Virtual reality project aims to preserve Cornish

A new project aims to use virtual reality to preserve the Cornish language.

Revive, a £2.5m project led by Anglia Ruskin University in East Anglia, will focus on two endangered European languages - Griko, which is spoken in parts of Italy, and Kernewek.

The project will use a combination of extended reality (XR) technologies and digital archives to bring the language to life through testimonies from local people, photographs, film and audio.

Dr Fabrizio Galeazzi, from the university, said the project aimed to "make sure every young person in Cornwall is aware of their county's incredible linguistic heritage".

Dr Galeazzi said languages were "part of our shared heritage" but were disappearing at "an alarming rate".

The United Nations estimates two indigenous languages are dying every month.

Dr Galeazzi said: "Cornish is what we call an 'awakening language' and is enjoying a resurgence after becoming officially extinct [in the 18th Century]."

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