NSF Dynamic Language Infrastructure - NEH Documenting Endangered Languages | 22 615

Opportunity Information: Apply for 22 615

The NSF Dynamic Language Infrastructure - NEH Documenting Endangered Languages opportunity is a joint funding effort between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) focused on endangered human languages, especially those that are both understudied and at risk of no longer being spoken. The program is framed around the urgency that a large share of the worlds roughly 7,000 living languages could disappear in the near future, and it targets that risk by supporting research that combines language documentation with modern computational and data-focused approaches. In practical terms, the goal is to strengthen the digital and computational foundations (infrastructure) that make endangered language research possible, reusable, and scalable over time.

Projects supported under this partnership are expected to advance what the solicitation calls dynamic language infrastructure, meaning the tools, methods, datasets, and workflows needed to collect, manage, analyze, and preserve endangered language materials in ways that remain useful as technology and research needs evolve. A major emphasis is placed on data management and archiving so that recordings, transcripts, annotations, and related products are curated responsibly and can be accessed and re-used by researchers, communities, and other stakeholders when appropriate. The program also highlights workforce development, aiming to help train and support the next generation of researchers working at the intersection of linguistics, humanities-oriented language documentation, and language technology.

The funding can be used for fieldwork and other core documentation activities tied to digital recording and analysis. This includes creating and organizing language resources such as lexicons and dictionaries, grammars, text collections and annotated text samples, and structured databases that capture linguistic information in formats suitable for long-term preservation and computational use. In addition to producing documentation products, projects may also contribute to improved practices for storing, describing, and sharing endangered language data through robust archival strategies and data standards.

Support is offered primarily through one- to three-year senior research grants as well as conference proposals. Conference proposals are an allowable mechanism when the convening itself is an important part of advancing the field, for example by coordinating shared infrastructure approaches, training, or community standards. A timing detail included in the notice is that conference proposals should generally be submitted at least a year before the conference date, and applicants are directed to NSF proposal guidance (PAPPG Chapter II.E.9) for requirements and submission expectations for conferences.

Administratively, this opportunity is listed as a discretionary grant program under NSF (Funding Opportunity Number 22-615), categorized within science and technology and other research and development, and associated with CFDA numbers 47.050, 47.070, 47.075, and 47.076. The posting indicates an expected number of awards of about 25 and notes an award ceiling value of 0 (which typically signals that a fixed cap is not specified in the posting summary and applicants should rely on the full solicitation for budget expectations and constraints). The original closing date shown is October 14, 2022. The eligibility field is summarized as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)," meaning applicants would need to consult the full solicitation language to confirm which organizations or individuals qualify under this specific partnership structure. Fellowship support is explicitly not included under this competition and is instead available through a separate NEH-administered funding opportunity.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NSF Dynamic Language Infrastructure - NEH Documenting Endangered Languages" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.050, 47.070, 47.075, 47.076.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 17, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 14, 2022 Senior research and conference proposals Senior research and conference proposals. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 25 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for 22 615

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