Collaborative Research: Descriptive and Theoretical Studies of N|u

在国家科学基金会的支持下，Amanda Miller-Ockhuizen博士、Chris Collins博士和Bonny Sands博士将对N|U进行为期两年的研究，N|U是南非使用的一种濒危的Khoesan语言。在研究N|U的发音时，研究小组将专注于诸如点击的物理属性和罕见元音类型等问题。该小组还将记录N|U的基本词法和句法结构，并将编制该语言的四种语言词典(N|U-English-Afrikaans-Khoekhoe)。该项目的数据将通过记录北大剩余约20名发言者的发言来获得。记录濒危语言是至关重要的，因为每种语言都反映了一种独特的文化，并包含了丰富的科学信息。经验性充分的理论依赖于对各种语言的表述。这个项目将提供关于一种具有一些稀有属性的语言的新信息。这一项目产生的词典将提供给北欧社区，供其扫盲和语言规划活动之用。将向该地区的社区、当地语言学家以及有关的政府和非政府组织提供所有收集的材料和各种调查结果的副本。研究小组将与纳米比亚大学、开普敦大学和多伦多大学的霍桑语言学者合作。该项目还包括对一名年轻的纳米比亚语言学家和一名康奈尔大学的研究生进行研究培训

With National Science Foundation support, Drs. Amanda Miller-Ockhuizen, Chris Collins, and Bonny Sands will conduct two years of research on N|u, an endangered Khoesan language spoken in South Africa. In studying the sounds of N|u, the research team will focus on issues such as the physical properties of clicks and typologically rare vowels. The team will also document basic morphological and syntactic structures of N|u, and they will produce a quadrilingual dictionary of the language (N|u-English-Afrikaans-Khoekhoe). The data for the project will be obtained by recording the speech of the approximately 20 remaining speakers of N|u. The documentation of endangered languages is critical because every language reflects a unique culture and contains a wealth of scientific information. Empirically adequate theories depend on representation of the full range of languages. This project will contribute new information on a language with some rare properties. The dictionary resulting from this project will be provided to the N|u community for their literacy and language planning activities. Copies of all the materials collected and the results of the various investigations will be made available to the community, local linguists, and relevant governmental and non-governmental organizations in the region. The research team will collaborate with scholars of Khoesan languages from the University of Namibia, the University of Cape Town, and the University of Toronto. The project also includes research training for a young Namibian linguist and a graduate student at Cornell University