Doctoral Dissertation Research: Seri (SEI) Landscape Classification and Spatial Reference

这个研究项目考察了墨西哥索诺拉的塞里人如何通过他们的语言对他们所生活的景观进行分类。在jurgen Bohnemeyer博士和David Mark博士的监督下，Carolyn O'Meara将对Seri地区的部分地区进行调查，这些地区是根据其地貌和生态多样性而选择的。她将记录使用土地和水域形态作为自然地标的路线描述，并根据对Seri空间参考语法的详细检查得出的一套诊断方法来分离景观术语。这项工作将由与景观有关的文化习俗（特别是捕鱼和采集探险）的研究以及传记和当地历史叙述的记录来补充。土地和水的形式，如山，丘陵，山谷，河流，湖泊和植被的自然组合的分类研究是语言学和文化人类学的一个新的研究领域。首要的研究问题是，这些实体的分类在多大程度上反映了认知的普遍原则，在多大程度上随语言和文化而变化，例如，反映了不同文化利用其自然环境的方式的差异。在这个领域，Seri是一个引人入胜的案例研究。领土是高度多样化的，包括海岸，岛屿，红树林以及山区和沙漠地区。塞里人的狩猎和采集活动一直持续到20世纪，因此对这片丰富多样的景观有着特别深入的了解。但塞里语是一种濒临灭绝的语言，由于经济的变化，传统的景观知识正在迅速过时。对塞里景观术语的记录为未来的塞里人提供了延续祖先生活方式的途径。同时，本研究的结果将直接影响土地和水形态的本体论性质和个性化等理论问题。本论文的研究得到了语言学、文化人类学和地理与区域科学三个学科的支持。

This research project examines how the Seri people of Sonora, Mexico, categorize the landscape in which they live through their language. Under the supervision of Dr. Juergen Bohnemeyer and Dr. David Mark, Carolyn O'Meara will carry out a survey of parts of the Seri area selected in view of their geomorphologic and ecological diversity. She will record route descriptions that use land and water forms as natural landmarks and isolate landscape terms on the basis of a set of diagnostics derived from a detailed examination of the grammar of spatial reference in Seri. This work will be complemented by studies of landscape-related cultural practices (in particular, fishing and gathering expeditions) and the recording of biographical and local history narratives.The study of the classification of land and water forms such as mountains, hills, valleys, rivers, and lakes and natural assemblages of vegetation is a new field of study in linguistics and cultural anthropology. The overarching research question is to what extent the classification of such entities reflects universal principles of cognition and to what extent it varies with language and culture, reflecting, for example, differences in the ways in which different cultures make use of their natural environment. Seri makes for a fascinating case study in this domain. The territory is highly diverse, including seashore, islands, and mangroves as well as mountainous and desert areas. The Seri people practiced hunting and gathering well into the 20th century and as such have particularly intimate knowledge of this richly varied landscape. But Seri is an endangered language, and due to economic changes, traditional knowledge of the landscape is rapidly becoming obsolete. The documentation of Seri landscape terminology provides future generations of Seri with lasting access to the ways of their ancestors. At the same time, the findings of this study will bear directly on theoretical issues such as the ontological properties and individuation of land and water forms.This dissertation research is being supported by the Programs in Linguistics, Cultural Anthropology and Geography & Regional Science.