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Language
Hotspots Project
Language Hotspots was conceived and developed by Dr. Greg
Anderson and Dr. David Harrison at the Living Tongues
Institute for Endangered Languages. It is a radically new
way to look at the distribution of global linguistic
diversity, to assess the threat of extinction, and to
prioritize research. We define hotspots as concentrated
regions of the world having the highest level of linguistic
diversity (see below), the highest levels of endangerment,
and the least-studied languages. Rather than simply counting
languages, Hotspots take into account the number of language
families (which we call "genetic units") represented in an
area to calculate linguistic diversity. Click here for more
on Language Hotspots and our
Expeditions and
the Expedition Team.
Language Hotspots are areas that are urgently in need
of action and should be the areas of highest priority in
planning future research projects and channeling funding
streams. Language Hotspots represent areas where we find a
concentration of
three logically independent factors,
a high average level of endangerment, a high degree of
linguistic diversity (calculated on the level of language
family not individual language) and a low average level of
prior documentation.
Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages has
identified roughly twenty such Language Hotspots and has
begun pilot expeditions to two Hotspots in 2007 (Central
South America and Northern Australia) with ones planned for
a further three Hotspots for 2008.
The Language Hotspots list became a major research
agenda for 2005-2006 for Living Tongues Institute for
Endangered Languages. A
white paper outlining the
research program was written in 2006 and revised in 2007 by
Dr. Greg Anderson and Dr. David Harrison. It was presented
formally to National Geographic in September 2006 and is now
the core part of the Society’s Mission Programs’ Enduring
Voices Project.
In February 2007 the science behind the
Eastern Siberia
Language Hotspot was given a public presentation at the
annual meeting of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science. The Enduring Voices Project and the
Global Language Hotspots List and map developed by Living
Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages was announced
formally in September 2007.
Hotspots
Expeditions
Australia 2007 {link to EV/Australia Expedition page}
Enduring Voices Language
Hotspot
Expedition Team
http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/langhotspots/profiles.html
Gregory D. S. Anderson
K. David Harrison
Chris Rainier
Current
Hotspots Map
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE MAP*
Language
Hotspots
Selected Materials:
Eastern
Siberia Language Hotspot
http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/langhotspots/hotspots/ESI/index.html
Hand-drawn map of Eastern Siberia Language Hotspot
(The Even language is in blue-green on the map, but is
missing from the ledger to the map.
Northern
and Central Australia Language Hotspot
http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/langhotspots/hotspots/NCA/index.html
Audio
Samples
Clifton Biendurry and Annette
Kogolo Walmajarri Translators, Kimberley Interpreting
(Click
play button once or twice to open in your default audio
player. Some files are larger and may take longer to load)
Southern
South America Hotspot
http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/langhotspots/hotspots/SSA/index.html
(Click
play button once or twice to open in your default audio
player. Some files are larger and may take longer to load)
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