SIL International

SIL International (formerly known as Summer Institute of Linguistics) 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 translating the Bible. 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 International now engages in non-sectarian community development work throughout the world.

Its international headquarters are at

7500 West Camp Wisdom Road

Dallas, Texas, 75236 USA

SIL holds formal consultative status with UNESCO and United Nations.

SIL code

Some common SIL codes are listed below.

• CHN Mandarin Chinese
• DUT Dutch
• ENG English
• FRN French
• SWD Swedish

The entire list can be dowloaded from http://www.ethnologue.com/codes/#downloading

External links

• SIL international
• Ethnologue.com