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中使用的濒危语言的语法。在一个加速语言灭绝的时代，这个项目提供了一个独特的机会，记录一种语言的复杂特征，这种语言在仍然被积极使用的同时表现出一些相对罕见的语法特性。该项目的重点是音韵学（声音系统）和形态学（单词结构）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，并提高科学家对人类语言能力的理解。该项目为各社区提供语言文件编制工具，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，促进其未来的学习和使用。该研究考察了语言结构的类型学罕见特征，重点是其名词域-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，并通过不寻常的声音变化的复数形式的表达。该项目包括在对使用该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元素如何表示和相互作用的理论，有助于更全面地了解人类语言系统的复杂性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.