Documenting ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥n and Neighboring Languages
Michael Krauss
Principal Investigator
Eyak texts, grammar, lexicon
ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ is the original home of two great American language families, Eskimo-Aleut and Athabascan-Eyak-Tlingit.
Both families have spread far beyond ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ with Eskimo-Aleut through Canada to Greenland and parts of Athabascan-Eyak-Tlingit almost to Mexico.With the exception of Central ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥n Yup'ik, the number of children speaking these languages in ÀÖ»¢Ö±²¥ is minimal.
The present project is the lexical documentation of these acutely endangered languages. Prioritization is on lexicon because lexicon is less structured or cohesive than grammar, so it is more difficult to document comprehensively and easier to forget. A good dictionary, including affixes and textual examples will document more grammar than a good grammar will document lexicon.
Our project documents a wide breath of knowledge practical for scientists, students and communities which are home to these languages.