Doctoral Dissertation Research: A Grammar of Kokama-Kokamilla

该研究项目将记录Kokama-Kokamilla，这是秘鲁亚马逊地区一种极度濒危的语言。对文件的需求非常紧迫，因为估计剩余的1，500名使用者几乎都是老年人，而且语言代代相传的自然过程已经被打断。这个项目涉及到一个重要的实地考察和分析，导致一个全面的参考语法，文本收集，和词汇表，这种最低限度的记录语言。论文将分析语音，形态，句法和话语模式，并提供语法化过程的历史说明，阐明语言的演变，并可能对这个民族的历史。科卡马-科卡米拉的遗传分类传统上被归类为图皮斯家族的一部分;然而，最近的研究质疑了这种联系，声称科卡马-科卡米拉是一个孤立的。因此，深入描述科卡马-科卡米拉是进行进一步比较分析和历史重建的必要条件。该项目将记录一种濒危语言对当前理论感兴趣的现象，如韵律，信息结构和句法的相互作用，并将告知我们对图皮斯语言家族中历时性的理解。它将为从事比较分析和历史重建的语言理论家和类型学家提供可靠的信息，以解决有关亚马逊人民之间早期联系的持久问题，包括移民运动。该项目更广泛的影响将是它对正在进行的振兴努力的贡献。它将为语言学习者、教师和其他致力于振兴和维护语言的学者提供急需的Kokama-Kokamilla语言资源。该项目将为编写教学语法和课堂材料以及继续培训Kokama-Kokamilla和西班牙语双语教师提供宝贵的材料。

This research project will document Kokama-Kokamilla, a deeply endangered language spoken in the Peruvian Amazon. The need for documentation is urgent, as nearly all of the estimated 1,500 remaining speakers are elderly people, and natural processes of language transmission from generation to generation have been interrupted. This project involves a significant fieldwork component and analysis leading to a comprehensive reference grammar, collection of texts, and glossary of this minimally documented language. The dissertation will analyze patterns in phonology, morphology, syntax, and discourse, and provide a historical account for grammaticalization processes, shedding light on the evolution of the language, and potentially on the history of this people. The genetic classification of Kokama-Kokamilla has traditionally been classified as part of the Tupian family; however, more recent research questions this affiliation, claiming that Kokama-Kokamilla is an isolate. Thus, an in-depth description of Kokama-Kokamilla is imperative to pursue further comparative analysis and historical reconstruction. The project will document an endangered language on phenomena of current theoretical interest, such as the interaction of prosody, information structure and syntax, and will inform our understanding of diachrony within the Tupian linguistic family. It will provide reliable information to linguistic theoreticians and typologists working on comparative analysis and historical reconstruction to address enduring inquiries about early connections among Amazonian peoples, including migratory movements. The broader impacts of the project will be its contribution to ongoing revitalization efforts. It will provide much needed Kokama-Kokamilla language resources to language learners, teachers, and other scholars committed to the revitalization and maintenance of the language. This project will produce valuable material for the development of pedagogical grammars and classroom materials, as well as for continued training of bilingual teachers in Kokama-Kokamilla and Spanish.