What is the Aesop Language Bank?

The Aesop Language Bank is a collection of samples of languages and language varieties, using the classic Greek story about the North Wind and the Sun. This story is popular to use among linguists since it is short and the concepts in the story are shared by the majority of cultures across the earth.

In the Aesop Languages, you will be able to listen and read the story in a number of different languages. The translations and recordings have been collected by a number of language enthusiasts and all contributors have volunteered to participate, happy to share their language.

As a general rule, the recordings have been made by native speakers. A few recordings are in languages or language varieties that have no native speakers, and then people with a good command of these languages have volunteered. Some language varieties have been recorded by people who grew up with these languages and know them equally well as a native speaker.