Doctoral Dissertation Research: Documentation of Bangime, a Language Isolate

班吉语是马里中部一种濒危的、在语言上独一无二的语言，将是这项研究的重点。这项研究的目的是为该语言的扫盲计划提供描述、分析和基础。在马里中东部班加卡拉地区的七个与世隔绝的村庄里，估计有1200到3000人说邦吉姆语。由于这些村庄位于多贡人居住的悬崖之间，班吉姆语以前被认为是多贡语。然而，访问过班吉姆语地区的少数研究人员注意到了它的特点，现在它被归类为罕见的语言孤立，与未知的语言有关。由于讲班吉姆语的人自我认同为说多贡语的人，破译他们与多贡人和他们的语言的联系可以解释两个民族长期被误解的语言和历史遗产。将收集的数据涵盖语法和词汇的方方面面，包括动植物，与植物疗法有关；重要社会文化习俗的名称，如制布、铁匠和酿酒；地理地标的当地名称；以及时间概念。这本语法描述和词典将为语言学家和其他学科的研究人员提供宝贵的新知识和资源，从人类学到动物学，都是关于以前隐藏的独特语言和文化的。还计划与遗传学家合作，后者最近发表了关于多贡人遗传一致性的信息。由于邦吉语对西非研究的广泛影响，它要么是一种孤立的语言，要么是多贡语分类中缺失的一环，因此必须提供完整的描述，但如果不首先准确地转录和理解它的声调，就不能正确地描述它的语法。表面发音是声调语素错综复杂的结果，与词语的潜在语调交织在一起，形成了一个复杂的谜题。解决这个难题是理解语言内部运作的一个重要部分。

Bangime, an endangered, linguistically unique language spoken in central Mali, will be the focus of this research. The goal of this study is to provide a description, analysis, and the basis of a literacy program for the language. Bangerime, or Bangime, is spoken in seven isolated villages in the Bandiagara area of central-eastern Mali by an estimated 1200 to 3000 speakers. Because the villages are located among the strictly-Dogon-inhabited cliffs, Bangime was previously considered a Dogon language. However, the few researchers who have visited the Bangime-speaking area have noted its idiosyncrasies, and it is now classified as a rare language isolate, related to no known languages. Because Bangime speakers self-identify as Dogon speakers, deciphering their connection with the Dogon people and their language could illuminate the long misunderstood linguistic and historical heritage of both ethnicities.The data to be collected covers all aspects of the grammar and lexicon, including flora and fauna, with implications for botanical remedies; names for significant socio-cultural practices, such as cloth-making, blacksmithing, and beer-making; local names for geographic landmarks; and concepts of time. This grammatical description and dictionary will provide invaluable new knowledge and resources for linguists and researchers in other disciplines from anthropology to zoology about a previously concealed and unique language and culture. Collaborations are also planned with geneticists who have recently published information concerning the genetic uniformity of the Dogon people. Because of Bangime's broad implications for West African research, its status as either a language isolate or a missing link in the classification of Dogon languages, a complete description must be provided, yet its grammar cannot be properly described without first accurately transcribing and understanding its tones. Surface articulations, the result of intricate of tonal morphemes, are woven with the underlying tone of words to create a complicated puzzle. Solving this puzzle is an essential part of understanding the inner workings of the language.