Doctoral Dissertation Research: Documentation of Diidxa za (ZAI) spatial language

博士生兰迪·塔克将深入研究濒危语言Diidxa za(也称为Isthmus Zapotec)的景观特征，Diidxa za是墨西哥瓦哈卡州的一种语言。塔克的研究将产生一个陆地和水形态术语的数据库，以及一个参考地理尺度和小尺度空间的语言和认知实践的文档。塔克的研究开发了一种新的方法来研究地理和文化的交集，称为“民族生理学”。这种方法力求记录景观形式和特征的职权范围，以及景观在文化中的作用。这类文件可以告诉我们更多关于农业可持续发展等因素方面人类如何与周围环境互动的信息。该项目涉及在五个社区收集数据，以发现当地景观如何在词典中表示；如何使用路线描述来探索将景观实体用作参考框架的锚，以及小尺度空间中参考框架的语言和回忆数据。拟议的活动将测试语言和当地地形、城市化、教育、双语和识字等非语言因素在塑造空间参照的语言和非语言实践方面的相对有效性。由此产生的语文文件将有助于该区域新兴的语文振兴工作。

Doctoral student Randi Tucker will conduct an in-depth study of landscape features in the endangered language Diidxa za (also known as Isthmus Zapotec), a language spoken in Oaxaca, Mexico. Tucker's study will result in a database of land and water form terminology and a documentation of linguistic and cognitive practices of reference to geographic-scale and small-scale space. Tucker's study develops a new approach in studying the intersection of geography and culture, called 'ethnophysiography'. This approach seeks to document terms of reference for landscape forms and features, and the role of landscape in culture. This type of documentation can tell us more about how humans interact with their surroundings with respect to factors like agricultural sustainability.The project involves data collection in five communities to discover how the local landscape is represented in the lexicon; how route descriptions are used to explore the use of landscape entities as anchors of reference frames, and linguistic and recall data on reference frames in small-scale space. The proposed activity will test the relative efficacy of language and the non-linguistic factors of local topography, urbanization, education, bilingualism, and literacy in shaping linguistic and non-linguistic practices of spatial reference. The resulting linguistic documentation will help with the emerging language revitalization efforts for the region.