The annual Foundation for Endangered Languages conference will be held at the Faculty of Communication, Linguistics and Literature of the Pontificia Católica university of Quito, Ecuador, from September 7 to 9.

The organizers have observed that the threat bearing upon endangered languages, while receiving growing attention in the past years, keeps being considered as an issue only for the people who speak these languages. Thus they have decided to reverse the initial premise and consider the impact of minority languages on the society that surrounds them, whether through raising their voices or through the images that they give out to outsiders.

Therefore this conference, entitled « Voces e Imágenes de las Lenguas en Peligro », will focus on the perspectives of the communities themselves (how they’ve protected themselves and how they’ve changed as opposed to how they lost their languages and traditions, how they used techniques coming from outside for their documentation, what alliances were made, etc.) as well as outside perspectives (how outsiders view these linguistic communities, how they’re valued, positively or not, how attitudes towards endangered languages have evolved, impacts of the media, etc.).

The event will also be an occasion to share successful experiences of linguistic revitalization.

Communications will be made in one of the 4 chosen official languages: Spanish English, Quechua and Shuar.

The schedule concludes on a trip to Otavalo on September 10, with a visit to the local market, lakes, a sacred waterfall, a condor park and musicians.

Ecuador, while being one of the smallest countries of Latin America, is known for its geographic, cultural and linguistic diversity. Indigenous movements of the past decades and their renewed claims for the respect of indigenous economic, social and cultural rights have led to profound changes, to the point of becoming models for other countries of the area.

For more information

Contact: Dr Marleen Haboud

Phone: +593 2 2991700

Endangered Languages – the Voices they Project, and the Images they Present

September 7-9, 2011

Facultad de Comunicación, Lingüística y Literatura

Pontificia Universidad Católica

Quito

Ecuador