Can a conversational agent assist children of the diaspora in learning and retaining their families ethnic mother-tongue?  In much of the world, native languages are at risk of extinction due to displacement by national language appropriation. Much of the world’s indigenous knowledge, traditions and historical memories are transmitted through their mother tongue and their extinction puts our world at risk of losing such valuable cultural artifacts.  Through this research, A story based application is being developed for children ages 5-10 to help hear and learn their mother tongue. For this first iteration, the application will be developed using Igbo, a Nigerian language. Through engaging with the application, the children will be able to hear, retain and demonstrate their understanding of basic Igbo greetings and vocabulary.  The application is developed for the Alexa Echo Spot, a voice and touch screen home assistive device. Two interactive applications are being developed; one to introduce and implement basic vocabulary and the other to teach a traditional Igbo story. The plan is to implement user testing of this application with youth of Atlanta who are novice language speakers to determine the efficacy of language retention, the quality of interaction and the impact of cultural identity.
