FYI: 2005 Endangered Language Fund Grant Awardees

Author:	Nick Emlen
Linguistic Field(s):	General Linguistics Language Documentation
FYI Body:	The Endangered Language Fund is happy to announce the 2005 grant awardees: Laureano Segovia - Documenting Wichi Language and Traditional Culture Wichi is a Matacoan language spoken in Argentina and southeastern Bolivia. The goal of the project is to document the last speakers of Wichi. Based on the recorded interviews, the researcher will produce a website and a printed collection of their accounts. Ethnologue code: [WLV] Elena V. Perekhvalskaya, St. Petersburg State University - Online Documentation of Udihe The Udihe language is spoken by fewer than 100 people in the Russian Far East. This project proposes to create a multimedia collection of linguistic and cultural information on Udihe available for public use on the internet. Ethnologue code: [UDE] Andrew Garrett, University of California, Berkeley; Melodie George, Hoopa Valley High School; Victor Golla, Humboldt State University / University of California, Davis - A Returning Fluent Hupa Speaker: Documentation and Digital Language Materials Hupa, an Athabaskan language spoken in and near Hoopa Valley in northwestern California, has eight fluent speakers, all of whom are elderly. This year, a fluent Hupa speaker who has not been part of the speech community for many decades will work with the tribal language program. This project will document the returning speaker's language, and will help with the development of the recordings as educational resources. Ethnologue code: [HUP] Joel Nasveira Simo, Vanuatu National Language Committee - Reviving Vanuatu's Dying Languages The Mores language, spoken by around 75 people, is one of 32 languages spoken on the island of Santo in Vanuatu. Mores has never been studied, and there has never been an attempt to develop an orthography for the language. The researcher plans to make recordings of the language to be used for analysis of the grammar and phonology, as well as an archive of the oral history. He will also develop an orthography and literacy materials to be used in Mores language classes. Ethnologue code: [LMB] Mark Turin, University of Cambridge - Thangmi Shamanic Chants: Preserving An Endangered Ritual Language And Tradition From Nepal Thangmi is spoken by a small ethnic group in Nepal, India, and Tibet. The researcher has collected over 100 oral narratives from the Thangmi shamans, which constitute the oral history of the people. In this project, Turin will transcribe and analyze these texts and prepare a glossary of the ritual lexicon and terminology used by Thangmi shamans for publication in print and online. Ethnologue code: [THF] Pastor Dawari Braide - Documentation And Preservation Of The Kalabari Language For Posterity Kalabari is a Niger-Congo language spoken in the Niger River delta of southern Nigeria. The researcher plans to develop a web-based bilingual lexicography of the Kalabari language to be used by the speakers, especially those in the Diaspora. He also intends to set up study centers in the urban centers and organize essay-writing competitions. Ethnologue code: [IJN] Rosa Vallejos, University of Oregon - Documenting The Language Of The Kokama-Kokamilla People The purpose of this project is to conduct fieldwork in two Kokama-Kokamilla communities in the Peruvian Amazon and to collect text data from some of the estimated 1,500 remaining native speakers. Products of the project will contribute to ongoing language revitalization efforts and will be available to members of the community. [cod] Gratien Gualbert Atindogbe, University of Buea - A Reference Grammar Of Barombi The Barombi is a language spoken by about 3,000 people in Cameroon. Barombi belongs to the Benue-Congo branch of the Bantu language family, and there has not yet been a thorough documentation of the language. This project aims at providing the Barombi speakers and any other interested researchers with an exhaustive grammatical study of the Barombi language. Atindogbe also hopes to clarify the relationship between the Barombi and Bankon languages, and between the other Bantu languages of Cameroon. Ethnologue code: [BBI] John P. Boyle, University of Chicago - Hidatsa Language Documentation and Revitalization Hidatsa is a Siouan language spoken by about 75 people, almost exclusively on the Ft. Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota. The researcher will develop a package of educational materials to be used by the middle and high school programs in Mandaree and New Town, North Dakota. Ethnologue code: [HID] Jorge Gomez Rendon, University of Amsterdam - Documented Survey of Sia Pedee and Development of Basic Teaching Materials Sia Pedee (also known as Epera) is a Chocoan language spoken in northern Ecuador. Rendon plans to conduct a linguistic and sociolinguistic survey and documentation of the language, which will include the development of an orthography for the language. He will also make an accurate assessment of the number of speakers, currently estimated at 250, and he will examine various aspects of the use and viability of the language. Selected recordings will be elaborated and incorporated as teaching materials to support a pilot bilingual education program. Ethnologue code: [SJA] Zelealem Leyew, University of Addis Ababa - Recording the Last Fluent Speakers of Kemantney The Kemant people live 800 miles northwest of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The goal of the research is to document the language by producing a dictionary and transcribed texts, which will be made available as a resource to the members of the community who are interested in maintaining the use of the language. Ethnologue code: [AHG] Tyler Peterson, University of British Columbia - Video Documentation of Gitksan Narratives: Legends, Life Stories, and My Day The Gitksan language is spoken by approximately 50 people in northwestern British Columbia, Canada. The researcher will document three specific manifestations of narrative form, none of which have been previously documented: traditional narratives and legends which have been passed through the generations, a story of the significant events of some of the speakers' lives, and the use of narratives related to daily living, which will reveal how the language has been adapted to express modern-day realities. Ethnologue code: [GIT]