SIL International serves people who speak the world’s lesser-known languages, assisting them to develop the skills and capacity necessary to preserve and revitalize their languages. As an international nongovernmental organization (INGO), SIL actively participates in networks and partnerships—with government organizations, other INGOs and local groups—which are vital to the support of minority language communities in their own language development efforts.

SIL International grew out of one man’s concern for people speaking ethnolinguistic minority languages that lacked written alphabets. William Cameron Townsend started SIL in 1934 as a small summer linguistics training program with two students. It has expanded to an organization of over 5,000 coming from over 60 countries. It has conducted linguistic analysis in over 1,800 languages spoken by 1.2 billion people in more than 70 countries.

SIL’s field linguists work in partnership with minority language speakers to collect, analyze, organize and publish language and culture data. SIL workers serve as technical advisors, teachers, consultants and facilitators. As an international advocate for minority language speakers, SIL is dedicated to supporting ethnic minority peoples worldwide in their efforts to preserve their languages and cultural identities into the 21st century.

As a faith-based organization, SIL’s staff share a Christian commitment to service, academic excellence and professional engagement. SIL makes its services available to all without regard to religious belief, political ideology, gender, race or ethnic background.

For more information, visit http://sil.org