If you’re looking to learn Lakota then you may be wondering if the popular language learning platform Duolingo has a Lakota course.
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Does Duolingo Have A Lakota Course?
Despite the importance and long history of the Lakota language, Duolingo doesn’t currently have a Lakota course.
Lakota is a fascinating native American language with a long and rich history. Today it is spoken by approximately 2,000 people, mainly in the US.
Many people who are looking to learn a new language use Duolingo, a fun language learning platform that features bite-size lessons on various languages.
Duolingo is known to be a fun, free and easy way to learn a new language.
Why Is Lakota Not On Duolingo?
It’s hard to say exactly why Duolingo hasn’t yet produced a Lakota course as Lakota has a long and important history and would really benefit from the exposure.
Few Speakers
One reason why Duolingo may not have produced a Duolingo Lakota course yet is that there are relatively few people who speak the language.
Lakota currently has around 2,000 speakers around the world. This is quite a small amount compared to other more popular languages and may be a reason why Duolingo has chosen not to produce the course yet.
Having said that, Duolingo has produced courses on much smaller languages (in terms of number of speakers).
They have made a High Valyrian course of which there are no native speakers as this is a fictional language however there may be more demand for this language due to the popularity of the TV show ‘Game of Thrones’ (where the language came from).
Less Popular Language
Another reason why Duolingo may have not yet produced a Duolingo Lakota course is that there isn’t enough demand.
Lakota isn’t a popular language for native English speakers to learn. Relatively few people are interested in learning the language compared with other languages and Duolingo produces courses based on demand.
This is a shame because it’s certain that there is some demand for English speakers wanting to learn Lakota (you wouldn’t be on this page if there wasn’t!).
There are actually around 170,000 Lakota people but only 2,000 actually speak the language. Unfortunately, as the language is not being successfully passed onto the next generation, there is a huge risk that it may die out.
For this reason it would be hugely beneficial to the language if popular language learning platforms like Duolingo offered a Lakota course as this could really help save the language.
Duolingo, however, is currently working on other languages which they believe will be more popular with their users.
When Will Lakota Be Available On Duolingo?
The Duolingo Incubator is a feature where you can see what languages Duolingo are currently working on producing a course for.
The Duolingo courses are created by volunteers. You can contribute to a course on the Duolingo Incubator page if you’re fluent in more than one language.
This page simply shows which courses are currently being produced so you can apply to help build a course if you want to.
Having checked the Duolingo Incubator, I can see that currently Lakota isn’t a course they’re working on. This means that Duolingo Lakota isn’t going to be released any time soon as they’re not even working on producing a course.
Within the incubator, on their language list they do say ‘more languages will be available for teaching soon’ however it is unclear how long we may be waiting for more courses to be added.
Duolingo has produced multiple courses in the past on endangered languages including Navajo, Hawaiian, Irish, Scottish Gaelic and more.
Based on this, Lakota could be a potential candidate when they choose to expand their course list.
How Do Duolingo Decide On Which Courses To Create?
Duolingo themselves state that they decide on new courses based on the Duolingo forums.
They suggest the best way to get them to add a new language is by visiting their forum section and searching for suggestions that have been made in the past.
You then should add an upvote or comment to these posts. The more upvotes the more likely Duolingo will take notice and build a course.
If you want to help then you can upvote this Duolingo forum post to show Duolingo that people want a Lakota course.
Alternatives To Duolingo To Learn Lakota
Whilst Duolingo is a fantastic resource for learning a new language, don’t let their lack of a Lakota course stop you from learning the language if you want to.
There are plenty of fantastic courses out there for Lakota – both free and paid.
Free Alternatives For Learning Lakota
Owóksape
A great place to start your Lakota journey is on the Owóksape app! It is also available online here.
Owóksape means “Place of Wisdom” in Lakota and that is exactly what this app is.
As well as teaching you words, phrases and grammar in Lakota, the app also teaches you important cultural information such as how to speak with elders.
This fantastic course was written by natives and is one of the best resources for learning Lakota.
Memrise
Memrise is an online language learning app that uses fun games to help its users learn their chosen language.
They have tons of free Lakota courses that will teach you vocabulary and phrases in Lakota.
It’s really interactive and gradually introduces new words slowly so you have time to consolidate them all. There’s also plenty of opportunities to practice what you’ve learnt.
Paid Alternatives For Learning Lakota
Lakota Dictionary
An essential for anyone wanting to learn Lakota is an English – Lakota dictionary.
This will help you to build up your vocabulary and look up any new words that you come across.
The great thing about this dictionary is that it includes over 30,000 words and also includes the pronunciation of each word.
Lakota Language Consortium
The Lakota Language Consortium is a non-profit organization that aims to provide materials and support for students looking to learn Lakota.
They have a range of different materials available including books, CDs and apps.
One of their best resources is the New Lakota Dictionary which will really help to expand your vocabulary.
Lakota Textbook
If you’re looking for a standard textbook to help you with Lakota then the Lakhotiya Woglaka Po! – Speak Lakota book is one of the best out there.
This book is aimed at elementary level so I’d only recommend it to someone who is a complete beginner – it’s a great place to start your Lakota language learning journey.
Thanks for reading this post on whether Duolingo currently has a Lakota course.
Even though Duolingo doesn’t currently have a Lakota course, there are still lots of other ways that you can learn Lakota.
Check our other Lakota content here.
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