Committee on Indigenous Languages and their Sustainability (COILS)

Background

Established in 1992 as the Committee on Engangered Languages and their Preservation (CELP).

Charge

Committee on Indigenous Languages and their Sustainability (COILS) calls attention to the rapid loss of language diversity and encourages the efforts to sustain the vitality of indigenous languages worldwide. 

Responsibilities

The work of the Committee includes but is not limited to the following:

• Promotes strategies for use by individuals, institutions, and communities to assist and support the maintenance and revitalization of language varieties in language communities at risk of, or currently experiencing, significant language or dialect loss.
• Assists institutions to offer training and degree programs oriented to the preparation of grammars and dictionaries of threatened and poorly documented languages, as well as to the documentation and study of naturally occurring speech of all kinds in communities whose traditional linguistic variety is threatened.
• Advocates for language diversity and the respect of all languages and their users.
• Promotes ethical practices of collaboration and partnership with members of endangered language communities by exploring shared interests and mutually beneficial projects.
• Coordinates activities with other organizations, including the Society for the Study of Indigenous Languages of the Americas (SSILA), the Permanent International Commitee/Comité International Permanent des Linguistes (CIPL), the American Anthropological Association (AAA), and the Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity (RNLD).
• Manages the Excellence in Community Linguistics Award nominations and selection process. 

Membership (open)

At least 6 members, serving three-year terms.

To join COILS, please click on the button below or login to the website and in the left side menu on the Member Portal click on "My Committees and SIGs." 

Committee Leaders

• Junior Chair: Daisy Rosenblum, University of British Columbia (2028) 
• Chair: Rolando Coto-Solano, Dartmouth College (2027) 
• Past Chair: Raymond Huaute, University of California Riverside (2026)
• Yanfei Lu, University of Toronto, student representative (2027)