Summer Institute of Linguistics
SIL International is a non-profit scientific organization with the main purpose to study, develop and document lesser-known languages for the purpose of expanding linguistic knowledge, promoting world literacy and aiding minority language development. It provides resources in language research through Ethnologue.com.
SIL International, originally the Summer Institute of Linguistics, started as a small summer training session in Arkansas in 1934 to familiarize missionaries of what later became Wycliffe Bible Translators with basic linguistic, anthropological and translation principles.
SIL holds formal consultative status with UNESCO and United Nations. SIL also holds non-government ogranization status in many countries.
The international headquarters of SIL are at
- 7500 West Camp Wisdom Road
- Dallas, Texas, 75236 USA
SIL code
Some common SIL codes are listed below.
The entire list can be dowloaded from http://www.ethnologue.com/codes/#downloading
