FEL is a philanthropic foundation which is based in the UK. FEL depends on membership and donations for its small grant program, which offers around USD $1,000 for language maintenance and linguistic field work.
FEL accepts proposals for projects of work that will support, enable or assist the use of one or more endangered languages. These endangered languages may be anywhere in the world. The Foundation is committed to raising awareness of endangered languages and supporting revitalization and preservation of endangered languages through all channels and media. The Foundation awards grants to projects that further its aims as and when its funds permit. Priority is given to projects that focus on the revitalization of endangered languages and support the use of endangered languages in various spheres of community life (home, education, cultural and social life). Any language documentation proposals must have a clear and immediate relevance to prospects for language revitalization.
Note that FEL will read and provide feedback on draft applications from community applicants.
Deadlines
Applications are usually due in September with decisions announced in October.
Examples of funded projects
Duna; Publish a booklet
Principal investigator: Lila San Roque
The Duna people live in a remote area of the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. Their language and culture have suffered intense upheaval over the past decades as they have come into contact with national and global communities, including missionising and mining organisations. Today, Duna people are coping with severe disadvantage in areas of health, education, income and land productivity. People continue to take strength from their sense of Duna identity and community but a key feature of this identity, the Duna language, has a doubtful future. Duna is not used for basic literacy and numeracy education in elementary schools, and there are hardly any Duna print media available. In April 2009 teachers in the Duna-speaking area got together to develop some school and health materials written in Duna. This project will print these booklets and transport them to Duna schools and aid posts, providing a step towards Duna people being able to access basic education and life-saving information in their own language.
Paresi; Document the language
Principal investigator: Ana Paula Barros Brandao
The Paresi people number approximately 2000. To date, the Paresi language has had limited documentation. The goal of this project is to document the Paresi language, contributing to its preservation and revitalization, and to advance linguistic research about the language. These Indians are divided in at least three subgroups: Kashíniti, Waimaré, and Korázini (Kozarene). The majority of the population is bilingual in Paresi and Portuguese, with Paresi as their first language. Paresi has a low number of speakers and a high degree of endangerment. Approximately half a dozen or fewer speak the Waimaré variety, and the Kaxiniti variety is almost extinct with only two or three speakers.