ELDP // PRESERVING ENDANGERED LANGUAGES

Rapid Grants support initial fieldwork aimed at assessing the viability of a documentation project, initial engagement with a language community, and preliminary data collection such as word lists to establish language status and/or genealogical status. The grants can be used to support focused work on a specific language that is either known to be endangered or where there is evidence that it is likely endangered. They can also be used to support linguistic survey work for areas where the current situation is poorly known but where there is a strong likelihood that endangered languages are spoken/signed. ELDP especially welcomes applications from documenters from communities speaking/signing endangered languages, local scholars and students from the country where the language is spoken/signed, and collaborative projects.

Rapid Grant applications should demonstrate due diligence with regard to the language to be documented, including prior research on existing resources, sociolinguistic context, and the ethical and practical feasibility of the proposed work as far as this is possible. Applications will be assessed using the same criteria as other ELDP applications, though assessed less stringently, in particular with respect to questions concerning the endangerment status of the language and the willingness of the community to participate in a project, which cannot be established before a preliminary trip takes place.

The maximum grant amount is 5,000 € and the maximum project duration is six months. Rapid Grants are offered on a rolling basis, meaning that they can be submitted at any time. Notification of results will usually occur within two months of submission.









Who can apply?
ELDP welcomes applications from language documenters of any nationality to undertake projects in any part of the world. Applicants are normally expected to have some experience in language documentation, fieldwork, and/or a suitable academic background. It is expected that the applicant has done due diligence with regard to the language to be documented

If you have already engaged in fieldwork or documentation work, your application will also be evaluated with regard to your track record in language documentation and archiving. If you have created documentary records (e.g., audio/video recordings; transcriptions, translations and annotations of recordings; lexical databases or word lists), we encourage you to ensure your resources are archived and made accessible in a trusted repository.

Rapid Grants are paid directly to the Grantee and do not require a host institution.


What we don’t fund
• Proposals that do not demonstrate the potential to be developed into a subsequent language documentation project.
• Projects whose primary objective is not language documentation but data collection for MA or BA thesis.
• Continuation of an already ongoing project or repeat visits to previously funded field sites.
• Travel to communities where the language is not considered endangered.


For information on the different types of grant we offer, read the grant type descriptions.

Please contact at eldp@eldp.net us if you have questions or would like further information.