Institute of Rare Languages
ILARA, the Institute of Rare Languages, is one of the four Institutes of the École Pratique des Hautes Études – PSL. Like all the institutes of the EPHE - PSL, ILARA acts as a relay between the world of research and civil society or public institutions. Created on August 5, 2020, ILARA is a center for training, expertise and resources on rare languages, ancient or contemporary, with oral or written tradition. It has received support from the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation under the SHS 2020 Plan.
An introduction to rare languages: the training
ILARA trains people from all walks of life and attaches particular importance to initiation. It organizes training over one or two semesters, intensive sessions, as well as cycles of conferences on rare languages, their cultures, and their writing systems. All these conferences and training courses are open to general audiences without prerequisites. Certificates can be issued to registrants who wish to have these training courses validated, for example as part of a university degree or professional training.
A virtual offer: ILARA Online
In addition to face-to-face or videoconference training, ILARA offers virtual training, ILARA ONLINE, accessible at any time on its YouTube channel. Introductory conferences present the languages of the training programme. Thematic cycles, interviews, and live presentations about rare languages and the cultures associated with them are divided into series: Invitations, Openings and Cycles, Cultures, Speakers, Children, Researchers. Find all six ILARA series online and on its YouTube channel. ILARA pursues its mission of sharing knowledge on social networks: discover these scientific and cultural mediation posts (such as #unObjetuneLangue) on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Trainers and partners
To carry out its objectives, ILARA relies on the skills of the École Pratique des Hautes Études – PSL and the laboratories in which its lecturers carry out their research activity, in partnership with the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations and its main laboratories under the joint supervision of the CNRS. Lecturers are young researchers or recognized specialists, who find at ILARA the unique opportunity to transmit their knowledge on sometimes extremely rare languages.
At the end of 2021, the Atelier national de recherche typographique de Nancy (ANRT), focused on the creation of unicode fonts for extinct languages, became a partner of ILARA. ILARA welcomes new partnerships, in particular with administrations, establishments and bodies of the State and local authorities, and actors from the economic and non-profits worlds. ILARA cooperates with any French, foreign or international, governmental or non-governmental institution, organisation or association concerned with rare languages.
By introducing rare ancient and contemporary languages, ILARA provides the keys to understanding human beings and their societies, through the ages, in all their diversity and richness.
Director of ILARA
