PHOTO: 2012 Uda Practica class lead by instructor Eno-Abasi Urua and speakers Prince Chris Abasi Eyo and Barrister Mfon Ibok Asanaenyi at University of Kansas
Next CoLang
Co-hosted by the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community and Arizona State University, CoLang 2024 will take place Arizona! Please view their website which provides general information about CoLang.
Costs
The cost of attending CoLang as a participant varies significantly from institute to institute. Participants should budget for the following: travel to and from the institute, housing (usually on campus dorms), meals (usually meal tickets for campus dining), and tuition.
For information about the cost of attending the next CoLang, visit the host site by clicking the Current Institute button at the top of the page.
Finding Funding
Check out this webinar on finding funding to attend CoLang.
Scholarships are available to defray costs for participants.
The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) offers several CoLang fellowships for students. Applicants must be student members of the LSA. Non-members may join LSA through their website. Applications will open after the annual LSA meeting.
The Endangered Language Fund (ELF) has scholarships to attend the two-week workshops. The Language Legacies scholarships has an annual Springtime deadline, and can support any student. Additional funds are available on an annual Fall deadline for eligible Tribal citizens and eligible languages through the Native Voices Endowment. Potential applicants should reach out to the president (elf@yale.edu) with questions.
The host institute may have opportunities for other funding. For information about all current scholarships, visit the current host’s site using the top right button in the menu bar. If the current website is not up yet, here is a list of past scholarships to give you a sense of what may be available.
What People Are Saying
In the past I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit trying to teach myself how to use tools like Toolbox and ELAN. At CoLang, on the other hand, I learned in well-structured classes from and with other people who do language documentation. I met other language activists and got ideas for what I can be doing in my own community along with their first-hand experiences of pitfalls and solutions.
Lindsay Marean
Potawatomi
InField '10
CoLang '12
I am a language activist. Before attending InField 2008, I, with assistance from a group of other community members, had struggled to write a dictionary of my community’s language for over six years. These would become the very first dictionary of Ekegusii language of Abagusii of Kenya.
Attending InField 2008 with my colleague was our defining moment.
We trained on lexicography, grant writing, field methods and advocacy which catapulted us. We met friendly instructors who willingly assisted us in migrating the data we had accumulated into appropriate software for dictionary writing and language documentation. It was such a tremendous step. I was inspired.
K. M. Bosire
As a professor and Chair of my department, I have been occupied with administrative duties and I have hardly had time to do linguistic work for a while.
I needed the FLEx knowledge for my dictionary project on Leggbo. The progress of this project has been greatly enhanced by the FLEx tool. The courses were ‘refreshing’, considering that I felt ‘rusty’ in some areas, and the exchange of practical field experiences was quite useful.
I recommend CoLang to both professors and students. The elders learn from the young and the young benefit from the elders’ experience.
Imelda Icheji Lawrence Udoh
University of Uyo
CoLang ‘12
I was first introduced to InField/CoLang back in 2010 as a trainer, and what came out of those weeks there was something I did not expect. That was the formation of working relationships and friendships that still continue today. It is one thing to pass on training to someone but it is another to be asked to be part of their journey especially when it is as special as this, documenting and doing everything we can in keeping our old languages alive.
Daryn McKenny
Miromaa Aboriginal Language & Technology Centre
Attended inField 2010 in Eugene
I went to InField 2010 at the University of Oregon because I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to graduate school. I went because I wanted to get an idea of what a career in linguistics looked like. I went because I saw the names of some of my linguistic heroes on the schedule. What I experienced at InField changed the entire trajectory of my life.
I learned so much from both the courses and the people I met; every day was an emotional as well as academic education. I never made it through a single morning plenary without tears in my eyes. I was determined that I would go to graduate school, and would educate myself to do the most good for the most people.
I met my future advisor at InField 2010, and the goal of my dissertation is to create and perfect a rapid assessment toolkit for language programs.
I came to InField a directionless and naive academic, and I left as an informed and determined human being.
I still have my notes from that last evening, when Chief Ferdinand Mande of the Kari'nja Indians spoke to us. Chief Mande said:
I have learned so many things I didn't know before. They give me power. They give me knowledge. Even as the dominant language speakers are developing their own language, [...] all those languages are developing themselves today, [...] I have respect for it all. I have respect for you because you have so many knowledge in your brain. Well my brothers and sisters in America, let me think very deep in my history, let me forget anything thats happened to us, that's not needed today.
What is needed today is that we come together, talk together, meet together, that we meet together and learn together, and show the big world that we can, yet you must want to do that too, because if you don't have the will, you will never get to.
Melody Ann Ross
InField 2010
FAQs
What are the benefits of attending CoLang?
Training in best practices in language documentation and revitalization
Instructors from all over the world
Networking with students, practicing linguists and indigenous community members
Customizable courses ranging from basic linguistics, technology, community language work, and applied language work
Networking with top scholars in a variety of fields
Field Methods/Practicum courses
I am from outside the U.S. Am I eligible to attend?
Yes. Participants from other countries are always welcome at CoLang. Please contact the host committee if you need an invitation letter to start the visa process for your country.
I’m not a student. Can I still attend CoLang?
Yes. CoLang is for a wide variety of people interested in language documentation and revitalization, including Indigenous community members, undergraduate and graduate students and practicing linguists.
Will I need to join the Linguistic Society of America or another organization to attend?
You do not need to join the Linguistic Society of America (LSA) unless you are applying for a scholarship from the LSA.
Are there any skill or educational prerequisites to attending?
The institute is a collaborative learning environment. We encourage anyone with interest to apply. To get the most out of the workshops, participants should be high school graduates with some experience with either linguistics, community language speaking or learning, or language activism.
Do I have to be working with a community to attend?
No. You do not need to be working with a specific community to attend CoLang.
Is CoLang open to Undergraduates?
Yes. The program is useful for undergraduates studying linguistics or anthropology.