Featured Story
Language City @ Little Island
A new outdoor performance series premiering in August 2024 at Little Island — about the past, present, and future of the most linguistically diverse city in history
Forging a Future for Languages
Founded in 2010, the Endangered Language Alliance (ELA) is a non-profit dedicated to documenting Indigenous, minority, and endangered languages, supporting linguistic diversity in New York City and beyond.
Featured Language
Bishnupriya Manipuri
Bishnupriya Manipuri is a language spoken by over 100,000 people in the Indian states of Assam and Tripura and the neighboring Bangladeshi state of Sylhet and is related to such major regional languages as Bengali and Assamese. Bishnupriya Manipuri people have continually struggled for recognition of their rights and their culture in the face of larger groups.
ELA at a Glance
10 Projects
With ten current larger-scale projects and additional work on individual languages, ELA focuses on communities and individuals in the New York City area.
42 Languages
ELA has worked to different degrees on numerous projects with speakers of over a hundred languages spoken in New York City and beyond. More in-depth work continues on the several dozen featured here.
1 Mission
ELA's network is an extended family of linguists, language activists, community leaders, students, volunteers, and lovers of language in NYC and the world over.
Introducing ELA
Recent Updates
Language City: The Show—Coming in 2 Weeks!
Get ready for Language City, an outdoor performance about the past, present, and future of New York — the world’s most linguistically diverse city. The project is a collaboration between ELA and Gung Ho Projects, premiering at Little Island, Manhattan’s extraordinary new park, on August 14, 15, 17, and 18 at 6:30 pm (note no…
New Shopify Store Live!
Thanks for your patience as we slowly edge our way into the modern world! Check out https://elalliance.myshopify.com/, where it’s easy than ever to donate any amount to ELA or give to get one of our maps, t-shirts, or storybooks. It’ll soon be integrated into this site as well. Shoot us a note at info@elalliance.org if…