Doctoral Dissertation Research: Nominal and deverbal morphology in an endangered language

这个博士论文项目调查了两个土著社区所说的濒危语言的语法。在语言加速消亡的时代，这个项目提供了一个独特的机会来记录一种语言的复杂特征，这种语言表现出一些相对罕见的语法属性，而它仍在积极使用。该项目的重点是音系学(发音系统)和词法(词的结构)之间的接口，提供对语言特征的见解，有助于语言学家对语言多样性的集体知识，并加强科学家对人类语言能力的理解。该项目向各社区提供语言记录工具，为保存和振兴其语言作出贡献。它还有助于为语言创造教学资源，促进未来的学习和使用。这项研究考察了语言结构中罕见的类型学特征，重点是它的名词域-语言中与物体、人和思想有关的区域。这项研究将阐明特定的语言过程与语言的个别元素联系在一起，以及通过不寻常的发音变化表达复数形式。该项目包括在对讲这种语言的社区进行实地考察期间收集语言数据。这些发现挑战了现有的关于语言要素如何表现和相互作用的理论，有助于更全面地理解人类语言系统的复杂性。收集到的数据可供全球研究界查阅，以支持对语言结构和多样性的进一步研究。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This doctoral dissertation project investigates the grammar of an endangered language spoken in two Indigenous communities. In an era of accelerated language extinction, this project presents a unique opportunity to document the intricate features of a language that exhibits some relatively rare grammatical properties while it is still actively used. The project focuses on the interface between phonology (the system of sounds) and morphology (the structure of words), offering insights into the characteristics of the language, contributing to linguists' collective knowledge of linguistic diversity, and enhancing scientists' understanding of human linguistic capacity. The project supports the communities with tools for language documentation, contributing to the preservation and revitalization of their language. It also aids in the creation of pedagogical resources for the language, facilitating its future learning and use.The study examines typologically rare features of the language's structure, focusing on its nominal domain — an area of the language that pertains to objects, people, and ideas. This research will illuminate specific linguistic processes tied to individual elements of the language, and the expression of plural forms through unusual sound alterations. The project involves collecting linguistic data during a field trip to communities where the language is spoken. The findings challenge existing theories about how elements of language are represented and interact with each other, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the complexities of human language systems. The collected data are made accessible to the global research community, supporting further studies into language structure and diversity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.