Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (Inalco)

The National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations (fr: Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales) is a famous French institution teaching languages that span Central Europe, Africa, Asia, America and Oceania. It is often colloquially called Langues O (pronounced "lang-zo"), an abbreviation for "Langues Orientales", and more recently l'INALCO.

Research at Inalco combines aera studies and academic fields. Researchers study languages and civilizations that are increasingly in the spotlight — Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and as far as the Arctic — and are central to the major issues of the 21st century. Fourteen teams, often partnered with other research organizations, PhD programs, and a publishing service form the backbone of research at Inalco. Inalco also has a project management and knowledge transfer service.

The research teams, administration offices and doctoral school are housed in a building dedicated entirely to research, with access to a full range of support functions: assistance in preparing research proposals and grant applications, organizing scientific events, looking for partnerships and funding, publication support, internal funding, and communication.

• 200 faculty members
• 300 PhD students
• 14 research teams
• 100 scientific events per year

An international institute
Thanks to over 200 partnership agreements, Inalco conducts research projects in over one hundred countries and offers joint programs with foreign universities. This allows Inalco students and the students of international partners to complement their studies with an immersion experience. Inalco offers distance courses via videoconferencing and online learning content: Inuktitut (Inuit language), Estonian, and soon Swahili (African language).

Inalco is an active member of Sorbonne Paris Cité, a major player in higher education and research worldwide with 120,000 students, 8,500 faculty members, and 6,000 technical and administrative staff. Branches have been opened in Singapore, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo.

The foundation strives to develop the preservation, study, transmission, development and interaction of languages and culturess in France and around the world with projects involving the Institute’s expertise: education, research, advancing knowledge and skills in a globalized world.

More than 120 nationalities represented by Inalco faculty and students.The Institute, along with its teachers, students and partners, organizes over a hundred cultural events a year. Inalco also participates in several international film festivals and makes every effort to share its knowledge and expertise with society.