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The sources of documentation
General Information
- SIL’s website ethnologue.com – USA
The Summer Institute of Linguistics was initiated in the 1930s by two missionaries whose goal was to translate the Bible into as many languages as possible. Over the years, SIL has collected information on thousands of languages. This database is accessible online at www.ethnologue.com.
- WALS (The World Atlas of Language Structures Online)
The World Atlas of Language Structures Online is a project of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the Max Planck Digital Library. This database provides the location, linguistic affiliation and structural characteristics of a great number of the languages of the world. The Atlas, which was originally distributed as a book with a cd-rom of 141 maps, is now available on the Internet.
As part of its campaign to protect cultural diversity and the non-material heritage of humanity, UNESCO supports various projects to revitalize languages around the world. The organization’s website offers an interactive version of its Atlas on Endangered Languages.
- Linguamón – Casa de les Llengües – Catalonia
Founded in 2005 by the Government of Catalonia, the Linguamón House of Languages works to promote world languages as a medium of communication, culture and dialogue.
A center devoted to the languages of the world is being built in Barcelona and should open its doors in 2011. It will offer an extensive program of exhibitions and activities about multilingual societies. Already, the site of Linguamón provides information and news about linguistic diversity.
Regional information
- AILLA – United States
The Archive of Indigenous Languages of Latin America is a project of the departments of anthropology and linguistics at the University of Texas at Austin, funded by the NEH and NSF. The site provides audio recordings (stories, ceremonies, songs …) and publishes literary works (poetry, stories, essays …) on and in indigenous languages of Latin America. Nearly thirty languages are represented in these archives. The site provides information on various languages of Meso and South America and offers a page of additional links.
- Native Languages of the Americas – United States
Native Languages of the Americas is an organization dedicated to the preservation and revitalization of indigenous languages of America via the Internet. The site presents 25 to 30 families of Indian languages and lists related languages. It also provides links to other information sites.
- African Languages – Africa
African Languages is a source of online information on African languages. The site presents the different families of languages of the continent, and for each family provides a bibliography and links to other websites.
- Oralidad Modernidad (ES) – Ecuador
Oralidad Modernidad is a multidisciplinary project aiming to assess the state of indigenous languages in Ecuador through the collection of sociolinguistic interviews, accounts, open discussions and the development of community activities that help create spaces for multicultural exchange.