Language Archive


source, code, software

SOAS Language Archives

The SOAS Language Archives contain digital repositories of language collections from around the world collected by SOAS staff and students, language documenters and grantees of the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme (ELDP).

The first repository available is the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR). It contains collections of endangered languages from all over the world with regional strongholds in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and Latin America.

The Cross Roads collection contains recordings made by the Leverhulme funded project of the same name, which ran betwen 2014 and 2018 in the Lower Casamance area of Senegal, West Africa.

Exploring ELAR

ELAR’s online catalogue allows registered users to view, stream and download material deposited by our depositors according to their and the communities’ access permissions.

You can explore collections by browsing our map, lists, and facets. Using the search bar, you can find a particular deposit by title or name of the depositor, or you can use keywords to search for materials across deposits. You will also find rich information about the context of each documentation project in the landing page for each deposit, as well as a citation template for referencing the deposit in academic publications.

Registration

Access to the files is often restricted to registered users of the archive. To register with ELAR, please follow the link to the SOAS Endangered Languages Archive registration page. The account is free.

To complete your registration, you must clearly identify yourself as a real and specific person. Anonymous and screen-name identities are not allowed. You also need to agree to the Terms and Conditions and activate your account via e-mail. See our Protocols for Access Management for more information.