Communities developing resources and competencies for using their languages
Foundational understanding for language development work of all kinds
Publications, fonts and computer tools for language development, translation and research
SIL offers training in disciplines relevant to sustainable language development.
7,105 languages are spoken or signed. CLICK for map of world languages & regional websites.
SIL's dedication to language development past and present
Rachel Walker's (1998) analysis of the universal characteristics of nasal spread provided a unified account of nasal spread that enabled the formulation of predictable spread patterns. The present analysis presents a new type of data not included in Walker's account: Yaminahua (Panoan) diverges significantly from hitherto identified patterns of nasal spread by allowing nasalization to skip over intervening nasalizable segments. By positing nasal autosegments this paper provides a rationale for the Yaminahua exceptions to Walker's universal pattern.