Language Resources

Methods and Resources for revitalizing languages

Native Language Resource Directory from the Indigenous Language Institute.
Teaching Indigenous Languages focuses on "the linguistic, educational, social, and political issues related to the survival of the endangered indigenous languages of the world." The article "Some Basics of Indigenous Language Revitalization" is a good introduction. See also "Maintaining and Renewing Native Languages."
Turtle Island Native Network Spotlight on Language updates and news articles on native languages worldwide.
Issues in U.S. Language Policy: Endangered Languages Articles by James Crawford, including hypotheses around why languages disappear.
Where Are Your Keys? provides interactive techniques for language revitalization, using gameplay, hand signs, and no translation.
Indigenous Languages and Technology an online forum and listserv to discuss the role of technology and media in revitalizing languages.
Aboriginal Language Planning: A Guide for Community Activists. Focuses on Canada and BC, but has much information relevant to all endangered languages." For many years, parents and educators were told that education in an Aboriginal language would be detrimental to children's social and intellectual development, and that it would 'hold them back.' As linguists and specialists in bilingual or multilingual education now know, the opposite is the case."
New Tactics: Conversation an online forum about using new media to promote underrepresented languages.

The following links lead to the complete text of the books:

Revitalizing Indigenous Languages discusses "opportunities and obstacles faced by language revitalization efforts, programs and models for promoting indigenous languages, the role of writing in indigenous language renewal, and how new technology is being used to compile indigenous language dictionaries, publish indigenous language materials, and link together dispersed language communities."
Teaching Indigenous Languages presents "experiences and thoughts of indigenous language activists who are working in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Mexico."
Effective Language Education Practices & Native Language Survival "contains descriptions of promising Native language programs going on today in New Zealand, Canada, the United States."

The Indigenous Language Institute "collaborates with indigenous communities to revitalize and perpetuate the languages and culture of the original inhabitants of the Americas."
The Foundation for Endangered Languages "awards grants to projects that support the use of endangered languages in all contexts."
The The Hans Rausing Endangered Languages Project at SOAS.
The Documenting Endangered Languages program at the National Science Foundation.
The Genographic Legacy Fund offers grants for linguistic preservation and revitalization efforts.

Living Tongues Institute conducts documentation projects worldwide.
Enduring Voices YouTube Channel - a wide array of video recordings from the "Enduring Voices Project" of the Living Tongues Institute with National Geographic.
Committee on Endangered Languages and their Preservation is a subcommittee from The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) now has a blog covering current research on endangered languages. They also have a link to Advocacy!
Intertribal Wordpath Society promotes Oklahoma Indian languages.
Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival hosts conferences, workshops, and trainings to revive native Californian languages.
The Myaamia Center of Ohio is an incredible example of language revitalization.
Cultural Survival's Our Mother Tongues provies an interactive native language map of North America, voice recordings, video clips, a blog, and even "e-Postcards!"
Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity hosts trainings, international networking and networking, openly shares indigenous language revitalization resources.
American Indian Language Development Institute has classes, workshops, resource links for language revitalizion.
Association for Teaching and Learning Indigenous Languages of Latin America, of Indiana University, promotes collaboration of resources and techniques to teach and learners of indigenous languages of Latin America
Terralingua works to preserve the future of the world's biological, cultural, and linguistic diversity.

Noam Chomsky - "Why are there so many languages? Diversification from an underlying unity."

Summer Institute of Linguistics provides information on the world's languages.
Ethnologue reports estimated number of speakers.
UNESCO: Atlas of languages in danger is an interactive Google map showing the degree of endangerment for languages.