This year we did a bit of everything: a book, a play, a summer program, a huge range of events for different audiences, and—as always—ongoing original research with languages and communities from around the world. Worldwide, it was a year dominated by consequential elections and questions of migration, mobility, and culture. As the only organization…
What is the future of linguistic diversity in America? Today it is more uncertain than ever. This land is home to hundreds of Native languages and has received hundreds more through immigration—nowhere more so than in ELA’s home of New York City—but very few of those languages are assured a future here. Language shift and…
Recent events at ELA have included weekly textile and language sessions with Indigenous Mexican New York women (below right) and a workshop with Indian “fontwallah”, master typographer and calligrapher Rajeev Prakash Khare organized by his niece, actor/playwright Shubhra Prakash (below left). Not to mention a very ELA celebration (not pictured) of El dia de los…
Since this summer, an ELA team has been working closely and consistently with a young Afghani refugee from the remote Nuristan region, which contains a group of languages that have long puzzled specialists as to their historical position within the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European. We have been working with her to map the sound system, basic vocabulary and…
Get ready for Language City, an outdoor performance about the past, present, and future of New York — the world’s most linguistically diverse city. The project is a collaboration between ELA and Gung Ho Projects, premiering at Little Island, Manhattan’s extraordinary new park, on August 14, 15, 17, and 18 at 6:30 pm (note no…
Thanks for your patience as we slowly edge our way into the modern world! Check out https://elalliance.myshopify.com/, where it’s easy than ever to donate any amount to ELA or give to get one of our maps, t-shirts, or storybooks. It’ll soon be integrated into this site as well. Shoot us a note at info@elalliance.org if…
In “The World Capital of Endangered Languages”, New York Times journalist Alex Carp follows ELA’s work documenting and mapping endangered languages in New York and beyond. Citing LANGUAGE CITY—the new book about the city’s languages and ELA’s work by co-director Ross Perlin—the piece also features (literally) moving portraits of speakers of a dozen languages from…
Free upcoming NYC and virtual events for LANGUAGE CITY, the story of NYC’s linguistic diversity and ELA’s work—with more to come! Tuesday 2/20, 7 pm: Strand Bookstore (Manhattan) w/Thomas Dyja (SOLD OUT) Wednesday 2/28, 6:30 pm: Gotham Center for NYC History (virtual) w/Nancy Foner (SOLD OUT) Sunday 3/3, 7:30 pm: Topos Too (Queens) w/Maru Ponce Wednesday…
Happy International Mother Language Day! We’re celebrating with the launch of ELA Co-Director Ross Perlin’s new book Language City: The Fight to Preserve Endangered Mother Tongues in New York. The book is about the past, present, and future of the most linguistically diverse place in history, New York City, as told through ELA’s work at the…
For a limited time only, we are offering maps which have experienced some wear and tear, but are still very much legible, for just $20 to cover our expenses. In perfect condition these go for $50. See the image below. Note that the corners of the maps may be bent, and some of the surface may…
Our free event series Unheard Of! Languages and Literatures from Around the World continues. There’s no event on May 16 has been cancelled, but the last event of the season (NYC Poetry in Every Language) will be live at ELA on June 13, 6:30 pm (3 W 18th Street, 6th Fl). Details and free RSVP here:…
Join us on April 4 at 6:30 for Teaching Endangered Languages Against the Odds, part of our continuing event series Unheard Of! Languages and Literatures from Around the World. It’s free and open all to all — just let us know you’re coming by RSVPing here. The location is ELA’s office in Manhattan at 3 W 18th Street (6th…
Next week comes the next installement of our free event series Unheard Of! Languages and Literatures from Around the World. It’s free and open all to all — just let us know you’re coming by RSVPing here. The location is ELA’s office in Manhattan at 3 W 18th Street (6th Floor), close to Union Square and a…
Come celebrate International Mother Language Day (2/21) live at ELA in NYC! Throughout the day, we have three in-person events throughout the day. RSVP here and drop in for any or all. 1:30-2:30 pm: “Why and how should we protect multilingualism?” A panel discussion hosted virtually by Manchester City of Languages as part of the Muslim Arts &…
Save the dates! Announcing the return of ELA’s long-running event series “Unheard Of! Languages and Literatures From Around the World”—one per month, Tuesday evenings, live in NYC, free and open to all, about, in, around, and for Language.
With #GivingTuesday next week and the holidays coming up, give the person you love who loves languages a unique gift—by supporting our year-end Facebook fundraiser! (You can also give with a credit card via Paypal or by mailing us a check.) Donate just $40 ($10 off) to get an all-color, full-scale (24” x 36”, standard-frame-size)…
ELA is looking for a short-term, part-time volunteer to help catalog and organize its print and digital collections, with any needed training and supervision provided. This will take place in person at our 18th Street office in Manhattan, beginning as soon as possible, with flexible scheduling but some weekday availability preferred. No experience required, but…
On September 25, ELA was invited to table at the annual Bronx Native American Festival in Pelham Bay Park. For over 25 years, master of ceremonies Bobby Gonzalez has led the celebration, inviting a number of musicians, dancers, and storytellers to share traditions from a wide range of Native cultures. Indigenous representation ranged from Taino…
In July, ELA launched a slew of new programs run by and centered on East Harlem’s Indigenous community, where Tu’un Savi (Mixtec), Mam, Nahuatl, and other Indigenous Latin American languages are spoken. Health—and particularly health literacy—has been at the heart of these programs, which are all about the connections between health on the one hand…
On June 15, ELA was at Queens Borough Hall with the founders of the Queens Night Market, the Queens Historical Society, the Queens Library, students from Newcomers High School, and a number of other groups as part of the inaugural Festival of NY. We showed the language map, introduced ELA’s work, and met an amazing…
On May 1, ELA Co-Director Daniel Kaufman and long-time ELA collaborator and Tu’un Savi (Mixtec) speaker Ismael Alvarez take on the grueling 40-mile Five Boro Bike Tour for the cause of Indigenous languages. Support our small fundraiser here: https://gofund.me/75117eee Every dollar raised will go to compensating speakers of Ismael’s mother tongue, Tu’un Savi (Mixteco), to record, transcribe and translate…
Let’s be realistic. When a year begins with an attempted insurrection intent on replacing the few remnants of democracy with a fascist ethnostate, it leaves a lot of room for improvement over the next 11 months. Under such circumstances, just keeping the lights on can feel like landing on Mars! For the second year in…
To say thank you for your donations, we have gifts at special prices through the end of the year: language maps, t-shirts, and storybooks. Children’s books, recordings with elders, free public events, digital mapping, public health messages in Indigenous languages by and for Indigenous communities — these are just some of the things that ELA…
Join us this coming Saturday October 16 from 1 pm to celebrate the closing of two artist installations at the ELA house on Governors Island: Mother Tongues by Yuri Marder and The Migration Codex by Cinthya Santos Briones. Meet the artists and come hear music and poetry in the Indigenous languages of Mexico! Mixtec music master…