Language documentation in diaspora contexts has advantages, especially in the long-term collaborations that are sometimes possible, as well as drawbacks that lead us to undertake "home region" fieldwork as well when possible.
ELA follows best practice ethical guidelines in its research, and a substantial portion of our work is explicitly collaborative, shaped from the beginning by community or speaker initiative and interest.
ELA uses a variety of tools, from specialized linguistics hardware and software such as Fieldworks Explorer (FLEx) and ELAN to more general tools for sharing materials with communities and the general public.
The following is a very abbreviated list of relevant references to books and articles arranged by topic on language fieldwork, linguistic diversity, endangerment, revitalization, and ethics.
The acronym ELA echoes the Yahgan word aiala /aiawala/ [eɑala] ‘visible; light; knowledge; wise, intelligent; to know, to learn, to understand, to be conscious, to take in the meaning’.
