Doctoral Dissertation Research: Linguistic Expressions of Space in YupÆik Narrative

University Of California-Davis, Davis CA

Investigators

Abstract

This is a Dissertation Research proposal by Aram Yengoyan (PI) and Alison Rukeyser (CoPI), UC Davis, to do linguistics research on Yup'ik Eskimo spatial language and its use as a symbolic system. The research project is divided into two parts; the first will examine the grammar and lexicon of Yup'ik as it relates to spatial concepts. The second portion of the research will focus on spatial language as a symbolic system. This is the first time in over a decade a young researcher has done research on Yup'ik in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. In addition, the researcher will investigate the broader cultural implications of the complex Yup'ik linguistic system, adding much to the intellectual understanding of linguistic representations of cultural relationships to the physical environment.