Community Linguist Certificate

The Community Linguist Certificate (CLC) provides linguistic analysis and language documentation training. It is directed at speakers and learners of Indigenous languages in North America, specifically those who are interested in preserving their languages. CILLDI offers the certificate, and it is awarded by the University of Alberta Faculty of Arts.

CLC holders might:

  • lead community-based language projects
  • produce dictionaries and grammars
  • develop new vocabulary items
  • oversee place-naming projects
  • hold orthography and literacy workshops
  • transcribe and archive personal stories and community histories
  • build language databases and websites
  • write grant proposals for community-based language projects.
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Who are CLC students?

Certificate students will likely have no prior exposure to linguistics. They may be speakers or semi-speakers of their Indigenous language, and they will have an abiding interest in preventing the loss of their language. Possibly, they have taken on the task of saving the language in their home community but need more expertise, material, and authority to make substantive changes. Students might hold a B.A. or B.Ed and simply be seeking specialized knowledge in Indigenous language documentation. CLC students might also be Elders or other fluent speakers, community language activists who wish to develop linguistic analysis skills so they can document their languages traditions or written literature.

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Which courses make up the CLC?

There are six courses that Community Linguist Certificate students must take to prepare them for community-based language documentation. Students usually take two courses per summer in the order listed:

Summer 1
INT D 311: Planning for Language Sustainability
INT D 318: Technologies for Language Documentation
Summer 2
LING 111: Linguistics for Language Revitalization
LING 211: Describing Sounds and Sound Patterns
Summer 3
LING 212: Describing Word and Sentence Patterns I
LING 213: Describing Word and Sentence Patterns II
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Deadline to apply: June 7th, 2024

Apply to the Summer School

Yes! CILLDI offers a limited amount of bursaries every summer school which cover the tuition and fees for any two CILLDI courses, and provide accommodateion support for in-person students.

Funding Opportunities

What are the costs of attending the Summer School?

The expenses associated with attending the summer school will vary from student to student. Please consult the Tuition and Fees page to learn more.

Tuition and Fees