Did you know that Anchorage, Alaska is one of the most linguistically diverse communities in the country? Within the Anchorage school district alone, students speak over 100 languages. Additionally, over 20 indigenous languages are spoken throughout Alaska, many of which are forecasted to go extinct by the end of the 21st century.
So we partnered with FIRST robotics teams across Alaska to translate Riley Robot books into other languages. It’s important to us that encouraging STEM does not present as a contradiction to cultural values and languages. Read more about the languages and our translating partnerships below.
Cup'ig
Cup'ig (self name Cugtun) is an Alaska Native language spoken by the Cup'ig people (self name: Cugtun or Nuniwarmiut) Nunivak Island in the remote southwest of the state. FTC Robotics Alumni and aspiring teacher, Jayne of Mekoryuk, worked with her family to translate Riley books into Cup'ig.
Tlingit
Tlingit (self name Lingít) is a language spoken by the Tlingit (or Tlinkit), the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of the United States. FTC Robotics students and their language teacher in Honnah, AK assisted in translating Riley Robot books into Tlingit.
Read more about the Tlingit language
Spanish
Spanish is a truly global language, spoken natively by over 483 million people, over 24,000 of which live right here in Alaska. FRC Team 568 team member, Bryan, who joins us remotely from Yucatan, Mexico, provided translations of Riley Robot books into Spanish..
Read more about the Spanish language
Japanese
Japanese is an East Asian language spoken by 128 million people, and over 1,500 of those speakers live right here in Alaska! FRC Team 568 team member, Toya, provided translations of Riley Robot books into Japanese.