Doctoral Dissertation Research (DEL): Research on Tataltepec de Valdes Chatino (cta)

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This project will produce a grammar of Tataltepec de Valdés Chatino, a language of Oaxaca, Mexico belonging to the widespread Otomanguean language stock. Tataltepec Chatino is an independent branch among the Chatino languages and as such informs the reconstruction of a proto-Chatino parent language, which in turn will offer insight into the reconstruction of the more remote common ancestor languages, proto-Zapotecan and proto-Otomanguean. A reference grammar of Tataltepec Chatino is highly urgent since the language is now spoken by fewer than two thousand people, mostly over 30 years old, all in the village of Tataltepec de Valdés. The project researches several less commonly-observed traits in its syntax, phonology and phonetics, among them, its word order which is verb-subject-object and its rich system of lexical tone and unusually intricate rules for the interaction of tones. It also will allow for the recording of Tataltepec Chatino speech and Tataltepec linguistic customs which will be a valuable resource for the speakers of the language and their descendents.The production of this grammar is part of a larger effort at the University of Texas to document and describe the Chatino languages of Oaxaca in a way that places a strong emphasis on speaker training in linguistics, Chatino language literacy, and related areas. To this end, the researcher will continue work with an established team of speaker trainees and also seek out new trainees. Recordings of the language in use, along with transcriptions, translations, and analyses, will be archived in a digital archive, where they will be available to future researchers and community members.