Action has been taken to ensure that several endangered languages do not become extinct.

Linguists have set up eight ‘talking dictionaries’ online, featuring more than 32,000 words, 24,000 audio recordings of native speakers pronouncing words and phrases and pictures of objects associated with its culture.

The initiative, from National Geographic Society’s Enduring Voices project, is designed to prevent languages from dying out. At present, there are 7,000 languages spoken around the world, but half of these could be extinct by the end of the 21st century.

The dictionaries will play a key part in preventing this from becoming a reality because, in some cases, it is the first time that the language has appeared in written format.

Chamacoco, from Paraguay; Remo, Sora, and Ho, from India; and Tuvan, from Siberia and Mongolia, are just some of the endangered languages being preserved by the scheme.

Another dictionary has been dedicated to Celtic dialects, while more dictionaries will be produced in the future.

Dr David Harrison, from Swarthmore College in Philadelphia, US, one of the linguists creating the dictionary, said: “Endangered language communities are adopting digital technology to aid their survival and to make their voices heard around the world. This is a positive effect of globalisation.”