Doctoral Dissertation Research: Documentation and Description of Khinalug Language

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This grant supports the fieldwork and research for Tamrika Khvtisiashvili's doctoral dissertation on the grammar of Khinalug, an endangered Northeast Caucasian language which is spoken primarily in a single village in the mountains of Azerbaijan. Documentation of this endangered language will provide new data from a language and a language family that are very poorly known, situated in a geographically diverse and isolated area, data which contribute to the scientific advancement of linguistic theory. The descriptive grammar of Khinalug will contribute to linguistic scholarship in several ways, among them an analysis of unusual structural traits that have not been studied and materials for historical linguistics analysis, needed for the study of language change, language contact, and investigation of controversial proposals of genetic relationships. The research will be enhanced by and integrated with training of native speakers in recording and transcription and in development of teaching and literacy materials, which will in turn insure the long-range sustainability of Khinalug language and culture. The grammar will be based on linguistic analysis that is informed by current linguistic theory and language typology. The phonology, morphology, and syntax will be analyzed and presented in formats that are accessible to linguists worldwide, to members of the local community, and to other scholars and interested non-scientists. A number of members of the community will be involved in actual research and in developing language maintenance/revitalization materials for teaching and learning the language. Linguists will benefit by having access to data and analysis valuable for further research in a number of areas of linguistics; non-specialists and the public generally can benefit from having access to historical and anthropological information about a little known group with a long and fascinating history and their language.