Endangered Language Alliance

Our mission is to further the documentation, description, maintenance, and revitalization of threatened and endangered languages, and to educate the public about the causes and consequences of language extinction.

ELA is involved in a range of activities, from recording songs and narratives of endangered languages spoken in New York City, to international workshops on language documentation and language revitalization. In addition to documenting the range of threatened languages spoken in the New York area, ELA strives to educate the public about the value of linguistic diversity and intertwined problems of language death, urbanization, and environmental destruction. From school lectures and mass media, to language fairs and poetry readings, we take every opportunity to introduce the general public to the many voices in New York – voices with origins in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Pacific and points between. The Endangered Language Alliance is currently involved in major film and poetry projects, assists with programming at New York City museums and cultural centers, and has been succesful in procuring grants for fieldwork on endangered languages abroad.