Language Surveyor
(training duration: two summers or summer and fall semesters)

This track is recommended for those students planning to do linguistic survey, either with SIL International or with another agency. Surveyors working with SIL International will also participate in a six-month internship on the field before beginning independent survey work as part of a survey team. For more information about the Language Surveyor roles in SIL International, click here.

Of the more than 6,900 reported languages in the world today, a little less than half still need to be studied by language surveyors. Put simply, language survey is hands-on language research. This step is foundational to translation work and shows where the need is most critical. Surveyors travel to towns and villages, listening to and recording different languages and their dialects. By working in small groups, surveyors are able to tap into each of the talents needed to accomplish the task. Teams also provide the diverse perspective needed to understand unfamiliar languages and cultures. By studying the information gathered by language surveyors, governments, missions, churches and non-governmental organizations can make good decisions as to where to allocate resources for translation and literacy work.

Click for a partial list of current open survey positions in SIL International.

Language Survey Track

Summer 1

2nd Semester