Grants for Research on Endangered Languages
An unfortunate consequence of globalization in world economic and social activity is the growing extinction of many human languages. As many people communicate in dominant world languages such as English and Mandarin Chinese, hundreds of indigenous tongues disappear as native speakers die without passing the language on to later generations. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) estimates that half of more than 6,000 languages spoken in the world risk extinction without actions to preserve them. A number of organizations provide grants that fund research on preserving the world's endangered languages.
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Significance
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The National Science Foundation, one organization that funds endangered language research, outlines the importance of preserving the languages of the world. Languages provide insight into the culture and history of the people who speak them, as well as help scientists better understand how the human mind functions. Because many endangered languages are only spoken and have no written texts, preserving them through recordings is important, the foundation reported. NSF strives to document endangered languages by gathering, duplicating and preserving digital recordings in computer files for study by linguists and other scholars.
National Science Foundation
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The National Science Foundation's Documenting Endangered Languages program is a multi-year effort involving the NSF and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The program funds research of one to three years, as well as fellowships for up to 12 months. Past grants, for example, have funded research to preserve a range of Native American languages, such as those of the Hopi and Northern Cheyenne tribes.
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Endangered Languages Fund
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The National Science Foundation is not the only source of grants for endangered language research. The Endangered Language Fund (ELF) is another such organization that provides grants for linguistic field work aimed at preserving languages that are in danger of extinction. The ELF provides funding for consulting fees, travel and recording equipment for a year of study and research. The fund reports that individual grants average about $2,000 per award. The Endangered Language Fund accepts applications from linguists and language researchers around the world, as well as institutions. However, the organization will not fund administrative overhead expenses for institutional applicants.
Hans Rausing Endangered Languages Project
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This organization provides a variety of grants to conduct fieldwork and other research to preserve endangered languages. Awards include small grants, individual scholarships, major documentation research efforts and postdoctoral fellowship grants. When reviewing applications, the organization considers such criteria as the degree to which a language is endangered, how the project contributes to preserving the language and the training of the applicant.
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References
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