Documentation of Two Endangered Munda Languages of India: Turi [trd] and Remo [bfw]

Living Tongues Institute For Endangered Languages, Salem OR

Investigators

Abstract

This project provides for one year of field documentation of two Munda languages spoken in Orissa State, India, by a combined population of fewer than 3,000 people. The new field recordings will complement a collection of legacy materials already held by the PI. They will also be entered into an existing comparative lexical database of Munda. These data will support a variety of research goals such as the reconstruction of proto-Munda, typological studies in various domains, (e.g., theoretical models of incorporation and complex predicates). The goals are both micro-level (careful transcription and data-driven analysis of recorded speech data) and macro-level (large typological generalizations which may shed light on the evolution of the Austroasiatic language family and theories of morphosyntax). The project will raise awareness of these languages and the communities that speak them. The project will be hosted by the Department of Tribal and Regional Languages, Ranchi University, India It will bring foreign linguists and Indian scholars together to build capacity through training, enhancing the prestige of these endangered languages, and having a positive effect on language revitalization efforts, should the community choose to pursue these. The project contributes to both local institutions and the native communities in the form of resources, archiving, and knowledge transfer.