Doctoral Dissertation Research: Discovering Patterns of Language Change through the study of the Koryak Language and its Dialects

该项目将记录科里亚克语的几种方言，科里亚克语是一种严重濒危的楚科奇-堪察加语，在俄罗斯堪察加半岛由1，670人使用，分布在至少八种方言中。研究人员将收集数据，这将大大提高我们对楚科奇-堪察加族的理解，并导致跨方言和跨语言的比较。楚科奇-堪察加语系之所以引起人们的兴趣，是因为它与白令海峡两岸的语言有着共同的特征，白令海峡是连接新旧世界的桥梁。在加州大学圣巴巴拉分校的玛丽安·米森的指导下，迪贝拉·瓦曾茨尼将记录科里亚克的方言，包括帕伦、阿柴瓦耶姆、卡门和斯雷德尼·帕哈奇，所有这些方言都严重濒危，记录不足，在语法上也有惊人的独特性。 通过对这些不同方言的语法和词汇的比较分析，Wdzenczny将尝试重建原始科里亚克语法，并追溯科里亚克语和整个半岛人民的历史传播。发言者敏锐地意识到语言的丧失，并对保护工作非常感兴趣。 为了支持这些努力，Wdzenczny正在与堪察加半岛管理的机构合作，如Palana Okrug档案馆，以保存和存档不同Koryak方言的录音。 她的工作还将为正在为各种科里亚克方言编写的教学和阅读材料提供数据。

This project will document several dialects of Koryak, a severely endangered Chukotko-Kamchatkan language spoken in the Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia by 1,670 speakers spread across at least eight dialects. The researcher will gather data that will greatly enhance our understanding of the Chukotko-Kamchatkan family and lead to cross-dialect and cross-linguistic comparison. The Chukotko-Kamchatkan language family is of interest because it shares features with languages on either side of the Bering Strait, which bridges the Old and New Worlds.Under the direction of Marianne Mithun from the University of California, Santa Barbara, Dibella Wdzenczny will document dialects of Koryak, including Paren, Achaivayam, Kamen, and Srednie Pakhachi, all severely endangered, under- documented, and surprisingly distinctive in their grammars. Through comparative analysis of the grammar and lexicon of these divergent dialects, Wdzenczny will attempt a reconstruction of Proto-Koryak grammar and trace the historical spread of the Koryak language and people throughout the peninsula. Speakers are keenly aware of language loss and are very interested in preservation efforts. To support these efforts, Wdzenczny is working with Kamchatkan-run institutions, such as the Palana Okrug Archive, to preserve and archive recordings of different Koryak dialects. Her work will also provide data for pedagogical and reading materials being created for various Koryak dialects.