Indigenous Peoples possess unique perspectives of the world that will be lost if their knowledge and heritage are not documented, studied and protected. If we lose this knowledge, we are losing part of our own heritage.

This 862-page monograph is a grammar of Thangmi, an endangered Tibeto-Burman language spoken in the districts of Dolakha and Sindhupalcok in central-eastern Nepal.

A synchronic description of the endangered Slovene dialect spoken in the Gailtal valley in Carinthia, Austria.

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Lecture

Linguist Willem Adelaar was appointed to Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion on October 1st. On that very same day he celebrated his 43-year connection to Leiden University. Adelaar has an impressive track record in the field of indigenous, and often endangered, Amerindian languages.

This work provides a typologically oriented description of clause linkage strategies in Ket, a highly endangered language spoken in Central Siberia. It is now the only surviving member of the Yeniseian language family with the last remaining speakers residing in the north of Russia’s Krasnoyarsk pro…

On the 23rd of September, George Saad successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates George on this achievement!

Language offers new insights into our history, cultural differences, migration, and the way in which our brain processes information. This knowledge can in turn help us understand what it means to be human, as well as opening the way to many practical applications. In order to realise these goals, linguists…

This research project focuses on the extended documentation and investigation of these non-Austronesian (‘Papuan’) languages.

The present investigation aims at exploring whether the instruction provided at secondary schools in the capital meets the requirements of Communicative Language Teaching and whether the aims of improving learners’ communicative proficiency are met.

The ultimate aim of the project is to find out whether there are such things as

Like any language, the natural sign languages (henceforth: SLs) of deaf communities differ from each other in their grammars and lexicons. A growing number of studies indicates that SLs make use of the gestures of hearing speakers to build linguistic structure. This implies that variation and similarities…

This project explores how Muslim authorities and writers use Russian to transmit Islamic contents, and whether this leads to a specific "Islamic sociolect" of the Russian language.

On October 31st, Paul Noorlander succesfully defended his doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Paul on this great result.

The aim of this project is the linguistic documentation of Bakola, a Narrow Bantu language.

Ethiopian wolves are endangered diurnal Afroalpine rodent hunters. I investigated the interaction between wolves, rodents and human land use in Borena Sayint National Park (BSNP), Abune Yosef and Aboi Gara in Ethiopia.

The Academic Language Centre organises language courses for companies, government agencies, private clients, and students and staff members of Leiden University.

Exploring new methods in comparing Sign Language corpora: Analysing cross-linguistic variation in the lexicon

This proposal aims at the construction of a comprehensive and authoritative scientific grammar for Dutch and Frisian in the form of a virtual language institute: het Taalportaal/the Language Portal.

Languages of The Hague is a collection of columns on languages and language which were published between 2016 and 2018 in the weekly newspaper Den Haag Centraal.

French Language and Linguistics at Leiden University offers a wide array of courses covering theoretical and applied linguistics, including language acquisition, syntax, and semantics.

English Language and Linguistics at Leiden University focuses on English language usage and linguistics around the world, including in countries where English is spoken as a second language or as part of a mixed language.

The programme for the Modern Languages specialisation is a one-year programme within the masters's degree in Linguistics at Leiden University. In the course of the programme you will be able to focus on one of five language themes, or a combination thereof: Chinese Linguistics, English Linguistics,…

Chinese Linguistics at Leiden University offers you an excellent opportunity to concentrate on the different aspects of the languages of China, especially their sounds and syntax.

The language learning resource centre unites all language teaching professionals working at Leiden University: teachers and researchers at the LUCL, ATC, LUCAS, LIAS, and ICLON.

The role of language in self-regulation and social behavior in children with an extra X chromosome

On the 4th of June, Andreas Joswig successfully defended his doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Andreas on this great result.

Languages spoken around the world differ vastly from  the more familiar Indo-European languages. The courses in this theme aim to introduce you to the immense linguistic diversity still found in the world today. 

German Language and Linguistics at Leiden University offers in-depth knowledge of German linguistic theory and practice.

Italian Language and Linguistics at Leiden University draws on diachronic and synchronic perspectives to bring you an advanced qualification in Italian linguistics.

Anyone who creates a page for a magazine, a PowerPoint presentation, a brochure, a poster or dreams up an idea for an infographic is faced with important questions:

To make successful communication possible, people need much more than their knowledge of the language system.

Dear students, All our courses will be taught online. To be able to participate in a course, you are advised to use a headset with microphone. The following requirements also apply: Minimum hardware requirements Minimum internet requirements To check that everything is working properly, please…

Collaborative linguistic research on indigenous languages of Ecuador: description, documentation & materials

Throughout the year, the Netherlands Flemish Institute organises Arabic Language courses for the general public. Registration is now open for the courses on the left.

Knowledge and culture subproject 2: "Language and number" of Leiden University Centre for Linguistics

Important notice: we have decided to cancel the Dutch courses for the time being, in line with Leiden University regulation. There will not be an online replacement of the Dutch courses. We will reassess the situation in January 2021. The institute offers Dutch language courses for foreigners on…

How did common people write in the late eighteenth century? Little is yet known on this topic, since our knowledge is mainly based on printed texts written by a small part of the (male) elite population. This dissertation – written from a sociolinguistic point of view – gives us new insights into late-…

Publishing about your research is a key aspect of your career as a researcher; the majority of research publications are written in English. When applying for research funding, too, it is very important to ensure that your application is written in clear, accessible English. Maria Sherwood-Smith, Academic…

In the Bachelor's programme Dutch Language and Culture at Leiden University you will learn to analyse how people use the Dutch language, culture and media and to place it in an international perspective.

By studying language you can reconstruct the history of different communities, even when no other historical sources, such as written documents, are available. In the coming years, researchers Willem Adelaar and Marian Klamer will be carrying out this kind of reconstruction in areas of great linguistic…

Germany has an important position in Europe, both economically as well as politically and culturally. In the Bachelor's programme German Language and Culture you will dive into the rich language, history and literature of this influencial country and discover what it has to offer!