Ethnologue’s newest edition reports vitality of sign languages worldwide (March 2013) Through its flagship publication, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, SIL is in the forefront of monitoring the vitality of the world’s languages. The strongest, such as English and Chinese, are used officially by the United Nations. In contrast, many languages are endangered or have gone extinct in the last fifty years. The 17th edition of the Ethnologue, recently released online,* includes estimates of vitality for all known living languages—currently numbered at over seven thousand. Read more about Ethnologue’s newest edition reports vitality of sign languages worldwide
Redesigned Ethnologue website invites visitors to explore the world’s languages (March 2013) SIL International announces the release of the 17th edition of Ethnologue: Languages of the World and the launch of the newly redesigned Ethnologue.com. Visitors to this new site will find updated language data and statistics, as well as many helpful new features, such as interactive maps. Read more about Redesigned Ethnologue website invites visitors to explore the world’s languages
ASAO grant funds lexicon distribution in Vanuatu (March 2013) At this year’s meeting of the Association for Social Anthropology in Oceania (ASAO), SIL anthropologist Dr. Ken Nehrbass was recognized for his role in producing and distributing a reference work that compares six languages spoken on Vanuatu’s Tanna Island. In 2012 the six-language comparative lexicon was distributed to ninety schools on the island. The project was funded by ASAO’s Grant for Returning Indigenous Knowledge to Pacific Island Communities (GRIKPIC). Read more about ASAO grant funds lexicon distribution in Vanuatu
Collaborating on language documentation and conservation (March 2013) Language researchers and documentation specialists from around the world are participating in the 3rd International Conference on Language Documentation and Conservation (ICLDC). The event is taking place 28 February-3 March on the Campus of the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. The theme of this year’s conference is “Sharing Worlds of Knowledge.” According to conference organizers, this theme “highlight[s] the interdisciplinary nature of language documentation and the need to share methods for documenting the many aspects of human knowledge that language encodes.” Read more about Collaborating on language documentation and conservation
Celebrating 60 years of partnership in the Philippines (February 2013) This year marks the 60th anniversary of SIL’s entry into partnership with the government of the Philippines to work together for the country's language communities. With more than 170 distinct ethnolinguistic communities, the island nation is a colorful mosaic of languages and cultures. Since 1953, SIL staff members have been involved in language development efforts with many of these communities. Read more about Celebrating 60 years of partnership in the Philippines
