Native American Language Center

Justin Spence, Director
Martha J. Macri, Director Emerita
Zoila Mendoza, Associate Director
Liza Grandia, Associate Director

Goals: to encourage linguistic research on Native American languages, to foster the intergenerational transfer of language knowledge in Native American communities, and to develop a sustained and productive relationship between Native American linguistic scholarship and the needs and aspirations of Native American people. The Center encourages the active participation of scholars and students, both native and non-native, in the task of language preservation and revitalization, while also providing the resources and support for the training of a new and engaged generation of linguists.

NALC Projects

Hupa Online Dictionary and Texts

Sustainable Futures for California’s Indigenous Languages: Resource Development, Training, and Visibility (sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation)

J. P. Harrington Database Project

Quechua Language and Society

Maya Hieroglyphic Database Project (sponsored by NSF and NEH)

Links to related websites:

Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival
Society for the Study of American Indian Linguistics (SSILA)
Survey of California and Other Indian Languages
Terralingua Partnerships for Linguistic and Biological Diversity


Last updated March 25, 2022.