Doctoral Dissertation Research: Kubeo Grammar

这笔赠款支持蒂亚戈·查康关于库贝语(Cubeo)语法的博士论文的实地工作和研究，库贝语是乌佩斯(沃佩·S)河及其沿巴西和哥伦比亚边境的支流所说的一种图卡诺语。尽管有大约4000名发言者，Kubeo的情况仍然危急。语言活力的程度因地点不同而不同：在较小的村庄，语言被传递给儿童；在较大的村庄，儿童“拒绝”说库贝奥语，改讲葡萄牙语或西班牙语。本论文研究的目的是对库贝欧语的语法进行深入的描述，特别是对这种语言中发现的独特的语言特征进行分析，如鼻音和谐、语调的特殊性质、复杂的物词系统、连动动词和名词量词系统。这一分析将有助于语言类型学中的中心问题，加深对人类语言中可能发生的事情以及这些语言特征的局限性的理解。这篇论文还将扩大亚马逊这一地区的历史语言学(语言变化)和语言接触的知识，这是一个特别具有科学意义的地区。本论文的研究得益于库贝奥人致力于记录和保护他们的语言和文化遗产。

This grant supports the fieldwork and research for Thiago Chacon's doctoral dissertation on the grammar of Kubeo (Cubeo), a Tukanoan language spoken on the Uaupes (Vaupés) River and its tributaries along the border of Brazil and Colombia. Despite having approximately 4,000 speakers, Kubeo is in critical condition. The degree of language vitality varies by location: in smaller villages, the language is transmitted to children; in larger villages, the children "refuse" to speak Kubeo, shifting to either Portuguese or Spanish. The goal of this dissertation research is to provide an in-depth description of the grammar of Kubeo, with particular emphasis on the analysis of the unusual and unique linguistic traits found in this language, such as nasal harmony, unusual properties of tone, a complex system of evidentials, serial verbs, and the noun classifier system. The analysis will contribute to central issues in linguistic typology, increasing understanding of what is possible in human languages and what the limitations with regard to these linguistic features are. The dissertation also will expand knowledge of historical linguistics (language change) and language contact in this region of the Amazon, which has been of particular scientific interest. The dissertation research benefits from and contributes to the commitment of Kubeo people to document and preserve their language and cultural heritage.