The Institute on Collaborative Language Research or CoLang is a biennial training institute in

language documentation Language documentation (also: documentary linguistics) is a subfield of linguistics which aims to describe the grammar and use of human languages. It aims to provide a comprehensive record of the linguistic practices characteristic of a given speec ...

for any person interested in community-based, collaborative language work. CoLang has been described as part of a modern collaborative model in community-based methodologies of

language revitalization Language revitalization, also referred to as language revival or reversing language shift, is an attempt to halt or reverse the decline of a language or to revive an extinct one. Those involved can include linguists, cultural or community groups, o ...

and documentation.

Activities

The institute happens in even-numbered summers (opposite the Linguistic Society of America Summer Institute) at various American universities, but it has drawn participants and instructors from around the world, including

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. The first part of the institute consists of two weeks of workshops on topics like community archiving, linguistics, audio and video recording, language teaching, and activism. The workshops are followed by a three or four week practicum where participants work intensively with speakers of a language to document it. While each individual institute is organized by one or two local director(s), CoLang as a whole is governed by its Advisory Circle, which includes Indigenous scholars, linguistics professors, language activists, students, and representatives from partner organizations. Each institute has been funded by a grant from the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

's Dynamic Language Infrastructure (formerly called

Documenting Endangered Languages The Documenting Endangered Languages (DEL) program is a joint effort between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to help fund fieldwork, research, and community activities that are involved in re ...

) program. The first InField in 2008 resulted in ongoing collaboration between Kennedy Bosire and Carlos Nash for the completion of the Ekegusii encyclopedia and a dissertation on tone in Ekegusii, while the fifth CoLang in 2016 resulted in the development of a thirty-year revitalization plan for Kristang in

. InField/CoLang has also resulted in ongoing community-based linguistics work in Kwak'wala and Kari’nja, among others.

History

CoLang was founded in 2008 as InField, the Institute on Field Linguistics and Language Documentation, by Carol Genetti. The institute was renamed to CoLang and adopted a charter and Advisory Circle in 2012. CoLang announced a long-term partnership with the

Linguistic Society of America The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) is a learned society for the field of linguistics. Founded in New York City in 1924, the LSA works to promote the scientific study of language. The society publishes three scholarly journals: ''Language'', ...

(LSA) in 2015.

InField 2008 California

InField 2008 was held at the

University of California Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the Un ...

. The director was Carol Genetti. The practicum languages were Ekegusii, Kwak'wala, and Mende.

InField 2010 Oregon

InField 2010 was held at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. The director was Spike Gildea. The practicum languages were

Northern Paiute Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

, Uyghur, and

Wapishana The Wapishana or Wapichan (or Wapisiana, Wapitxana, Vapidiana, Wapixana) are an indigenous group found in the Roraima area of northern Brazil and southern Guyana. Location Currently the Wapishana are located in the State of Roraima, Brazil, n ...

CoLang 2012 Kansas

CoLang 2012 was held at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. The directors were Arienne Dwyer and Carlos Nash. The practicum languages were

Amazigh , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

, and Uda.

CoLang 2014 Texas

CoLang 2014 was held at the University of Texas Arlington. The director was Colleen Fitzgerald. The practicum languages were

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, Apoala Mixtec (course in Spanish),

Innu The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period ( French for "mountain people", English pronunciation: ), are the Indigenous inhabitants of territory in the ...

, and Ngambai.

CoLang 2016 Alaska

CoLang 2016 was held at the

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-grant research university in College, Alaska, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was established in 1917 and opened for cla ...

. The directors were Alice Taff and Siri Tuttle. The practicum languages were

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

, Miyako, and

Unangam Tunuu Aleut () or ''Unangam Tunuu'' is the language spoken by the Aleut living in the Aleutian Islands, Pribilof Islands, Commander Islands, and the Alaska Peninsula (in Aleut , the origin of the state name Alaska). Aleut is the sole language in the A ...

CoLang 2018 Florida

CoLang 2018 was be held at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. The director was George Aaron Broadwell. The practicum languages were

Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The var ...

, Macuiltianguis Zapotec, and Nyangbo (Tutrugbu).

CoLang 2022 Montana

CoLang 2020 was to be held at the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

, co-directed by Mizuki Miyashita and Susan Penfield. It was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, but took place in 2022. The practicum languages were

Northern Cheyenne The Northern Cheyenne Tribe of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation ( chy, Tsėhéstáno; formerly named the Tongue River) is the federally recognized Northern Cheyenne tribe. Located in southeastern Montana, the reservation is approximately ...

and

South Bolivian Quechua South Bolivian Quechua, also known as Central Bolivian Quechua, is a dialect of Southern Quechua spoken in Bolivia and adjacent areas of Argentina, where it is also known as ''Colla''. It is not to be confused with North Bolivian Quechua, which is ...

Advisory Circle

The CoLang Advisory Circle provides long-term stewardship of the Institute and guidance to the Local Organizing Committee for each individual Institute; it also seeks to develop public awareness of CoLang and the institute's commitment toward preserving and sustaining language diversity.

Current Advisory Circle

''Current as of February 2017'' *Fakhruddin Akhunzada (2020) *Aaron Broadwell (2020) *Ewa Czaykowska-Higgins (2018) (co-convener) *Susan Gehr (2018) (co-convener) * Spike Gildea (2020) *Seunghun J. Lee (2020) *Megan Lukaniec (2018) *Leroi Morgan (2020) *Carolyn O'Meara (2020) *Jean-Luc Pierite (2020) *Heather Powell (2020) *

Keren Rice Keren Rice (born 1949) is a Canadian linguist. She is a professor of linguistics and serves as the Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Initiatives at the University of Toronto. Education and career Rice earned her PhD in 1976 from the Univ ...

(2018) *Kris Stenzel (2020) *Alice Taff (2020) *Adrienne Tsikewa (2018) * Kevin Martens Wong (2018)

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{Official website, http://www.linguistics.ucsb.edu/faculty/infield/, InField 2008 official website Linguistic societies 2008 establishments in the United States Language documentation