Doctoral Dissertation Research: A Grammar of Kuna, a Community-Based Approach to Documenting and Grammar Writing

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This project seeks to document instances of naturally occurring speech in Kuna, a Chibchan language spoken mostly in the Panamanian-Colombian border area. The data obtained from this documentation effort will then be used to produce processed texts and a comprehensive grammar of the language, with an emphasis on community interests of strengthening and revitalization. The initial stage of the project will focus on collecting already-recorded, but unpublished, texts and making new audio and video recordings of Kuna speech. The purpose is to enrich and complement the existing collection of recordings by adding genres that are not represented currently in the language archives. Just as importantly, the project will produce several hours of processed texts for community use, through careful transcription, translation and morpheme-by-morpheme glossing of selected recordings.The project also seeks to train native Kuna speakers in basic linguistic descriptive terminology and documentation methods. The participation of Kuna speakers in the process of documentation, through workshops and seminars, is important because it places value on community input and ensures continual support of the community in strengthening and revitalization efforts. The objectives of the project are lined up with the growing awareness of language and cultural loss among Panamanian-educated Kuna. This has resulted in an interest in rescuing the use of Kuna language and the exercise of cultural practices of dancing and chanting in urban centers. The project can have a lasting impact within the community of Kuna speakers if its members are encouraged to carry out their own documentation projects and share new materials with the community. The work presented here, therefore, serves as a complement to work already started within the community.