In Honor of Ken Hale: Special Session at the 2007 Athabaskan Languages Conference

对濒危语言的研究很大程度上要归功于已故的肯尼斯·黑尔的工作。黑尔不仅在理解几十种语言的结构方面做了开创性的工作，他还指导了许多以母语为母语的人，这些人后来对母语的语言学研究做出了重大贡献。黑尔研究的语言包括阿萨巴斯坎语、新墨西哥州北部和亚利桑那州使用的纳瓦霍语；他还训练了几位以纳瓦霍语为母语的人，使他们成为有成就的语言学家。他对这一种语言的研究影响了整个家族的语言研究，从南部的纳瓦霍语和阿帕奇语到北部的斯拉维语和开利语。所有这些语言都表现出当前语言学理论难以解释的复杂性。这些语言的科学研究从这位杰出的语言学家的关注中受益的许多方面将被探索。该奖项将支持2007年阿萨巴斯坎语言会议的特别会议，该会议将首次在纳瓦霍民族的边界内举行。它将由纳瓦霍语言学院（NLA）主办，并得到斯沃斯莫尔学院的额外支持。这次会议将扩大代表性不足的群体在科学研究和教育方面的参与，包括许多阿萨巴斯坎语的母语人士。会议的参与者将包括处于职业生涯各个阶段的语言学家（包括研究生）、语言教师和纳瓦霍社区的其他成员。这次会议还将使阿萨巴斯坎社区受益，因为它将把语言学者和教育工作者聚集在一起，分享处理语言流失常见问题的策略。本次会议的论文将刊登在《美国语言学国际杂志》的特刊上。会议的目的是消除社区之间的界限，加强所有人的努力。

The study of endangered languages is highly indebted to the work of the late Kenneth Hale. Not only did Hale do pioneering work on understanding the structure of dozens of languages, he mentored many native speakers who subsequently made significant contributions to the linguistic study of their own language. Among the languages Hale worked on was the Athabaskan language Navajo, spoken in northern New Mexico and Arizona; he also trained several native speakers of Navajo to become accomplished linguists in their own right. His efforts with this one language have influenced work on languages from the entire family, which stretches from Navajo and Apache in the south to Slavey and Carrier in the north. All these languages exhibit a complexity that is not easily accounted for by current linguistic theory. The many ways in which the scientific study of these languages benefited from the attention of this extraordinary linguist will be explored. This award will support a special session at the 2007 Athabaskan Languages Conference at Window Rock, AZ, and the first time this conference has met within the borders of the Navajo Nation. It will be hosted by the Navajo Language Academy (NLA) with additional support from Swarthmore College. The conference will broaden participation of underrepresented groups in scientific research and education by the inclusion of many native speakers of Athabaskan languages. Participants in the conference will include linguists at all stages of their careers (including graduate students), language teachers, and other members of the Navajo community. The conference will also benefit Athabaskan communities by bringing together language scholars and educators to share strategies to deal with common problems of language attrition. Papers from this session will appear in a special issue of the International Journal of American Linguistics. The conference is designed to eliminate boundaries between communities to strengthen the efforts of all.