The Mayangna Project
This is part of an on-going project in collaboration with Ken Hale from MIT to write a grammar of the Misumalpan languages of Nicaragua, of which Mayangna is a member.
The Mayangna project has been focusing on identifying the formal properties of the different dialectal variants (Panamahka, Tuahka, Tawahka), as well as on collaborating with the local institutions to produce lexicographic material useful in the bilingual schools. We have also worked on training local Mayangna teachers to become the Mayangna linguists of the future…
More recently, we have been focusing on the presence of Classifier Auxiliaries in the language and how they fit in the general crosslinguistic landscape of classifiers.
Check the Mayangna Girls Webpage for information on a community based project in the Mayangna community.
Related Papers and Presentations.
[in prep] ‘Participative Research: The Role of the Linguist in the Development of Local Researchers’
[in prep] ‘Las variantes dialectales de la lengua Mayangna’
2001 “Indigenous Presence In The Nicaraguan Media: The Mayangna,” [with Eloy Frank, Pulinario Sebastián and Simón Avelino] paper presented at the FEL (Foundation for Endangered Languages) V Conference ‘Endangered Languages and The Media,’ Agadir, Morocco. [cancelled because of Sept. 11 events]
2000 ‘Un experimento en formación de lingüistas indígenas: los Mayangna de Nicaragua,’ paper presented at the VI Encuentro Internacional de Lingüística en el Noroeste, Hermosillo - Sonora, Mexico.
2000 ‘A Community’s Solution to Some Literacy Problems:The Mayangna of Nicaragua,’ Proceedings of the IV Conference on‘Endangered Languages and Literacy,’ Charlotte, NC.
2000 ‘On Indigenous Languages.’ Introduction chapter to Benedicto, E. (ed). The UMass Indigenous Languages Volume. UMOP [University of Massachusetts Occasional Papers] 20. University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
2000 "Mayangna: A Sumu Language and Its Variants" [with Ken Hale]. In Benedicto, E. (ed). The UMass Indigenous Languages Volume. UMOP [University of Massachusetts Occasional Papers] 20. University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
1999 'Indigenous Languages - Peoples - Women in Nicaragua' in Women Studies Newsletter. Purdue University.