Endangered Languages, Language Documentation, and Language Revitalization: Resources and Readings

Information about the World’s Languages and their Status

• Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook ( CIA, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/402.html )
• Ethnologue (https://www.ethnologue.com/)
• Language education policies for particular languages and regions http://www.languageeducationpolicy.org
• SIL interactive map of Languages of the World (https://www.sil.org/worldwide)
• The Glottolog (https://glottolog.org/ )
• The map provided by the Endangered Languages Project of the Alliance for Linguistic Diversity (http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/
• The UNESCO Atlas of Endangered Languages (http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/)
• WALS: World Atlas of Language Structures (https://wals.info/)

In German

Länderdaten und Amtssprachen ( https://www.laenderdaten.de/staat/amtssprachen.aspx)

 

Organizations and Institutes with a Focus on Endangered Languages, Language Documentation, or Revitalization

• The ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language (Australia, http://www.dynamicsoflanguage.edu.au/home/)
• The Christian SIL organization (originally “Summer Institute for Linguistics”, https://www.sil.org/)
• The Endangered Language Alliance (http://elalliance.org/)
• The Endangered Languages Documentation Program, funding projects on endangered languages (UK, ELDP, https://www.eldp.net/), resulting from the Hans Rausing Endangered Language Project (HRELP).
• The Endangered Languages Project of the Alliance for Linguistic Diversity (http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/).
• The Foundation for Endangered Languages (http://www.ogmios.org)
• The Interdisciplinary Centre for Social and Language Documentation (Centro Interdisciplinar de Documentação Linguística e Social; http://www.cidles.eu/)
• The International Centre for Language Revitalisation (Australia, http://www.teipukarea.maori.nz/the-centre/)
• The Language Documentation Training Center (LDTC) at the University of Hawaii (http://ling.hawaii.edu/ldtc/)
• The Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages (https://livingtongues.org/ )
• The National Science Foundation Documenting Endangered Languages program (USA, https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=12816)
• The Research Network for Linguistic Diversity (http://www.rnld.org/ )
• The Society for endangered Languages (Germany, http://gbs.uni-koeln.de/wordpress/index.php/en/news/ )
• The Volkswagen Foundation program funding projects that document endangered languages (Germany, DOBES, http://dobes.mpi.nl/)
• The Wikitongues public language materials archive (https://wikitongues.org/)

 

 

Readings

Introductions

• Austin, P. K; & Sallabank, J. (2011). Cambridge Handbook of Endangered Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Crystal, D. (2000). Language death. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Evans, N. (2011). Dying words: Endangered languages and what they have to tell us (Vol. 22). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
• Grenoble, Lenore A. & Lindsay J. Whaley (eds.) (1998). Endangered Languages: current issues and future prospects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Hale, K, Krauss, M. W, Watamahogie, L., Yamamoto, A., Craig, C., Jeanne, L.M., & England, N. (1992). Endangered Languages. Language 68.1-42.
• Krauss, M. (1992). The world’s languages in crisis. Language, 68(1), 4-10.
• Nettle, D., & Romaine, S. (2000). Vanishing voices: the extinction of the world’s languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Pereltsvaig, A. (2012) Languages of the world: an introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

 

Assessment of Language Status

• Fishman, J. (1991). Reversing Language Shift. Clevendon: Multilingual Matters.
• Lewis, M. P., & Simons, G. F. (2010). Assessing endangerment: expanding Fishman’s GIDS. Revue roumaine de linguistique, 55(2), 103-120.
• Special Issue 2011 of the Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development:

 

Journals

• Language Documentation and Conservation (https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/handle/10125/312 )
• Language Documentation and Description (http://www.elpublishing.org/publications/ )

 

Bibliographies

• UNESCO
• Foundation for Endangered Languages
• Research Network for Linguistic Diversity
• David Harrison’s Bibliography
• Bolanle Arokoyos’ Bibliography

 

Endangered Languages in Germany

• Verein Nordfriesisches Institut
• Institut für Niederdeutsche Sprache
• Deutscher Bundestag: Zur Situation von Regional-und Minderheitensprachen in Deutsch-land

 

Contributors

This list of links and readings was compiled for my current module on multilingualism. It contains materials from my own earlier resource lists, plus suggestions from

• my students, Giulia Asbeck, Laura Meyer, Jarno Willems, Judit Greiner, Frimah Karimi, Lukas Laureck, Hanna Maurer, and Jana Schmelzer
• my office companions Gabriele Schwiertz and Isabel Compes,
• my colleagues in Birgit Hellwig’s project on children’s acquisition of Qaquet (PNG).