Typological, comparative and historical study of languages of the Southern Chaco

Veronica Grondona, Eastern Michigan University

Project Details:

Major Documentation Project. Duration: 2003-2006. £100,225

Project Summary:

The main goal of this three year project is documentation of Chorote, Nivaclé and Kadiwéu, three poorly known endangered languages of southern Chaco (South America). Three specific needs guide the research in this project: the need for documentation, not only in printed form but also audio and audiovisual; the need for comparative and historical studies of the Matacoan and Guaycuruan languages; and the need for revitalisation efforts.

By the end of the project, the following goals will be achieved: the publication of two dictionaries, one for linguists and one for the indigenous communities and non-linguists; the publication of two collections of texts, one for linguists, another for the indigenous communities and non-linguists; the publication of two basic reference grammars, one in Spanish or Portuguese, the other in English; a website; a web-accessible lexical database with grammatical notes; and a corpus of catalogued recordings to be archived and made accessible to a wider audience. Additionally, a culturally and geographically appropriate questionnaire for native languages of the Chaco region will be designed and made available for linguists interested in the languages of the area.