Mixe-Zoquean and Zapotecan Documentation and Comparative Linguistics

这个为期三年的项目延期旨在推进Mixe Zoquean（MZ）和Zapotecan（Zn）语言的比较研究。它延长并完成了一个项目开始于1994年规模较小，变成了一个大规模的项目1995 - 1998。该项目旨在为10种MZ语言和可能的20种Zn语言中的11种语言（包括所有分支的代表）编制词典和文本集。这些数据需要为比较重建和随后的语法描述提供基础。 词典对词素和词干进行了详细的分类，并记录了人种生物学、名称和声音象征。词汇收集是电子数据库。词典将在万维网上公布，也将以印刷书籍的形式出现。这个项目所产生的词典比其他任何现有的词典都要广泛，有4500到6000个条目。 拟议的工作在几个领域具有重要意义。MZ和Zn语言都具有当前语言学理论感兴趣的结构特性，尽管它们在结构上高度不同。值得注意的是，MZ具有作格性和OV形态句法，Zn具有音调和动词上的前缀和proclitics的不透明系统。该项目有可能对早期中美洲文化和语言历史做出重大贡献; MZ语言由奥尔梅克人使用，在奥尔梅克时代具有影响力，随后影响了该地区的许多其他语言。它有助于正在进行的epi Olmec wnting的破译;其文本的解释在很大程度上依赖于MZ比较研究，这在最初的破译中至关重要。Zn比较研究虽然落后于MZ研究，但已经在推进对瓦哈卡文字的解读。最后，它还包括一项重大的语言抢救行动，帮助保存美洲语言遗产的重要组成部分。

This three year project extension is designed to advance the comparative study of Mixe Zoquean (MZ) and Zapotecan (Zn) languages. It extends and completes a project begun on a smaller scale in 1994 and turned into a large scale project for 1995 1998. The project aims to produce dictionaries and text collections for the 10 MZ languages and 11 of the perhaps 20 Zn languages (with representation from all the branches). This data is needed to provide the foundation both for comparative reconstruction and for subsequent grammatical description. The dictionaries classify morphemes and stems in great detail, and document ethnobiology, names, and sound symbolism. The lexical collections are electronically databased. Dictionaries will be posted on the WorldWideWeb and will also appear as printed books. The dictionaries produced by this project are more extensive than any otherwise available, having 4500 to 6000 entries. The proposed work is significant in several areas. Both MZ and Zn languages have structural properties of interest to current linguistic theory, although they are structurally highly dissimilar. Notably, MZ has ergativity and OV morphosyntax, and Zn has tones and an often opaque system of prefixes and proclitics on verbs. The project has the potential to make a major contribution to early Mesoamerican cultural and linguistic history; MZ languages were spoken by Olmecs, and were influential at the Olmec era and subsequently in affecting many other languages in the area. It contributes to the ongoing decipherment of epi Olmec wnting; the interpretation of its texts depends heavily upon MZ comparative studies, which were crucial in the original decipherment. Zn comparative studies, though lagging behind MZ studies, are already advancing the decipherment of Oaxacan writing. Finally, it includes a major language salvage operation, helping to preserve an important part of the linguistic heritage of the Americas.