International Research Fellow Awards: Data Collection for a Study of the History of Greenland and the Greenlandic Language

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9901437BergeThe International Research Fellow Awards Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct three to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad.This award will provide Dr. Anna Berge with support for twelve months to work with Dr. Michael Fortescue at the University of Copenhagen, in the Department of Eskimology in Denmark.Dr. Berge is studying the history of Greenlandic, a dialect of the Inuit (Eskimo) language. The vast majority of work on Greenlandic has been produced in Denmark. The Institute of Eskimology is one of the foremost centers of the study of Greenland and Greenlandic. The history of West Greenlandic Eskimo has not been studied to any great extent. This knowledge would make a valuable contribution to historical linguistics. In Denmark, she will have access to library and archival materials, as well as to experts in the field of Eskimology. There are written records of Greenlandic that go back to the 17th century. The results of her research will provide insight into the development of Greenlandic in historic times, which will lead to a better understanding of topicality and text structure, which is an understudied aspect of linguistics. Dr. Fortescue, the Chair of the Institute, is an expert in the study of Greenlandic. He has produced a comparative Eskimo dictionary with historical reconstruction of Proto-Eskimo words.***