About This Project
Why we built this — and why we need your help to keep it alive.
Why we created this
Hundreds of languages from the Americas are slowly disappearing. When a language dies, a whole way of seeing the world goes with it — its stories, its names for plants and stars, its jokes, its prayers. We built Lenguas Americanas to push back. It is a living archive where anyone can learn these languages, hear how they really sound, and help record and protect them. We use new technology — including AI — to move fast and fill gaps, but our goal is always to bring real native speakers into the work, so the knowledge stays true to the people it belongs to.
Be part of this
This is a lifelong journey, and we can't do it alone. We are open to people and organizations who want to collaborate, contribute, sponsor, or simply lend a hand. Are you a native speaker, teacher, researcher, programmer, designer, or someone who simply cares? Do you represent a foundation, university or community that wants to help? We would love to hear from you. Reach out to the founder directly — every voice and every bit of support brings these languages closer to staying alive.
What's inside — and why we built it
Every part of the app exists for one reason: to make these languages easy to learn, easy to hear, and easy to keep alive.
Dictionary
A real word should never be lost. Each entry shows the word, its meaning, how to pronounce it (with IPA and a simple respelling), and its audio — so you can both read it and say it correctly.
Audio & recordings
A language lives in how it sounds. Anyone approved can record words and phrases in their own voice, and the community votes for the clearest ones — so learners hear native, human pronunciation, not just text.
Phrasebook & Word Constructor
Words don't live alone. The phrasebook teaches real, everyday sentences, and the AI Word Constructor + morphology tools help build and break apart words — so the language can grow, not just sit frozen.
Learn tools
Flashcards, semantic fields, vocabulary maps and pronunciation drills turn the archive into a real classroom — so anyone, anywhere, can start learning for free.
Stories (our newest feature)
Languages are best remembered through stories. Our newest tool reads culturally-grounded stories where every word can be tapped for its meaning — and now each story can be narrated aloud, by AI or by a real speaker recording their own version.
Community & contributions
No single person can save a language. Profiles, contributor roles, cultural notes and reputation let speakers, learners and researchers build this together and keep each other honest.
AI today, real ancestors tomorrow
AI lets us generate pronunciations, build words and narrate stories right now, even where few speakers remain. But AI is a bridge, not the destination — our mission is to bring in the real elders and native speakers who still carry these languages, so their true voices are preserved forever.
Our mission
To breathe new life into the ancient languages of the Americas — keeping them alive, spoken and loved by new generations, with the help of technology and the people who still speak them.
100% free, for everyone, forever
This resource is completely free for all. There is no paywall, no subscription, and there never will be. We believe this knowledge belongs to everyone — which is exactly why we need help to keep it running.
What your support makes possible
- Keep every word, recording and story online and free
- Bring more real native speakers into the project
- Add more languages, features and learning tools
- Reach more people who want to learn and contribute
Why we need your support
We keep the app free, but it isn't free to run. Your support — large or small — directly covers the real costs of keeping this living archive online and growing:
Hosting & storage
Servers, networking and audio storage so every word, recording and story stays online and loads fast for anyone, anywhere.
Operations & maintenance
A small team of programmers keeps the platform running, fixes problems and keeps everything safe and stable.
AI language & audio
Generating pronunciations, synthesizing speech and producing audio for words and stories costs money with every use.
Continuous updates
Building new features, adding more languages, and improving the tools so the project keeps getting better.
Promotion & visibility
Helping more people and communities discover the platform, so more learners join and more speakers contribute.
About the founder
Jorge Carrada Santacruz
Jorge is a 37-year-old Mexican-American from Guanajuato, Mexico. He has spent his career in media, with a deep personal passion for programming and ancient Mexican culture. Now, together with a small team of programmers and researchers, he has embarked on a lifelong journey: to breathe new life into ancient languages and keep them alive with the help of new technology, including AI — while always working to bring in the real native speakers and elders who still carry these languages, so their voices live on for the generations to come.