Oneida Prosodic Categories Above the Word

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

ABSTRACT This project will involve the extensive recording of texts from speakers of Oneida with the goal of furthering understanding of the phonological, syntactic, and discourse properties of prosodic units previously termed "utterance" in the linguistic literature on Oneida and any other prosodic constituents intermediate between the word and "utterance". The texts will be tape- recorded, transcribed and translated into English, and then subjected to instrument measurement to determine pause and intonation patterns. A completed volume of texts will include morpheme-by-morpheme analyses and glosses. The project will be carried out in close collaboration with a respected speaker and teacher in the Oneida community. Such a collaboration will ensure the widest variety possible in the text sample. The collection of such textual material is seen as urgent, given the steady decreasing numbers of speakers of Oneida over the last two decades. It is anticipated that the text volume will benefit linguistics regardless of theoretical alignment and also community-based projects aimed at maintaining and preserving Oneida.