Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages

What Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages does

Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization founded in 2005 by linguist Gregory D. S. Anderson and headquartered in Salem, Oregon. It is dedicated to documenting and supporting the survival of endangered languages worldwide, serving indigenous communities, professional linguists, and indigenous language activists as its primary user segments. The organization has reached more than 100 endangered-language communities across 15 countries in North America, South America, Asia, Oceania, and Africa.

The organization's core technology is the Living Dictionaries platform (livingdictionaries.app), a free, mobile-friendly, collaborative multimedia web application that allows community activists and linguists to build online dictionaries for under-represented languages. The platform combines textual entries with embedded audio recordings of native speakers, photographs, and videos; supports real-time collaborative editing; offers batch dataset imports that populated entries for 30+ languages in 2023; and exposes a user interface translated into 14 languages. As of December 2023 the platform hosted over 209,000 dictionary entries across 400+ Living Dictionaries and served approximately 963 active citizen-linguists. Supporting resources include the Language Hotspots Database Project, the Language Sustainability Toolkit, and a 300-word Master Elicitation List for new dictionary projects.

The organization's business model is grants-and-donations-based rather than commercial. Primary funders include the U.S. National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Geographic Society, and private foundations such as The Zegar Family Foundation and the Richard and Mona L. Alonzo Family Fund, supplemented by individual donations. The Living Dictionaries platform is offered free of charge to all users; no fees are charged for access, account creation, batch imports, or technical support. Distribution is driven by direct fieldwork with indigenous communities, academic-conference participation (SEALS, DSNA, LACUS, ICAAL, SALA, etc.), and partnerships such as the 2024 'No Voice Left Behind' campaign with audio-equipment vendor Shure.

Name

Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages

Legal name

Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages

Website

https://livingtongues.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2005 that documents endangered languages through the Living Dictionaries collaborative multimedia platform, serving indigenous communities, linguists, and language activists across 15 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Language Documentation Services

NAICS

Language Schools (611630), Translation and Interpretation Services (541930)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Localization, Translation & Multilingual Publishing Tools (EDAFAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Heritage Language & Bilingual Maintenance Programs (EDAMAFAI), Classroom & Institutional Language Learning Platforms (Schools/Universities) (EDAFAOAI)

Keywords

• Language documentation
• Endangered language preservation
• Language revitalization
• Multimedia dictionaries
• Linguistic research

Headquarters

HQ city

Salem

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants and Donations: Living Tongues Institute is funded primarily through grants from organizations such as the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), National Science Foundation (NSF), National Geographic Society, and private foundations including the Zegar Family Foundation and Richard and Mona L. Alonzo Family Fund. Individual donations from supporters constitute additional funding. The organization is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit (EIN: 41-2183857).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages operates the Living Dictionaries platform—a free, mobile-friendly, collaborative multimedia web application that enables community activists, linguists, and indigenous speakers to build, maintain, and publish online dictionaries for endangered and under-represented languages. The platform combines language data with digital audio recordings of native speakers, photos, and videos, supporting real-time collaborative editing, batch data imports, and export/print functionality for offline use. Complementary offerings include the Language Hotspots Database Project, the Language Sustainability Toolkit, and The Master Elicitation List, all provided free of charge to support language documentation and revitalization efforts globally.

Product overview

Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages operates primarily through its Living Dictionaries platform—a free, mobile-friendly, collaborative multimedia web tool for creating online dictionaries for endangered and under-represented languages worldwide. The core Living Dictionaries platform (livingdictionaries.app) is complemented by the Language Hotspots Database Project, which compiles research data on areas with high linguistic diversity, and the Language Sustainability Toolkit providing educational resources for activists. The organization also runs The Master Elicitation List (300-word Excel list) for communities starting new dictionaries, and partners with Shure on the 'No Voice Left Behind' campaign for audio documentation. All products support the organization's mission to document endangered languages through technology, activism, and community empowerment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Living Dictionaries: Collaborative multimedia web tools - free, mobile-friendly, multimedia dictionary-builder for under-represented languages. Platform serves 400+ languages with over 209,000 dictionary entries.

Products and services

• Living Dictionaries A free, mobile-friendly, collaborative multimedia web platform that serves as a dictionary-builder for under-represented and endangered languages. It combines language data with digital audio recordings of native speakers, photos, and videos, allowing community activists and linguists to create never-out-of-print, infinitely expandable online dictionaries. Used by 963+ citizen-linguists across 400+ language communities globally.
• Language Hotspots Database Project An ongoing collaborative digital project compiling the latest linguistic, anthropological, and topographic data on endangered languages to create an online research tool for scholars and speakers of endangered languages. Language Hotspots are specific areas of the world where many endangered languages are clustered, exhibiting high levels of linguistic diversity and endangerment.
• Language Sustainability Toolkit Educational resources and tools provided by Living Tongues to support language activists and communities in their language revitalization efforts. Includes guidance on documentation methods, technology adoption, and community engagement.
• The Master Elicitation List A standardized word/phrase elicitation list provided as an Excel file (300-word list) for communities starting a Living Dictionary from scratch. Part of the training resources available for language documentation.
• Werikyana-Tiriyó-Portuguese-English Living Dictionary A quadrilingual Living Dictionary for the Werikyana language in the Brazilian Amazon with over 3,000 entries, audio recordings, and cultural content about local fauna, flora, and culture. First-ever digital resource for the Werikyana language, publicly accessible online.
• Brezhoneg (Breton) Living Dictionary A Living Dictionary for the Brezhoneg (Breton) language containing 300+ entries with audio recordings and translations in English and French. Created in collaboration with cultural non-profit Breizh Amerika and targeted at the Breton diaspora in Europe and North America.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 209,000 dictionary entries published online as of December 2023
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• ShureflagshipTechnology or Integration · 7 March 2024Living Tongues partnered with audio company Shure for the 'No Voice Left Behind' campaign to document endangered languages using Shure's MoveMic wireless microphone system. The partnership involved fieldwork recording Santali speakers in Assam, India, with photos and videos captured by Shure's visual artists. Living Tongues linguists Luke Horo, Pamir Gogoi, and Greg Anderson worked closely with Shure during fieldwork and interviews.
• 7000 LanguagescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 May 2022Partnership to create companion Living Dictionaries for online language courses developed by 7000 Languages. Living Dictionaries serve as free, never-out-of-print companion resources for language-learning courses, combining language data with audio recordings and multimedia for community activists and linguists engaged in revitalization programs.
• Breizh AmerikaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with cultural non-profit Breizh Amerika on the creation of the Brezhoneg Living Dictionary for the Breton diaspora in Europe and North America.
• Institute for Research and Indigenous Training (Iepé)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosted Werikyana Language Workshops for the Brazilian Amazon Werikyana language community. Iepé facilitated workshops and Living Tongues provided technical assistance for the quadrilingual Living Dictionary project funded by NSF grant BCS-2319628.
• University of OregoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Spike Gildea at University of Oregon on the Werikyana Living Dictionary project (NSF grant BCS-2319628 awarded to University of Oregon and Iepé).
• Global Coalition for Language RightsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLiving Tongues is a co-editor and active participant in the Global Coalition for Language Rights, participating in events and initiatives related to linguistic human rights.
• Linguapax InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the launch of Linguapax International Review 2023 for International Mother Language Day celebrations.
• Willamette UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for the 1st Annual Language Hotspots Workshop (July 2011) at the Center for Ancient Studies and Archaeology at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCiYtwIJ6yAgO2_IeLMgrirA/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/living.tongues
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/living-tongues-institute-for-endangered-languages

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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