My IYIL2019

SOAS Language Fest

Join SOAS World Language Institute and the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) to celebrate International Mother Language Day. This year, 2019 is also UNESCO’s International Year of Indigenous Languages, which aims to raise awareness and to promote and ensure access to indigenous languages. The year will bring global attention to the risks for indigenous languages and their significance for sustainable development, governance and peace-building.

SOAS staff, students and visitors will come together to showcase SOAS work on languages.

  • Come and tell if you are indigenous and, if so, to where?
  • Learn how Wikimedia is supporting smaller language communities and improving language content on Wikipedia.
  • Watch a Tigrinya animation, based on the testimonies of Eritrean refugees fleeing from their homes to Europe made by PositiveNegatives.
  • Record your languages for the SOAS We Talk map and discover the diversity of languages spoken at SOAS.
  • Find out more about the work of the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme (ELDP) and the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR)
  • Listen to short flash talks throughout the day on languages including Newar, Tamil and Gikuyu.
  • See how artist Mary Kuper is inspired by metaphors from different languages in her artwork.
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