Canada Institute of Linguistics

09/14/2026

Most of the world’s languages weren’t born small. They were made small.

Some were pushed to the edges by schools that taught children their mother tongue did not count. Others were divided by borders or displaced by policies that treated certain languages as worth preserving and others as worth replacing.

The result is a quiet emergency.

Hundreds of languages have never been written down. Thousands more are spoken fluently today but remain untaught, placing them at risk of falling silent within a generation.

When a language disappears, a community can lose far more than words. Stories, knowledge, cultural memory, identity, and a distinct way of understanding the world can disappear with it.

But language loss is not inevitable.

Languages can be studied, documented, written, taught, translated, and passed on. That work requires people with specialized training who are prepared to listen, learn, and work in genuine partnership with the communities whose languages they serve.

That is the work CanIL exists for.

Learn how language development strengthens communities and helps make Scripture accessible in the languages people know best: canil.ca/the-work

09/10/2026

As a new academic year begins, we want to offer a blessing to the friends who make CanIL’s work possible.

You walked with us as we renovated and expanded our learning spaces. Now we are seeing that growth extend beyond our walls, through the expanding Master of Arts in Translation of Scripture (MATS) program, the addition of TBTA, and a new group of students preparing to serve language communities around the world.

This growth is not about becoming larger for its own sake. It is about making room for more people to be trained, more translation teams to be strengthened, and more communities to engage Scripture in the languages they know best.

As we enter this new season, we pray that God will also strengthen and guide you:

May He give you courage to make room for what He is bringing.
May He strengthen what has already been established.
May He provide what is needed for every new step.
And may your faithfulness bear fruit beyond what you can presently see.

“Enlarge the place of your tent… lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” Isaiah 54:2

Thank you for walking with CanIL into this new season.

09/08/2026

𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐘 𝐃𝐀𝐘
𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥

Today is International Literacy Day.

Literacy opens doors to education, participation, opportunity, and passing knowledge from one generation to the next. But for many language communities, the journey toward literacy begins long before a book reaches a classroom.

It begins with listening carefully to the sounds of a language.

It may require developing a writing system alongside the people who speak it, documenting words and grammar, creating reading materials, and equipping local teachers and literacy workers.

This is part of the patient work of language development.

At CanIL, we train people to serve alongside language communities so their languages can be studied, written, read, strengthened, and passed on. For many communities, that journey also creates a path toward engaging Scripture in the language they know best.

On International Literacy Day, we honour the linguists, educators, translators, literacy specialists, and community members doing this careful work around the world.

May their work be strengthened. May more people have the opportunity to read and write in their own language. And may every language community know that their words matter.

Learn more about language development and explore our new website at canil.ca



📷: A boy practices reading aloud in front of a classroom by Zeke du Plessis via the Wycliffe Global Alliance Photo Library (Skip). CC:BY 4.0 [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/]

09/08/2026

welcome back /ˈwɛlkəm bæk/
𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯

1. What you say when familiar voices return, and new ones join the conversation.
2. A sign that classrooms will soon be filled with curious questions, linguistic puzzles and plenty of coffee.
3. The beginning of discovering just how much meaning can live in a single word.

At CanIL, a new semester means learning to listen carefully, ask better questions and serve language communities with skill and respect.

Whether this is your first semester or you already know your way around the Harvest Centre, we are so glad you’re here.

Welcome back to CanIL. Let’s see where language takes us this semester.

07/09/2026

𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜.

Not impatiently. Carefully.

A young couple, linguists in training, not yet in the field, is sitting with a language they've never spoken, analyzing stories told by people similar to those they hope to serve one day. They're in a season of in-between. Resting. Preparing. Trusting that the quiet work of now is somehow connected to something much larger later.

This summer, they're taking a course through CanIL.

They don't know yet exactly where they'll go or which community will become home. But they're sharpening their tools, building their skills, and learning to hold the tension between eagerness and patience because they know the people waiting for Scripture in their own language have been waiting far longer than they have.

This is the kind of person CanIL exists for.

And this summer, our campus is full of them.

👉 Want to be part of what's next? Learn more about studying at CanIL: https://www.canil.ca/wordpress/general-admissions/steps-to-apply/

06/09/2026

Only 3,800 people speak Notsi.

For some, that raised the question: Is it worth translating the New Testament for a language community that small?

This article answers with a quiet but powerful yes.

The Notsi people of Papua New Guinea already had access to Scripture in English and Tok Pisin. But access is not the same as understanding. And understanding is not the same as hearing God’s Word in the language that carries your family, your prayers, your stories, and your identity.

Many language communities have been told, directly or indirectly, that their language is not a “real” language or that their culture does not matter.

Bible translation says something different.

It says every language community has dignity. Every mother tongue matters. And every person should have the opportunity to encounter Scripture in words that are accurate, clear, natural, and truly understood.

This is why Bible translation is still needed today.

At CanIL, we help train linguists, translators, literacy specialists, and consultants to serve language communities with skill, humility, and respect.

Read the full article here: https://www.christianitytoday.com/2026/06/papua-new-guinea-notsi-bible-translation/

05/01/2026

Today we’re at OCHEC (Ontario Christian Home Educators’ Connection) at Redeemer University, meeting students and inviting them into something bigger.

Before Scripture reaches a community, someone has to be trained.
That conversation might start here.

Thank you for praying with us today.

04/08/2026

At CanIL, we believe God has entrusted us with the most powerful words in the world. To help us steward that mission, we need an operational visionary. 📖✨

We’re hiring a Vice President of Operations.

This role is perfect for the leader who loves building healthy systems and even healthier teams. From overseeing campus life to refining institutional workflows, you’ll be the engine that keeps our mission moving forward.

Why CanIL?
✅Meaningful global impact.
✅A collaborative, faith-based environment.
✅Benefits including TWU tuition perks.

Join a team where your leadership directly empowers language communities around the globe.

Learn more and apply, click the link in the comment section below.

04/03/2026

The Canada Institute of Linguistics is looking for a Vice President of Operations. If you have a passion for language, God's Word, and serving others with your administrative gifts, please check out the job posting here:

Canada Institute of Linguistics CanIL Vice President of Operations Location: CanIL, Langley, British Columbia Position Type: Full-time Salary Range: $80,0

04/01/2026

Most people will never see the part of Bible translation that happens before the field.

Before Scripture reaches a village, before literacy materials are developed, before a translator begins the careful work of making God’s Word accurate, clear, and natural in another language, someone has to be trained.

That is part of what we do at CanIL.

We prepare students with the linguistic, cultural, biblical, and practical training needed to serve languages and communities with great care.

This work matters because language matters. People should be able to encounter Scripture in words they can truly understand.

At CanIL, we help form the people who will go on to do that work around the world.

What part of Bible translation have you never thought about before?