Doctoral Dissertation Research: A Grammar and Interlinearized Texts of Northern Mao, an Understudied Omotic Language

北方毛语，在埃塞俄比亚西部的巴米扬镇和迪德萨山谷及其周围地区使用，是毛语组的一员，是Omotic语系中研究最少的分支。 本论文的研究将产生一部北方毛语参考语法，其特点是首次对语音系统和语法结构进行完整的描写和分析。 这项工作还将产生一个北方毛语、阿姆哈拉语（埃塞俄比亚的民族语言之一）和英语的3,000个词条词汇表;一个民间故事和其他文本的集合，翻译成阿姆哈拉语和英语，并附有语法注释;以及一个关于北方毛语生命力的研究，这被认为是一种濒危语言，可能在一两代人内灭绝。 语法、其他材料输出和伴随的数字录音将在语言因与其他语言接触而发生巨大变化或完全消失之前为科学界提供北方毛语的全面文献。北方毛族项目还将以下列方式使毛族人民受益：将首次开发实用的书写系统;词汇表将帮助讲毛族语的学生学习阿姆哈拉语和英语;所收集的文本可供毛族扫盲学校使用。 这些结果符合埃塞俄比亚目前的政策，即保障少数民族语言发展自己的语言作为教学媒介的权利，这些材料将分发给当地社区领导人、学校和政府官员。

The Northern Mao language, spoken in and around Bambassi town and the Diddessa valley of western Ethiopia, is a member of the Mao group, the least studied branch within the Omotic language family. This dissertation research will produce a reference grammar of Northern Mao, featuring the first-ever complete description and analysis of the sound system and grammatical structures. The work will also produce a 3,000 entry glossary in Northern Mao, Amharic (one of the national languages of Ethiopia), and English; a collection of folktales and other texts, translated into Amharic and English with accompanying grammatical annotations; and a study of the vitality of Northern Mao, which is considered to be an endangered language and could become extinct within a generation or two. The grammar, other material output and accompanying digital recordings will provide a thorough documentation of the Northern Mao language for the scientific community before the language changes dramatically due to contact with other languages or is lost altogether. The Northern Mao project will also benefit the Mao people in the following ways: a practical writing system will be developed for the first time; the glossary will assist Mao-speaking students learning Amharic and English; and the collection of texts may be used in the schools for Mao literacy. These results are in keeping with current Ethiopian policy which guarantees ethnolinguistic minorities the right to develop their own languages for media of instruction, and the materials will be disseminated to the local community leaders, schools and government officials.