The Endangered Languages Project (ELP) is seeking interns for the summer of 2023.
Interns will contribute to developing our new website and Revitalization Helpdesk
platform, expanding and translating our library of information and resources about
endangered languages, widening our network of international language champions, and
gathering and sharing stories about language work.
The Endangered Languages Project was founded in 2012, as a collaborative online space to
share information, ideas, and digital resources to support revitalization and documentation
of the world’s endangered languages. Our lead partners are the First Peoples’ Cultural
Council and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of Linguistics. Learn more
about us, and our current staff and former interns.
We’re a small organization committed to building capacity for Indigenous and endangered-
language communities to achieve their language goals, making knowledge about language
work accessible to those who need it, and fostering relationships between people working
to support language diversity. We’re looking for people who are passionate about language
documentation and revitalization, and who are looking to gain experience in research, data
management, digital outreach, and/or volunteer-based translation project management.
Position Description
These are part-time (10 hours/week), paid contract positions via First Peoples’ Cultural
Council, reporting directly to the ELP Program Manager. The internship duration is 12
weeks (June 5-August 25, 2023). These positions are fully remote; applicants located
anywhere in the world are eligible and encouraged to apply.
For this position, we are seeking people who are committed to revitalizing Indigenous and
endangered languages, and creating digital resources to support language champions
around the world. If you’re interested in using technology to support language
documentation and revitalization, passionate about international collaboration, and eager
to get hands-on experience in digital research, outreach, or translation management, this
internship might be for you.
Position Responsibilities
At ELP, we like to tailor internship roles to individuals’ interests and skills and work with
you to find where you’d best fit into our work. These are general outlines of what a summer
internship might involve, but interns are also encouraged to choose ELP projects or tasks
that appeal to them. If one or more of the following roles sounds like a good fit for you, we
encourage you to apply.
Research and data management
Do you excel at tracking down information, and finding resources hidden in the far corners
of the internet? Do you have great critical thinking skills, and the ability to identify and
describe the key ideas in a document? Do you find it incredibly satisfying to organize
knowledge neatly in spreadsheets? Do you have a keen eye for information management,
and a knack for cleaning up messy data sets? We’d love to work with you on expanding our
library of language information and resources! Duties include:
• Gathering information about language vitality: assist the Catalogue of Endangered
Languages team in gathering, organizing, and inputting information about the vitality of specific languages
• Expanding our library of multimedia resources: identify and organize videos, audio files, web resources, and documents about specific languages to add to ELP’s resource library
• Categorizing and tagging a large collection of resources and publications about language revitalization and documentation
• Gathering information about language revitalization efforts: help identify, organize,
and input information about existing language revitalization, documentation, and advocacy programs
• Expanding our bibliography: identify publications about specific topics in language
documentation, revitalization, and advocacy; input bibliographic references; and check/clean up existing bibliographic data sets.
Translation management
Do you believe everyone deserves access to learning resources in their own languages? Are
you highly organized, great at keeping track of complicated projects, and a big fan of
spreadsheets? Maybe you even have experience as a translator or translation project
manager? We’d love to work with you on coordinating volunteer translations of ELP
materials! Position duties include:
Working with volunteer translators around the world to make ELP resources
available in other languages
○ Bonus if you’re able to talk with volunteers in languages other than English!
● Managing workflow, coordinating with volunteers, and tracking progress on many
different ELP translation projects
● Growing our network of volunteer translators, expanding our infrastructure for in-
house translation, and spreading the word about how translators can support
language revitalization
○ Bonus if you’re a translator yourself, and would like to contribute
translations in any language!
Outreach
Do you love sharing important stories through social media? Does writing engaging,
informative posts come naturally to you? Are you great at summarizing complex stories,
and getting important points across in an accessible way? We’d love to work with you on
our social media and digital outreach! Position duties include:
● Gathering compelling materials about endangered languages, language
revitalization, and related topics – news stories, documentaries, podcasts, etc.
○ Bonus if you’re able to curate material in languages other than English!
● Creating original social media content for ELP, using our existing templates and
guidelines
● Assisting with compiling content for monthly ELP newsletter
● Conducting outreach to language champions in your own networks, sharing about
language revitalization work and ways they can get involved
Required Qualifications and Attributes
● Commitment to language documentation, revitalization, and advocacy
● Fluency in English (sorry – it’s our only shared working language!)
● Access to a computer and reliable internet
● Good understanding of issues surrounding Indigenous/endangered languages
● Excellent communication skills, both written and oral
● Superb time management and organizational skills
● Strong research and critical thinking abilities: able to identify the information
needed for a task, and independently find that information
● Basic technical skills & software knowledge:
○ Productivity software (Word, Excel, Google Docs, email, etc.)
○ Telecommunications & social media (Zoom, Facebook, Instagram, etc.)
○ General internet skills (data entry/management using web forms, finding
information and relevant web resources, etc.)
Preferred Qualifications and Attributes
● Member of an Indigenous or endangered-language community
● Some training in language revitalization, documentation, linguistics, or other
relevant topics (undergraduate/graduate students welcome)
● Fluent in a language other than English – Spanish, French, Hindi, Arabic, or any
other languages of wider communication with global communities a bonus
● Intermediate technical skills – familiarity with bibliography and data management
tools
● Ability/interest to remain in an internship position after the summer, through the
2023-2024 academic year
How to Apply
To apply, please fill out the application form at https://www.surveyhero.com/c/qj3evgnv,
and attach your current CV and personal statement. Your personal statement should
describe your background, training, and experience in language work; your values and
goals in working with Indigenous and endangered-language communities; your strengths
and skills; and why you’d like to work with ELP.
We will begin reviewing applications on May 10, 2023. If you have any questions about
this position, please contact Anna Belew, ELP Program Manager, at
anna@endangeredlanguages.com.
We are committed to equity and diversity in our work. People of all nationalities, genders,
religions, and cultural backgrounds are encouraged to apply; we especially encourage
members of Indigenous and endangered-language communities to apply for this position.
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