis
Pomegranate
La Granada
More >

Kyká

  • Language: Muysk kubun
  • Region: Central Colombia
  • Contributor: Nicolás Acosta, Cesar Sanchéz León, Diana Castillo, Stefanny Contreras, Michael Ramírez
world; town; story; region
mundo; pueblo; historia (narración); región
More >

Danbwa

  • Language: Kreol Morisien
  • Region: Mauritius
  • Contributor: Helina Hookoomsing and Shameem Oozeerally
in the woods; wild overgrowth; wilderness
en el bosque; crecimiento excesivo salvaje; desierto
More >

ས་བདག or Sardak

  • Language: Ladakhi
  • Region: Ladakh, India
  • Contributor: Tsetan Angmo and Padma Rigzin featuring the sardaks of Ladakh
the ancestors and owners of the land
los antepasados ​​y dueños de la tierra
More >

Tuuca Orodji

  • Language: Khwedam
  • Region: Northeastern Namibia
  • Contributor: ǂGakaci Thaddeus Chedau, Mbo
Rainwater pan
piscina de agua lluvia
More >

‖Xéba

  • Language: Khwedam
  • Region: Northeastern Namibia
  • Contributor: ǂGakaci Thaddeus Chedau, Eu Yumbu Mboma, Willie Kamwanga Kasera
African wild dog
perro salvaje africano
More >

Napuro

  • Language: Cuyonon
  • Region: Cuyo Islands, Philippines
  • Contributor: Aldrin Lee
a forest that looks like ‘an island within an island’
un bosque que parece "una isla dentro de una isla"
More >

Gagaw

  • Language: Higaonon
  • Region: Northern Mindanao, Philippines
  • Contributor: Datu Lanelio Sangcoan
love; the universal principle
amor; el principio universal
More >

Wíyukčaŋ

  • Language: Lakota
  • Region: Great Plains, Central United States
  • Contributor: Tiokasin Ghosthorse
Consciousness; knowing
Conciencia; conocimiento
More >

Scrogs

  • Language: The Doric
  • Region: Northeast Scotland
  • Contributor: Arthur Watson
brushwood or undergrowth; stunted or crooked bush or tree
maleza; arbusto o árbol atrofiado o torcido
More >

پفّ or śaff

  • Language: Mehri
  • Region: Southern Oman
  • Contributor: Janet Watson, Abdullah al-Mahri, Khalid Ruweya al-Mahri, Faisal al-Mahri, Ali al-Mahri, Said Baquir
track; print; unexpectedly, it turns out to be
pista; huella; inesperadamente, resulta ser
More >

Chalay

  • Language: Quechua
  • Region: Peruvian Andes
  • Contributor: The communities of the Pisaq Potato Park and the Chalakuy Maize Park
The practice of barter and exchange
La práctica del trueque e intercambio
More >

Kallpa Warmi

  • Language: Quechua
  • Region: Ayacucho, Peruvian Andes
  • Contributor: Violeta Quispe with Chirapaq
Women's strength
Fuerza mujer
More >

Tshinanu

  • Language: Nehluen, Innu language
  • Region: Nitassinan - a territory that spreads from the south-west of Quebec, to the north-eastern coast of Labrador, Canada
  • Contributor: Marie-Emilie Lacroix (Missinak Kameltoutasset)
The inclusive ‘we’ - all as equals
El "nosotros" inclusivo: todos como iguales
More >

Morfa

  • Language: Welsh
  • Region: Wales, UK
  • Contributor: Elinor Gwynn
a place of, near or shaped by the sea
un lugar de, cerca o moldeado por el mar
More >
English (UK)