The Endangered Language Archive (ELAR) is a digital repository preserving and publishing endangered language documentation materials from around the world. The materials we hold are digital, and are freely available (after free registration).
ELAR was originally funded by Arcadia
and is part of the Library
of SOAS University of London.
Click a region above to view browsable collections. To see all collections, click 'Search' at the centre.
Documentation of house construction and terrace farming in Zargulla, an endangered Omotic language
Azeb Amha
Documentation of house construction and terrace farming in Zargulla, an endangered Omotic language....
Recording and archiving Barayin (Jalkiya) language data
Joseph Lovestrand
Documentation of Barayin, a Chadic language of Chad....
Documentation of Danau, an endangered language of Myanmar (Burma)
Aung Si
Documenting Danau, an endangered language of Myanmar...
Initial Documentation of Na'ahai, a language of Malakula, Vanuatu
Anastasia Riehl
Documentation of Na'ahai in the form of a basic grammatical sketch as well as a transcribed and translated collection of audio and video recordings ...
Documentation of the Syntax and Specialized Uses of Q'anjob'al (Maya)
B'alam Mateo
Documentation of the syntax of complex predicates and endangered speciialized uses of Q'anjob'al in Santa Eulalia, Guatemala ....
Description and Documentation of Lelepa, an Endangered Language of Central Vanuatu
Sebastien Lacrampe
A corpus of annotated texts from Lelepa speakers....
Trevor Johnston
Auslan (Australian Sign Language) is the native signed language of the deaf community in Australia. The collection includes video recordings of natu...
Documentation of fishing practices among the Dwang
James Essegbey
Documentation of the fishing practices of the Dwang communities who live around the south of the Volta Lake....
Sophie Mu
Description of Pela an endangered language with special focus on the effects of close contact with Zaiwa and Mandarin....
Documenting libation rituals in Kiong, South-Eastern Nigeria
Eyo Mensah
Documentation of libation rituals in Kiong, a language with less than 100 speakers in Akamkpa and Odukpani areas of Cross River State, Nigeria....
Preliminary Documentation of Macau Sign Language
Felix Yim Binh Sze
Documentation of Macau Sign Language....
Documentation and description of Hidatsa
Indrek Park
Documentation and description of Hidatsa, a language spoken by less than 200 people in North Dakota....
Throughout the site you see ELAR's access protocol categories, like this: O U S . Materials marked as O U S can be accessed by anyone, even users who have not registered with ELAR. Materials marked as O U S can be accessed by any registered user of ELAR who has agreed to the Terms and Conditions of using ELAR. Materials marked as O U S are restricted in access, and registered users can apply for access to these resources.
Why apply for an account?
Anyone can browse the ELAR catalogue of endangered language collections and can learn about the materials ELAR holds.
To listen and watch the recordings in the collections you need to register as a user and agree to the Terms and Conditions of using ELAR. Registration is free, and after registration all materials are openly accessible to you. Some sensitive materials require special access permissions, and as a registered user you can apply for access to these resources.
To apply for an account, you must provide your real name. We do not allow anonymous accounts or fictitious identities. Accounts for ordinary user access are automatically granted on application.
If you forgot your username or password, please contact elararchive@soas.ac.uk