Xinkan, Pipil and Mocho: Bringing Three Endangered Language Documentation Projects to Completion

Xinkan， Pipil和Mocho’：完成三个濒危语言文献项目濒危语言的问题可能被认为是语言学中最优先考虑的问题——当一种未被描述的语言灭绝时，许多宝贵的科学信息也随之丢失。该项目的三个组成部分——Xinkan（危地马拉的三种语言）、Pipil（萨尔瓦多的语言）和Mocho - tuzantec（墨西哥恰帕斯州的玛雅语言）——涉及濒临灭绝、急需关注的语言。早些时候对这些语言进行了一些语言记录，但从未完成- -录音需要从退化中抢救出来，工作需要完成。本项目的目标包括：1。将这些语言的所有模拟录音数字化，以产生可供存档的数字录音以备保存。将所有书面（未发表）材料建立数据库；电子数据库将是制作词典和语法的基础，这是本项目的目标。从剩下的少数讲三种语言的人那里记录不同体裁的额外文本，录像和转录，并使其在网上可访问。4. 将这些材料提供给土著组织和社区，以帮助他们正在进行的语言复兴工作，以及各种各样的学者。5. 完成并出版这些语言的词典。6. 完成并出版各语言的语法。结果将增加对结构的理解，这反过来又对语言学理论的各个方面做出了重大贡献——理解世界语言的可能结构和特征的范围以及它们如何相互作用，从而对人类认知做出贡献——也就是说，对语言学家理论的一个主要目标。这些结果也有助于这些语言的历史，中美洲语言学，以及了解该地区的史前史。这项研究的实际好处包括培训几名研究生和土著社区成员；本科生参与实践研究；编写六种语言的词典和语法，这将成为土著社区和学校语言复兴计划的基础。这些产品将是对社区成员、语言学家和其他学者有价值的基本参考书。

Xinkan, Pipil, and Mocho':Bringing Three Endangered Language Documentation Projects to CompletionThe problem of endangered languages is recognized as perhaps the highest priority in Linguistics - when an undescribed language becomes extinct, much invaluable scientific information is lost with it. The three components of this project - Xinkan (three languages of Guatemala), Pipil (El Salvador), and Mocho'-Tuzantec (Mayan languages of Chiapas, Mexico) - involve languages critically near extinction and in need of urgent attention. Some linguistic documentation was undertaken earlier on these languages, but never completed - the recordings need to be rescued from deterioration and the work needs to be completed. This project's objectives include:1. To digitize all analog recordings of these languages to produce archive-ready digital recordings for preservation.2. To database all written (unpublished) materials; the electronic database will be the foundation for producing the dictionaries and grammars, objectives of this project.3. To record additional texts in various genres from the remaining few speakers of three languages, videotaping and transcribing them, and making them web-accessible. 4. To make these materials available to indigenous organizations and communities for their on-going language revitalization efforts, as well as to scholars of many sorts. 5. To complete and publish dictionaries of these languages. 6. To complete and publish grammars of the languages. The results will increase understanding of the structure, which in turn contributes significantly to aspects of linguistic theory - to understanding the range of possible structures and traits of the world's language and how they can interact, and thus to human cognition -, that is, to a major goal of linguist theory generally. The results also contribute to the history of these languages, to Mesoamerican linguistics, and to understanding the prehistory of the area. The practical benefits from this research include the training of several graduate students and members of indigenous communities; involvement of undergraduates in hands-on research; production of dictionaries and grammars for six languages, which will form the basis for language revitalization programs in the indigenous communities and schools. These products will be basic reference works valuable to community members, to linguists, and to other scholars.